3 pages essay about Spring Dance Theatre CRITIQUE

In contrast to Ask and Tell, Disintegrated Image was an alluring dance. This contemporary dance made me feel as if I was at a rave party. I felt ecstatic while I was watching the dance. For example, I thought the group felt gleeful to be with each other and walked close to each other. I loved seeing this part because I could relate to it when I'm with my group of friends, having fun at a party. In light of the emotions the dance expressed, this dance felt like it deals with our society today. When I see how energetic the group is, I picture teens or young adults getting crazy at parties with their friends. I do not know the older generation can relate, but from what I observed today, my generation dances like there is no tomorrow. Furthermore, the movements and gestures were absurd. When we first saw the group come out, they were marching in sync. After a while they spread out and danced with their whole body, flinging everywhere, almost as if they lost control of their body. It was chaos to me because unlike the other, this one seemed sporadic. At some point in the dance, the audience could clearly see some of the group members randomly fall out of the group and try to return back in. I sense that this is how one loses control of themselves at a party and tries to regain memory as to what occurred. Moreover, the production elements helped to convey a message in the dance. For example, the music played during the dance was that of an electronic genre. It has a catchy beat that makes you feel like jumping up and down. There is a certain point where the beat drops and it becomes loud. In addition, the lighting was full of colors which contrasted well with the dancers’ costumes and this is what people usually where at rave parties. Given these points, I enjoyed the upbeat tempo after the gloomy dance just to keep me watching.

Next, the Dance Department put on a wistful dance called When It Pours, It Pours on All of Us. This dance made me feel various emotions. First, the audience can see the emotion through the calm of the rain. As time goes on, we see that there is a storm coming and it draws to a darker scene. The audience can see that the dancers feel dismal about something that is going on through their head. From what I obtained watching the dancers, the story shows two people: one holding the umbrella and the other dancing in the rain. The one holding the umbrella is the one who is okay mentally; however, the one dancing in the rain has problems feeling okay, almost as if they have been through something horrible or they feel stuck. Toward the end, the storm eases because we see the two dancers come together and hug it out, showing that the one under the umbrella is saying “you are not alone.” In addition, this closely relates to today's society because most of us do not feel okay, and we feel like it is the end of the world because we cannot get out of a certain situation. For example, people today suffer from mental illness. They feel like they are trapped and will never get out of their current situation, so they stay quiet when in reality, they are struggling; however, there are people out there who want to help those struggling. Moreover, the way movements and gestures were expressed were through body and arms. For example, there were moments when the dancers looked like they were climbing up, almost trying to escape from something. Then, the audience observes them jumping and running in the rain. There are moments where the dancers try to get under the umbrella, but somehow get pulled back into the rain. This looks like someone trying to escape their mental illness, but are having trouble doing so. Equally amazing was the production. In this case, there was no music, but the sound of the rain gives a tempo. No music gives us a sense that this dance is serious and not as joyful. They also had sounds of thunderstorms, and at the end, they had sunlight to show that there is always light at the end of a storm. As shown above, this dance gave a powerful message to those who struggle with mental illnesses.

The last dance was called On the Rocks. I found this dance astounding. There were two parts to this dance. The beginning of the dance gave off a romantic feel. It was clear in the emotions of the man and woman who were dancing passionately, that they were falling in love. The second part of the dance was the exact opposite. This one was more sensual and active. All the dancers took part in this final production and you could tell that they were enjoying each other’s company. I feel like this dance was set during the Jazz era. Additionally, the movements these couple expressed were familiar to jazz dances that I have seen. They start off close together and then start advancing in their jumps. Equally important, was the amazing production set. In other words, they set up a bar and stools to visualize where this dance was taking place. The jazz music connected especially well with the set. Lastly, the costumes were spot on. For instance, the clothing was able to represent this time period. Ultimately, this dance was incredible and perfect with the setting.

To summarize, I learned a lot from analyzing these dances using my own personal experience to determine how everything connects to our world through the expressive art of dance. I could definitely see how dance reflects society because many of the dances displayed issues that we experience in life these days. Two stories from the dances I enjoyed were Ask and Tell and When It Pours, It Pours on All of Us. I learned that dance as an art form can tell stories, effect emotions and make one think. I never saw dance as an art form before, I just thought it was a way to have fun and move your body to the beat of the music. After attending the Fall Dance theatre and completing the critical thinking assignment, it has opened my mind to a whole new world of the art of dance.