Fall for Dance Review

My vague memory of the Nutcracker Ballet was the only previous experience I had watching a dance performance. I entered Fall For Dance at the New York City Center, excited and open minded. Ready to be introduced to this thing called modern dance.
Merce Cunningham Dance Company opened their performance with their piece “Xover.” The first thing to catch my attention was that everything on stage was white except for a simple drawing on the top left hand corner of the background, that added a happy feeling to the stage. I was confused when dancers came out and started their routine with no background music, but I attributed this to being a style I wasn’t used to yet and tried to keep watching without judgment. I admired their toned bodies and exactness of their movements. There was in fact, some loose form of music in the background. I was made aware of this when I stretched over my neighbor’s seat to see a woman sitting in the front corner of the stage, making noises that seemed quite odd to me. As the performance went on, I let go of my initial bias and let this quirky music churn in my mind. The music she made was courageous; all alone she created laughs, gargles, howls, and noises they haven’t invented words for yet. Weather you liked it or not, she caught your attention. What had first seemed like a disjointed menagerie or portrait, dance, and music, evolved into a strange, but unified and interesting piece.
The second piece was Gallim Dance’s “I Can See Myself in Your Pupil.” The music promised that this would be more upbeat and lively than the first performance, but the dancing made it much more than even that. “An exhilarating suite of wildly quirky dances,” the description given by the playbill, just doesn’t cover it. The dancers in bright dresses with varying colors put on a show that was so captivating it felt like it only lasted a minute, but every second of that minute was appreciated and enjoyable. The most amazing part of the dance was that with the plain white background, the shadows of the dancers were projected on the screen in different sizes depending on their position in the stage, morphing and blending into one another. It created a second performance that was different but equally as appealing as the original; at times I didn’t know which to watch. This piece certainly added a new unexpected flavor to the tone that was set by Xover.
“Vistaar,” by Madhavi Mudgal was the most traditional of the dances, paired with the most traditional attire. The bells on their ankles added a distinct sound to the music that was sometimes repetitive, and more closely linked the two forms of art. The movements in their dance were neatly structured; every move of the four main women was following the lead of one older woman, who seemed like a mother figure to them. This piece was beautiful, but it was unclear to me why it fit in with the other three. I questioned where the originality and spunk was that I had seen in the previous two pieces.
Finally, Miami City Ballet put on a great performance to finish off the show called “The Golden Section”, which brought back the spirit the audience exuded during the second piece. This dance more than any other, showcased the dancers physical abilities. A golden lights and costumes prepared me for a top-notch dance, and they did not disappoint (although at times it seemed a little too similar to the second performance.) The dancers threw and swung each other around, and made their light, flexible bodies anything from stepping-stones to swings. Fall for Dance left me with an appreciation for dance I never thought I would grow.