Hip Hopera Choreographed by PVCC Student

Triston Duenas, staff writer

A hip hopera is not exactly what it sounds like at first. Instead of picturing an opera with hip hop music, picturing  a regular opera would be more accurate. Only the dances during and in-between scenes are done in a hip-hop style rather than classical.

I approached The Haven curious as to which door to enter, but I eventually followed a few couples that seemed well dressed for the occasion. The event was held inside,  and it was quite spacious with a calm vibe.

Everyone attending seemed to be in good spirits and friendly. This also goes for the staff working the event who were all smiles as I paid for my ticket.

I found my seat towards the side of the theatre and looked around to see the inside of a beautiful church with Christian artwork all built into the walls and ceiling. On stage, there were three boards with artwork related to the play including two faces facing each other

The hip-hop opera Sympathy is about a seemingly perfect couple discovering they might not be perfect together after all. This not-so-perfect couple is comprised of Achante and Cephise.

Cephise is the rebellious one who gets away for a cigarette and is greeted by Genie, her neighbor. While talking, the two realize there is an attraction between them. This attraction, however, is wrong, and they both know it.

The opera mainly consists of the struggle Cephise goes through of deciding which of these two men she desires more, while psychologist Dr. Zirphile tries to keep everyone happy and together through counseling.

The dances performed between and sometimes during acts were done eloquently and were entertaining to watch. Hip-hop dancing is a different style than one might expect to be done to classical musical, but it was done well.

PVCC student Ana Lorenza was an assistant choreographer on the project, and she helped design the dances for entire show. Along with designing the dances, Lorenza also performed in a few and did an outstanding job.