The senior concerts will occur on two different Weekends:
Exclamation Point?
March 11,12, and 14
Marriot Center for Dance
7:30 pm
Question Mark!
April 2,3, and 4
Marriot Center for Dance
7:30 pm
Thursday, March 12, 2009
!?
Join the Department in celebrating the talented graduating class of 2009. The senior class demonstrates the great insight and tremendous creativity that this latest graduating class exemplifies. Come and see the culmination of four years of hard work and exploration and support this awesome class.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Class assignment for
Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Criticism
Dance Review
Senior Dance Concert #1
By I-Fen Lin
The dance majors’ senior concert entitled, Exclamation Point? opened on Wednesday, March 11, at the Marriott Center for Dance. This concert was an opportunity for the soon-to-be graduates to demonstrate their choreographic talent, which had been refined and developed over the four years of study at the University of Utah Department of Modern Dance. Featuring the works of eleven choreographers, Exclamation Point? not only represented the title of the performance, but also the astonishing artistic creativity of the choreographers, and the dancers’ mature performance skills.
Both witty and sharp, Molly Heller’s choreography held the symbolic title, “$.” As light enveloped the stage, a group of dancers could be seen displayed in a semicircle, each one in differing poses. Coins rolled onto the stage acting as a power switch to the six characters as they began to move. Thus stimulating the on-stage world that Ms. Heller created — among these included, a bouncy girl with her fancy sneakers; a woman producing numerous hand gestures as if her arms were telling stories; and a lady standing among a pool of coins, trying desperately to blow a bubble with the gum in her mouth. The signature movement each dancer possessed, in response to Rick Ross’s music, not only brought a unique personality to each performer, but also metaphorically expressed Ms. Heller’s observation about money’s influence on people. In “$,” the blind obedience to money caused six dancers to mentally detach from each other; yet, at the same time, physically attract. This conflicting relationship became a choreographic theme throughout the piece. For example, when the limbs of one individual were being controlled by someone else in a contorted dual relationship, or when group dancing was blended with individual solos. Through Ms. Heller’s choreography, “$” was an evident portrayal of living in a consumption-crazed society. The bodies buzzed around the space. Seeming to fulfill some urgent desire, they appeared poisoned and propelled by a power concealed within the scattered coins. Seeing the control money had over each character, “$” inspired the audience’s speculation about our freedom, and the possibility that what was once a privilege has now turned into an expectation. This greed that has become largely engrained in our society is now pre-meditatively channeled toward everything materialistic, especially money.
In the following piece, Choreographed by Mary Kate Sickel and performed by four outstanding dancers, “ContrA/Diction” demonstrated a very well-rehearsed product, which showcased the strong technical training the students receive within this dance program. Within her piece, Ms. Sickle abstracts the emotional reaction of contradiction, rendering it into her choreography, to convey the feeling of anxiety and confusion as a result of being in conflict. Her intention to explore this underlying theme of contradiction with abstract movement was successfully accomplished, particularly in the second section. Within this movement for example, an impulse would initiate the bodies of the dancers into motion, when suddenly the momentum would be interrupted and changed by another unexpected impulse. Turning and falling, spinning and tumbling— the movement of the second section was truly exciting to watch, as it was beautifully performed, especially by dancer Chelsea Rowe.
The concert was aptly represented by its title, Exclamation Point?. As I hear the passionate applause still echoing in my mind, I begin to understand why a question mark punctuates the title of the concert. Exclamation Point? implicates the great potential that still lies ahead for these senior choreographers. Undoubtedly, there will be more climactic events to present themselves, both in the following performances and especially in these students’ bright futures.
Shannon Vance
Exclamation Point Senior Concert Review
“$”, Molly Heller
Venice Beach Boardwalk Infiltrates Hayes-Christenson Theatre
In my opinion there is almost no better way to comment on our present culture of excess then to begin a piece by infiltrating a dark stage with pressure reflected red shoe lights. My first thought is, “this should be good”. Perhaps I, like the character dancers onstage, am as a raccoon and seem to respond to anything shiny. Next come the stage lights and a surprise ricochet of glittering silver and copper change that is thrown sputtering and rolling at the feet of those really awesome shoes. “Street performers, hip hop wannabes, or falsely “keeping it real” teens?” I ask as the dancers begin grooving to the sound of an egotistic rap song.
The movement is a nerdy indulgence in what appears to be old school style hip hop mixed with flashing, defined arm gesture sequences, passively grounded and speedily accented. The movement establishes “look at me” or “you don’t know me” statements of identity. Each performer moves with an individual personality and while the different personalities are accepted and acknowledged by each performer, relationships and would be cliques are formed between the individuals on stage. The speedily accented conversational phrases begin to be countered with slow sustained partner and group weight-bearing elements. The colorfully costumed characters perform with a seriousness, which only adds to the comedic tone, highlighting a playful struggle of out-doing one another while at the same time, passively sharing the stage with any dancer who steps up.
Money continues to spill out of pockets as identities made of carefully crafted secrets are also spilled on to the stage for all to see. Kind of like Facebook – where people spend hours creating profiles reflecting how they want to be viewed by anyone who will look. The performers dance for change and thrive on mere attention as if to say, “you may sample for free so long as you look at me…” The audience is free to look but not necessarily pass judgment the dancers exude and attitude of “this is the me I want to be and I’m putting it out there whether you like it or not”.
The piece ends in an abrupt silence that cuts the building momentum short just as these characters have possibly been stunted in their adolescence. I am left wanting more, hoping this was just the first section. The movement caught my attention and was successful in creating a narrative commentary without actually being structured as such. The piece was simply there and as stated before, free for all to take or leave. I took it and instead of throwing money at the dancers, will shower the stage with compliments of the choreographer’s originality in device, theme, character, and movement style. “$”, by Molly Heller, is a hip hop/modern dance mixed into a buffet of color, attitude, comedy, and groovy cool dancing.
Post a Comment