“Did you Fall for Dance?” the playbill says loud and clear at the top. I’d say yes, I have. The ninth annual Fall for Dance Festival showcased five unique programs, an interesting mix of modernized cultural dances by companies from all around the world: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, The Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Russia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The show started with lively music entertained by glittery ballerinas twirling across the stage like stars across the sky. Although the beautiful movements blended well with the composition of the music, the group choreography was very repetitive and without a storyline. I was able to predict the next step. The ballerinas of Grand Pas From Paquita were not in sync, which became very distracting from enjoying the show. As a group, they lost synchronization with the music. The power and the emotions conveyed from the music was not the same way as the sensations conveyed in their dance. Though the opening performance started off disappointing, the ballerinas progressively showed improvement in their dance as the music slowed down and their dance steps were lighter. The solos were much more exciting and received much more applause from the audience. One particular dancer thrilled the audience with her leaping entrance and graceful steps. The male dancers harmoniously danced about the stage to the beat of the music.
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Curtains closed and opened to a unique, amazingly choreographed, and humorously done, High Heel Blues. Although outfitting in non-traditional ballet attire, the two dancers, one male, one female, pranced around delicately barefoot and on their toes expressing the story sang in the blues song playing. The audience responded with laughter and smiles. If a performance causes a change in the audience’s emotions, then it is a good performance.
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The third performance, Tarian Malam, was weak; the suspense it could have made with the sluggish movements and silence seemed to take forever until there were finally some drum hitting and energy in the dancers. The costumes were interesting though. The theme was clearly red; the lighting had matched their bright fiery clothing. When they did begin to move to the beat, there were a lot of head shaking, and their hair was flying, which emphasized on energy. Only for a few minutes of energy until they died down to slow steps again. It was clear the performance confused the audience when numerous individuals began to pay more attention to themselves and could not help but let out a cough. Its brief description explains that this showpiece is a contemporary narrative about the earthquake that struck in 2009, but it was very difficult to feel the same emotions through the performance.
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The concluding performances were a wonderful mix of faster-paced dancing, which brought the audience’s mood back up again. The Russian collection, Moiseyev’s Classics, caused “ooo’s” and “ahh’s” to echo the theater. The Dance of Bessarabia Gypsies was very festive with their decorated and colorful dresses. The men dancing in Tatarotchka amused the audience with their shoulder dances and quick feet.
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Fall for Dance left a wonderful impression of contemporary dance. Will you fall for dance?
