Stepping Into Fall With Dance At Goodwin Theater

This weekend's annual fall dance concert was a wonderfully eclectic show featuring dance and choreography by professors and students.

The first piece, Time Out, was performed by Lesley Farlow, Professor of Theater and Dance, and B.J. Goodwin. This was an improvised piece based on a game structure in which the two performers took turns telling the stories of their first cars by yelling stop to interrupt each other. Penalty for violation of rules in this game required assuming awkward positions for five seconds. The performers shared their hilarious stories with improvised movement. They played off of each other well and set a positive tone for the rest of the show.

The second piece, The Living Event , choreographed by Emily Gresh (Theatre and Dance faculty), was a ballet piece in three sections: I. Today, II. Tomorrow, III. Yesterday. Section I features Gresh on stage with a cradle. Throughout this section she uses a rocking motion in many of her steps and gestures as if she is rocking a baby in her arms. It was followed by Section II in which Gresh is joined by Molly Waterhouse '02 who appeared to be portraying Gresh's daughter. The cradle is gone from the stage and the music is faster and more upbeat. This section was danced not as a duet, but more as daughter following mother. In the third section, Waterhouse repeats many of the movements that Gresh had used in Section I.

Finally, Waterhouse exits the stage and Gresh remains on-stage alone. The piece seems to be about a coming of age, a mother watching her daughter grow up and out of her life. It was very refreshing to have a ballet piece in this concert as ballet had not been featured for two years.

Tribe, choreographed by Lesley Farlow, marked a shift from ballet to modern dance. Six students used partners and gestures to create interesting shapes that were complemented by the lighting and the costumes. The dancers lifted each other with such ease, never losing the fluidity of their movements or the essence of each step. When the music climaxed, the dancers' movements mimicked the intensity of the music. The lighting, costumes, and movements of the dancers created a beautiful visual picture on the stage.

Across the Lines was choreographed and performed by Nina Caballero '02 to the music of Tracy Chapman. Although Caballero has had no "formal" training, she exhibited natural ability and a beautiful quality to her movement. What this piece lacked, however, was strong composition. This may not have been so obvious in an informal setting, but every other piece in the concert was choreographed by a professional or students with more experience with composition. However, Caballero is very talented and has the ability and the resources to develop her skill.

The fifth piece, overluvitzfall, was choreographed by Sarah Schneck '00. This piece was wonderfully composed and had a great impact on many in the audience; some laughed, others wanted to cry. The opening was striking as five couples were illuminated in squares of light. Though little movement was detected, soloist Karmen Brownson '00 slipped to the ground from the arms of her partner.

Left alone, Brownson was compelled to move through the other couples to the music of Roy Orbison's It's Over. Brownson wonderfully displayed how dance is not only movement, but a sort of acting; her breath conveyed emotion and an energy that fueled her movements as she related to the couples around her. One person from each couple slid down his partner throughout the piece and though this was not much movement, if it were not there it would have completely changed the whole meaning of the dance, which seemed to resonate differently for different audience members. Some thought that Brownson was reacting to the couples and dancing about lost love, however, a young boy thought that she was a disease that was infecting the couples, and causing them to fall. The room for different interpretations is a testimony to the fact that this piece seemed to relate to everyone‹adults, college students, and even six- year-olds.

After intermission, the concert resumed with Dreaming a Way Out, choreographed by Nora Matthews '00. Matthews was joined by two girls from the Citiarts Youth Dance Ensemble. While Matthews danced in the foreground and was shadowed by the other dancers, there was a video of a young boy projected onto the scrim and a voiceover by Matthews telling the story of her friend Greg.

At first I thought that there was too much happening between the video, the two dancers, and Matthews all doing different things. Then, I realized how well this piece was composed. The two dancers and Matthews were using only small movements to complement the emotions in the voiceover. There were beautifully poignant moments when all three dancers used the same gesture as described in the text.

The video also added to the texture of the piece as it showed a young boy talking, laughing, smiling and dancing, and connecting to the audience. The end of the video then revealed that the piece was dedicated to Greg Dixon who died last year. This entire composition was moving but gentle, a true tribute to Dixon.

Unfortunately, the impact of this piece was compromised by its location in the program as it was followed by a lighthearted and silly dance.

Take Home Another Load certainly changed the mood of the show! Choreographed by Diane Coburn Bruning, a New York-based choreographer and guest choreographer at Trinity, this piece was danced to square dance music and featured a quirky bridal party. Although I heard many audience members having deep conversations about how this piece mocked the institution of marriage, I thought that it was just for fun. At one point the dancers performed a silly imitation of the four swans from the ballet, Swan Lake.

On Saturday night, the audience received a surprise. The part of the groom was danced by none other than, President Dobelle! The audience went crazy and it was very funny and entertaining. It also showed the school's wonderful support of the arts.

The finale featured an African dance piece in which the students did two traditional African dances and Abdoulaye Sylla (Threater and Dance faculty) performed a solo in between. The dancers and the drummers were very energetic and really seemed to enjoy themselves. The drummers really got the crowd involved and on Saturday night the audience was invited up onto the stage for a dance party‹even Dobelle was on-stage!

This fall's dance concert was a departure from those of years past, as it provided a variety of types of dance and performance.

It also showed off the strength of the new professors in the department of Theatre and Dance and the potential of the students. The pieces all exhibited great quality of composition and professionalism.