dance concert

This past weekend I watched Dance in Concert on Friday January 29, 2010 at the De Jong Concert Hall. The BYU Dance Department of Contemporary division featured The Dancers’ Company in this production. I really have always enjoyed contemporary dance, and after taking this class I appreciate the talent and hard work that goes into a contemporary performance. The three pieces that chose to mention from Dance in Concert in this critique are Where Light is Made to Travel, Common Ground, and Landscapes.
The first number was Where Light is Made to Travel the program reads “Light illuminates, refracts, shits and re-gathers. In this piece the gathering and scattering of motion and light reveal the need to support each other on our journey through this life.” The costumes in this production were simple, but important. The background was entirely black, but all of the dancers were in white. The lighting came off from the side of the stage, which added to the illusion of the light traveling. While watching I felt like the dancers were stars wakening at dusk and going back to sleep at dawn. That because stars are moving and dancing through the sky even the darkest time at night can be alive. This was because of the flowing movements that all of the dancers had. I was reminded of the exercise we did in class when we ‘pulled’ each other close and then ‘pushed’ each other away. There were more ‘pulling’ dance movements in this piece and that made me feel like the dancers were all connected. I thought that the movements really did create the feeling that the choreographer Amy Markgrat Jacobson wanted.
One of my favorite numbers was Common Ground because of the direct and strong movements. This number was suppose to be “an intense physicality showcase a community of women who are strong and grounded in the commitment to face life’s trails.” The dancers had very strong movements with lots of bound and direct placement. I was amazed at how many of the same motions such as turns, steps, and lefts looked so different in this peace simply because the dancers’ motions were powerful. The costumes were red, and that color was a good choice because red kind-a demands attention. While I was watching this number I was reminded of Isabella in Shakespeare Measure for Measure, and her strong character. This I thought would be the perfect character to describe the dance, because although she was focused there was something still intriguing and tempting about her.
I had some mix feelings about Landscapes, because I was a little confused at the beginning of the dance. It would have helped me to read my program first because it clarified “a dance of metaphorical connections between the inner and outer landscapes of our life’s- the power of the earth and the human spirit.” Like I mentioned this piece had me a little confused at first. I enjoyed the diverse movements, because there was a combination of light and indirect. One of my favorite movements was when the dancers were imitating the fields and the swayed. I really did enjoy this section, but the piece made a lot more sense to me in the second section, as I would call it. In the second section there were different voices over the music, and it was a lot more of the internal ‘landscape’ (I guess you could call it) Most of the speakers were talking about insecurities and it was remarkable to see the dancers react to what was being said. There movements became very bound and direct in this section. After listening and watching this portion the remainder of the piece seemed to be describing the faces that we put on for society, or how we feel in reality. I enjoyed the dance more, and even liked the changing background slides of diverse landscapes.
I enjoyed watching Where Light is Made to Travel, Common Ground, and Landscapes because there was diverse movements the costumes fit the mood of the piece, and I really did understand what the arts were trying to say through the dance. There must be a section in the audience of the theater reserved for single students who are there for a class, because I swear I was put into that section. While I watched the dancers I thought about their energy placement, and I tied to categorize their motions as light, bound, or pulled. It felt like all of the dancers had a reason for the amount of energy they were using and were they were placing it. Even when the movements were light and indirect that was the purpose of the motion to be light and indirect. I was very impressed and I enjoyed the performance immensely.