Dance concert flies high, but never truly soars
Drew Choiniere
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Lifestyles
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Right from the opening tap number, with the unfortunately mis-titled "rhythm3," the dancing seemed too belabored and too stiff to be taken seriously. The beauty of great tappers, like Savion Glover or the late Gregory Hines, is their ability to take the most difficult and strenuous moves and make them look both graceful and easy. Believe me I'm not try to compare, but it just seemed that many of the dancers never tried to make it look easy; the pain was written all over their face.
Comparatively though, numbers such as "A Boy Story," a whimsical, coming-of-age narrative of two young people (senior David Kabbes and senior Jordan Davis) complete with awakening sexual desires and drug experimentation; or "505," a physically powerful piece supplemented with a surprising musical choice (a song of the same title by the indie rock band Arctic Monkeys), showcased the much more thought-provoking and innovative concepts these choreographers could dream up.
Many others, like the overly joyful "Kleine Kinder," began to border on creepy with their brightly-colored ensembles and excessive almost Palin-like smiling, as well as "The Fever" with its generic "Chicago"-knockoff red background and barely-there attire, lacked any kind of sexual heat and came across more peppy than sultry.
That is not to say there wasn't some lasting and profound moments created on the stage as well. In the first number following the intermission, a piece titled "Family Portrait " showed the dancers imitating, through a non-linear, modern dance structure, a large, extended family photo being broken down into the individual families each with some serious problems of their own. There was an extramarital affair, a lesbian couple adopting through a surrogate, and even some domestic violence thrown in for good measure. It's these pulpy family dynamics and dramatic choreography and lighting that truly move this piece along to new and exciting levels.
Certainly the best piece in the entire program though was "Larynx: Cochlea;" a multilayered, partially spoken word, partially danced kaleidoscope of fractured people trying to find meaning in their relationships with others and themselves. This piece closed the show in a truly thrilling fashion. Set to the music of another tale of disaffected and desperate people, the film "Requiem for a Dream" buzzed and whirled with the precise movements of bodies, words, and chairs, which was all made possible with the beautiful work of freshman Elizabeth Tackett, who was physically narrating the action behind her as though she was the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town."
Senior Jordan Davis deserves serious plaudits for her unique and spectacular choreography of the piece behind the scenes, as well as her graceful and gentile work in other pieces. Another dancer worthy of merit was senior Greta Hysjulien. Her unflinching and indomitable work on stage showed in every number that she performed; she's a firecracker ready to burst, and the determination read all over her face.
Thankfully, the concert ended better than it started. I just wish it didn't take so much trudging to get to the satisfying conclusion.
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