The Trolley Dances began in the late 1990's in San Diego. Jean Isaacs, the founder, wanted to use local dance talent and incorporate the environment in dance, and that is exactly what she did. Ron and I went to see the Trolley Dances last week. It was an interesting experience. The concept was unique, but the ability of the dancers was not what I was expecting.
We started at the Granville Trolley Station where we saw two dances. They were very colorful, with costumes, painted faces and streamers, which the dancers danced around. We then took the trolley to SDSU where we saw a group of teens, dancing in black tights and hardhats, on a grassy area outside the trolley station. These were just kids, so I wasn't expecting too much from them, but they were quite good. Next, we got back on the train and took the trolley 6 more stops, to El Cajon. This was the worst part of the day. There was no place to sit, so we had to stand and get jostled around for the next 15 minutes. It would not have been a good outing for anyone with a balance problem or anyone who could not stand for long periods of time. We got off the trolley and walked across to the showroom of the El Cajon Toyota dealership, where we saw another dance. This was an interesting dance, much better than any of the previous dances.
The dance at the defunct cooking school in Santee Town Square was our favorite. All the dancers were dressed like cooks from different countries. A French chef, an Italian, and Indian, a Creole cook, and one dancer that dressed and talked like Julia Child. They danced around using kitchen props. It was very enjoyable.
We took the trolley back to the starting point and luckily found a seat for the 20 minute ride. All in all it was an experience, probably not one I would do again, but was glad to have tried it. It's nice that our city has dance troupes like this one to give budding artists a chance to perform.
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