Dance

The rest of the country might be gearing up for Thanksgiving, but at South Coast Plaza, Christmas officially began Thursday evening. The shopping destination hosted its 31st annual tree lighting ceremony at Town Plaza Center with traditional carolers, tap-dancing reindeer, and Santa and Mrs. Claus' arrival from the North Pole leading up the main event - lighting up a 96-foot tall tree. "From our family to yours, we wish you the very best the holidays have to offer, and we thank you for coming to celebrate with us today," said Stan Taeger, speaking on behalf of the Segerstrom family and South Coast Plaza.

Among the kids dressed as everything from cats and angels to Buzz Lightyear and Rapunzel at Mariners Elementary School Thursday night, zombies lurked, waiting to show themselves. When the sun finally set and the moon shined brightly in the sky, the zombies made their move and made it a thriller, thriller night. Parents and peers were surprised by a fourth-grade flash mob to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" during the Newport Beach school's annual Boo Fest. The more than 100 students moved, shook and waved their hands in claws to recreate the King of Pop's iconic dance from the song's music video.

Hot off the heals of dancing featured roles in "Step Up" and Florence and the Machine's music video "Spectrum," Costa Mesa ballerina Tara Gusman took her dance career to the primetime TV screen this month on "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars. " According to Nielsen Media Research, 12 million viewers watched Gusman, 24, in the season's first "Macy's Stars of Dance" performance, which opened the live results show Oct. 2 on ABC. "The 'Macy's Stars of Dance' is a really big honor for the choreographer," Tara Gusman said in a phone interview.

A star-studded evening at the Music Center in Los Angeles honored Orange County philanthropist Henry T. Segerstrom at the 2012 Dizzy Feet Foundation Celebration of Dance. The July 28 gala evening welcomed the founding namesake of Orange County's premier performing arts center escorted by his glamorous wife, Elizabeth , at a party that also recognized the creative philanthropy of actress Shirley MacLaine , and dance and musical director Damian Woetzel . Celebrities in attendance included Maria Menounos , Ryan Guzman , Misha Gabriel , and from ABC television's "Dancing with the Stars," Derek Hough . Presenting the awards to Segerstrom, MacLaine and Woetzel were performers including Carmen Electra and two stars from "Glee," Chord Overstreet and Harry Shum Jr. Also on hand for the evening was TV talk host Ricki Lake , who has recently returned to the electronic screen with a new reality format.

Four up-and-coming choreographers will debut new works Saturday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre as part of the National Choreographers Initiative, now in its ninth year. The project allows audiences to get in on the ground floor to see the works of up-and-coming choreographers, which are developed over the course of three weeks in a supportive environment in which they can feel free to experiment, Artistic Director Molly Lynch said. As is the case each year, four choreographers were selected to debut new works in this year's showcase: Wendy Seyb, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Thang Dao and Melissa Barak.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with some young men, all newly minted graduates of Corona del Mar High School, who did something so ridiculously cool that I just had to share it. First, you must picture these eight men. They are whip-smart, articulate and ambitious, with a combined average GPA well north of 4.0. Each lettered in at least one varsity sport, and all are headed to prestigious universities. One aspires to become the Los Angeles district attorney; another wants to be a Marine Corps officer, and others plan to pursue studies in physics, biology, business and engineering.

Paige Hall danced around the room with a smile on her face as Kristen Risser played off her movements, drawn to her like a magnet. Risser danced as if shouldering the weight of the world, ready to protect and comfort Hall at every move. Corona del Mar High School dance team director Cami Marseilles, 37, choked up as her students danced her story. "It's a piece about my journey as a mother with a son on the autism spectrum," she said, a mother of two boys, who while not autistic have autistic-like symptoms.

The Wooden Floor will showcase new contemporary and experimental dance works during its 29th annual concert "Tuned In," which is playing at the Irvine Barclay Theatre through Saturday. Formerly known as Saint Joseph Ballet, The Wooden Floor is a Santa Ana-based youth development organization that has empowered more than 62,000 underserved youth since its founding in 1983. "Thirty years ago, [Beth Burns] a sister of the order of St. Joseph's of Orange decided that she wanted to teach a handful of kids ballet in a church basement as a way to help them stay off the street and out of drugs and gangs," Artistic Director Melanie Ríos Glaser said in a phone interview.

COSTA MESA - Raising their clasped hands to the sky, the Adams Elementary School fifth- and sixth-grade boys' soccer team did a brief celebratory dance in front of their coaches, parents and friends. The defending champions from Costa Mesa were able to do the dance, which was similar to the one done by Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Steve Martin in the 1988 comedy movie, "Three Amigos," twice. It was all part of a 5-0 shutout of Eastbluff Elementary of Newport Beach, in the silver division of the Daily Pilot Cup Thursday.

How many human bodies does it take to make an elephant? For a team of Pilobolus dancers, the answer — five — lies within their collective improvisation. At 8 p.m. on May 17 through 19, Pilobolus will perform a mixed repertory at the Irvine Barclay Theatre as part of the venue's contemporary dance series. To date, Pilobolus has produced more than 100 choreographic works. The troupe's Barclay program will consist of five pieces that span 11 years: "Gnomen" (1997), "All Is Not Lost" (2011)