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I attended The Faculty Choreographers Showcase on Friday. Out of all the performances I watched during the showcase, two really made me think. I picked a piece that was easy for me to interpret, and the second, which I thought was the most difficult for me to interpret. Out of all the dances, some of them were obvious and some I couldn’t take anything from. I Irish Danced when I was younger for several years, earning medals and trophies. I quit because in my sense, I had accomplished all there was to accomplish with Irish Dancing.
I could have kept on practicing and competing but my interest soon died as I completed the final stage. I’m taking this ballet class now because I’ve always loved ballet and wish I could be a ballerina from even a younger stage. My cousins are both Pointe ballerinas and I love watching them perform. The first piece I chose was “Vessel”, danced by Joy Guarino. Dr. Holly Bewlay sang the song “Ave Maria” and Joy connected with Dr. Bewlay. This piece was the hardest for me to interpret because I would make a conclusion about the meaning, then the dancer or the singer would do something and completely change my view.
The beginning backdrop was red and white stars that later changed to more of a daylight color and reminded me of going from night to day. They way the dancer slowly appeared on the stage and later began twirling around and around constantly, looked as if she was a moon in orbit. The singer and the way she interacted with the dancer reminded me of the sun, and the mother-type, and the dancer was the moon, and as a child who is always connected to the mother. The dancer’s costume was purple under a brown shade and was very conservative and simple. The singer’s outfit, however, was opposite in color by having brown underneath the purple.
I was pretty secure on my idea of the sun and moon, until both the singer and dancer began letting their hair down. I did not understand that at all, and began to question my theory. Thinking it through, I realized that maybe the hair being released was a sign of freedom, and the singer slowly but surely giving it to the dancer. This piece was the most interesting to me mainly because I kept questioning my theories and myself and it was so unpredictable. I liked how the dancer and the singer interacted and it seemed like there was something more to what the obvious was.
The second piece I chose was called “Concerto” which was danced by Lindsey Bessman, Eriketa Cirulli, Loressa Johnson, Joelle Palermo, Janet Reed, Alison Sanda, and Taylor Walhstrom. This dance was the easiest for me to interpret in my own way. When the solo dancer began the piece I didn’t take anything of it until the other dancers came onstage. The way the solo dancer was so graceful and undisturbed looked like she was a mother and was taking advantage of her free time when her children were not with her. She looked relaxed and poised. The music had a slow tempo that made her dance gracefully and comfortably.
Her costume consisted of a black simple leotard with a skirt but a blue and green ribbon was wrapped around her waist. The other dancers came in and it seemed as if they were children misbehaving or bothering their mother. The dancers kept bumping into each other and leaping across the stage with music that had an upbeat tempo. Every time the soloist came onto the stage, the other dancers would scramble into different directions and having a look on their faces that I recognized from being a kid and doing something that would get your mother aggravated.
This piece to me seemed more theatrical because of the facial and obvious hand motions. When the soloist collapsed on the ground in the end, it was like the mother had a long, exhausting day running after her children and was tired and just gave up. I think every mother in the audience would have connected with the dancer on this level. I only recognized this theme because I knew the facial expressions and stories from my mother taking care of my siblings and me. Both pieces were very inspiring and I can’t wait to see another performance sometime.
When I used to watch dance recitals of my cousins, or even at school, I would just watch the dancers and marvel at their talent. I never really took anything from it such as a storyline or emotion. This assignment really taught me to pay attention to detail and look for something deeper instead of the uniqueness of their costumes or how far they could leap. In class, we learn more about technique and that’s what I really paid attention to during the performances.