Last weekend, students gathered in Freedlander Theatre for the Theatre and Dance Department’s Spring Dance Concert.† The show, which ran Thursday and Saturday evenings with a matinee on Sunday afternoon, was directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Alyssa Lee Wilmot ’00.† Wilmot and seven other students choreographed pieces for the concert.
The first piece, Reverie, was choreographed by Ellie Lawrence ’11 and featured music by George Winston.† Reverie, which featured performers, Stephanie Andrus ’12, Nana Boamah-Acheampong ’11, Amanda Gottesman ’11,† Lawrence, Jacqueline Narnor ë12, Morag Neill ’12, Owen Reynolds ’11, Kaitlin Yankello ’11 and Lindsey Phillips ’11, used dance to describe a two part dream sequence.† In the first portion of the piece dancers mimicked circus performers through their brightly colored outfits, miming movement and use of yoga balls.† In the second portion, the dream shifted to a French town. As the piece came to a close the two genres merged and the dreamer awoke.
Lawrence had an amazing ability to create a great sense of happiness to please any crowd. The dancers were animated and radiated the youthful atmosphere of the space.
The next piece, choreographed by Annie Woller ’13 featured performers, Mariel Ho ’14, Samantha Lundeen ’13, Claire Miller, Shakera Blackmon ’14, Amber Skaretka ’11, Emily Bartelheim ’12 and Kelly Harrold ’11 and featured music by Mira Calix.
Throughout the piece the performers used small fluid movement, utilizing all areas of the stage.† The music was atypical of many of the other pieces and the movement followed the languid movements of the music. Out of all the performances, Woller’s piece did not rely heavily on theatrical values. Instead, she created a piece that had music and movement that would operate independently but work together to create an original work of modern dance.
Catherine Trainor ’11’s performance was inspired by a quote from the X-Files character, Fox Mulder, “Dreams are the answers to questions we haven’t yet figured out how to ask.”† In addition, Trainor’s piece featured music by Jake Briggs, a 2010 graduate of the College.† Trainor’s piece worked to explore both the interconnectedness and separation of dreams from reality.† The dance, which featured Michaela Boros ’14,† Trainor and Annie Woller ’13 as performers, was a reflection of important dream sequences in each of the dancers’ lives.† These dreams were then represented through short vignettes.
Trainor’s performance successfully incorportated a projection of illusions and dreams to compliment the movement of her dancers. While I was intially drawn to the projection’s images, I came to appreciate how the choreography served as an extenion of the energycaptured in the moving dream sequences.
The fourth piece, “Rambling” was choreographed by Phillips. She described the piece as a “kinetic, loosely structured chaos.”† The performance featured fast-paced, athletic movement from stage right to left.† Performers walked and ran in various patterns across the floor. It was as if Phillips had orchestracted a beautiful array of chaotic momements as the dancers ran wildy on stage. You could sense that the dancers thoroughly enjoyed performing on a high level of stamina established by the choreographer.
“Wunderkind,” choreographed by Darius Dixon ’13, highlighted the life of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The dancers performed in front of a slide show of some of Basquiat’s art.† The piece depicted an individual lost in a city encountering different aspects of the city. Though the piece felt a little long, it was a grand presentation of the artist’s life. Like Tranior, Dixon was able to use an interactive and graphically rich projection to broadcast his tribute to Basquiat.
Maria Cox’s ’12 piece “The End is Near” was broken into three chapters and focused on a zombie interaction.† Throughout the piece, dancers battled and eventually succumbed to zombie forces. There was so much high energy displayed on stage, I did not want the crazy story to end. Cox knows how to create a highly theatrical event that keeps the audience on its feet about what could happen next.
Boamah-Acheampong’s piece “Tuesday,” reflected on regular interactions and everyday occurrences that people may or may not participate in.† The piece was comprised of everyday movement, highlighting that even things we do everyday ó walking, grabbing coffee with friends, sitting on a bench ó are all forms of dance. Movement was the main catalyst for† the action on stage, which created a nice array of theatrical moments.
The performance closed with “Emergency Exit” a piece by Wilmot which encompassed the use of a visual sculpture in which dancers hooked themselves to swaths of white cloth suspended above the stage. Each of the dancers performed small solos to various pieces of music, ranging from Kanye West to The Doors.† The piece was based on a quote by Peter Marshall, “When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
It appeared as if each dancer’s personality was reinforced by the music as the dancers† performed with the restraining white cloth. The solos performed by the dancers created a performance that was collaborative through a layer of individual events; instead of dancing in sync, each dancer’s movement helped build a crescendo of high theatricality.
The Spring Dance Concert represents the collaboration of creative minds and many different styles of dance.† The concert presents students with different perspectives of dance representing that dance can be all encompassing.