ARDT
Spring '07
Concert

Adair Whetstone

Amanda Peterson

Andrea Passwater

Becky Diehl

Brittany Loper

Hayley McNeill

Amanda Peterson

But even though I walked into Morgan Auditorium knowing that I might not like everything I saw, I was still very disappointed by the opening piece, a ballet performance of excerpts from Don Quijote. I am a big fan of ballet, but the performance lacked the requisite crisp, precise motions, especially in the ensemble portion.

However, Cole Companion shined as a soloist, with impressive quick, sharp motions. His duet with Audra Blaise had the same sharpness, but it fell flat because the dancers lacked the chemistry needed to express emotion along with the movements.

Lindsay Sockler and Lupe Medina made up for the lack of emotion in the second piece. During their duet to “I’m Changing” from the Dreamgirls Soundtrack, their expressive movements and emotional expressions drew me into the couple’s struggle. The performance became a story more than a dance because I understood the conflict.

And as Sockler pulled away and came back to Medina throughout the performance, I couldn’t guess how it was going to end. I was caught by surprise when Sockler swiftly stormed away from Medina and put on a fur coat at the edge of the stage, quickly walking up the aisle and out of the theatre.

A disco ball and black curtain background created a good atmosphere for the performance also. Without the disco ball and the dancing light reflections, the duet just wouldn’t have felt the same.

The following performances created a random medley of dances that combined traditional music with modern styles and bright colors, as was the case with the pieces “Primary Journeys” and “Shades.” And Companion and Jaclyn Speights performed another duet, but they lacked the emotional intensity that Sockler and Medina brought to their performance.

Andrea Passwater

The choreography really made good use of the stage. The dancers didn’t stay in one place for too long, and they weren’t afraid to place themselves off-center for long periods of time. The dancers knew their routines perfectly, and had obviously rehearsed them often. Most of the show was in-sync, and the only mistakes I saw were because of slipping—not a forgotten movement. The lights were also very well done, especially in “A Hymn to Alabama.” You could tell that the light technicians and the dancers had worked very closely together throughout. Some of the choreography incorporated the position of the lighting into the pieces, requiring dancers to jump in and out of the spotlight at certain points in the music.

But I do have a few complaints. In “Don Quijote,” the duettists (the night I attended, they were Cole Companion and Audra Blaise) in the beginning didn’t look very comfortable with one another. They appeared to be very good dancers by themselves, but there was no chemistry between them. The whole duet seemed very stiff, acted out, and awkward. I also had some problems with the quality of acting throughout the entire show. Some dancers seemed to really get into the mood of the dance, while others kept the same facial expression for the entire performance even after the mood had changed. When a performer is on a stage, they have to feel the role they are assuming. It doesn’t make sense to perform a happy dance with a stiff face, or an angry dance with light and airy movements. However, these were minor problems; to most people they probably go unnoticed.

My favorite dance of the night was definitely “Shades.” The dance really stuck out as something original and creative. It started out with only sound effects, and the dancers were dressed in grey outfits. The tone of the dance was very futuristic, but in an industrial and dismal way. It made me feel kind of creepy, like I was reading 1984 all over again. I thought that the lights, the dancers, the costumes, and the space really worked well together in this set. The dancers would scramble towards the light and climb on top of each other, looking mundane as though they were going through an everyday routine—but because of the utter lack of emotion, the events were very sad and tragic.

My least favorite dance of the night was probably “Choked,” which was a duet between a Cole Companion and Jaclyn Speights. I didn’t really understand what was supposed to be happening, because the music didn’t seem to fit the events on stage. Speights kept running away, but always came back to Companion after being chased. This happened over, and over, and over. Oh, and (surprise!) there was a lot of choking.

Up until now, I’ve said only negative things about Companion’s scenes, but in truth he gets my vote for best performance of the night. His solo in “A Hymn to Alabama” was amazing.

Becky Diehl

After the beautiful ballet, Cornelius Carter’s piece “Is This All There Is?” really got the audience excited. This piece was a duet performed by Lindsay Sockler and Lupe Medina. A disco ball along with the costumes added to the atmosphere at the beginning of the piece and went with the music nicely. The song “I’m Changing” from Dreamgirls was powerful and beautiful just like the dancing of both Sockler and Medina. The end of the piece was a perfect girl power moment as she shoves him away and marches off stage stomping up the aisle and out of the theater.

The show ended with a piece choreographed by John Virciglio entitled “Pursuit.” The song was from the Cirque du Soleil Soundtrack and was upbeat as well as energetic. The dancers startled the audience when some of them rushed down the isles in the dark to jump onto the stage. Their costumes combined with the beat of the music gave the piece a tribal feel. The dancers used springboards to leap onto the stage adding the illusion of dancers flying through the air. The piece did use a strobe light that was more than a little intense at first, but it did add a cool effect of projecting huge shadows of the dancers onto the backdrop.

Brittany Loper

The opening performance was an excerpt from Don Quijote. This was my favorite performance of the evening. The selections that were chosen were light hearted, romantic, and flirty. The dancers perfectly conveyed the emotions that made me feel happy and free. The beautifully flowing movements of the classical ballet dancers were executed effortlessly as if they were floating on the clouds.

Following the Don Quijote performance was a thrilling duet entitled “Is That All There Is?” This performance was strikingly opposite the one before it. This intensely sensual duet tells the story of what I saw to be an unhealthily emotional relationship between and man and woman. The dancers, who had undeniable chemistry and were very sensual, made the performance sexy and steamy.

“A Hymn to Alabama,” the next ensemble, outstandingly choreographed by Cornelius Carter was a beautifully put together piece that was very strange. I had a hard time figuring out what the performers were trying to convey to the audience, but it got me thinking. This obviously spiritual number was most enjoyable mainly because of the music choice, costumes, and most of all the choreography. Even though I never could decide exactly what the message was supposed to be, I was intrigued and involved in the performance.

The next three ensembles were quite boring. Definitely nothing to write home about. “Primary” was what I found to be a tribute to the Neanderthals, was really strange. It seemed like nothing more that a bunch of monkeys running around like crazy. “Choked,” a performance in which the dancers held their necks the whole time in order to represent choking apparently, was one of the most ridiculous things I had ever seen. It seemed like the choreographer could not think of any dance moves but the grabbing of the neck for the dancers to do. Maybe those two dances have some interest to some people, but I personally was not entertained.

The final performance was nothing less that extraordinary. “Pursuit,” which featured many different types of dancing and acrobatics, was a wonderful display of talent and skill. The zealous performers danced in an uncontrollable manner and flipped and flopped as if they were free and uninhibited. It reminded me of childhood when things were uncomplicated and fun all the time.

Hayley McNeill

The next two numbers were choreographed by Cornelius Carter, “Is This All There Is?” from the Dreamgirls movie, and a medley of songs that reminded me of a church revival. Lupe Medina and Lindsay Sockler truly captivated the audience with their duet to the Dreamgirls classic. The lights turned to darkness with a disco ball in the middle of the floor, and the emotionally driven and powerful moves of Medina and Sockler depicted the love and deep heartaches of a relationship. For those familiar with Billy Joel’s musical “Movin Out,” Carter’s number definitely could have fit in the musical and it was my favorite of the evening. “Fix Me Jesus,” the first of the medley was a very spiritual piece, as each of the three pairs on stage reminded me of Jesus molding one of His creations to be like him. “I Wanna Be Ready,” was a solo performed with rays of light coming from above as if the dancer was praying to God. The last of the medley was “You May Run On,” which was a high-energy dance of white skirts swishing and hair flying that gave the audience an uplifting emotion to end the piece with.

“Primary Journeys” was an interesting concept that had the audience only see the dancers that were located in the light. The choreography also fit perfectly to the symphonic melody of the piece, for at one part of the piece it seemed as each dancer or pair of dancers were dancing exclusively to their own violin, which made the music and dance so in sync that it was a delight to watch it.

The next piece “Shades” held a parallel between classical and contemporary as the female dancers were in pointe shoes, but the movement and the music was otherworldly with bell-like dings and unique sound effects. It was very dreamlike yet eerie, and the dynamics of the dancers and the way they moved simultaneously through silence was quite impressive.

A blue screen and street clothes set up the scene for the last duet of the evening called “Choked.” The different music clips were not only creative but they matched the different stages of the dance. It depicted relationships where both partners were choking one another so neither could succeed. The choreography was quite intricate and Cole Companion and Jaclyn Speights performed this innovative and strenuous dance quite well.