This was definitely one of the more relaxing performances we have been on. Our past visits to performances required us to listen as well as watch what was happening on stage, and understand the plots, and the artist’s intent but for this performance, I was able to just close my eyes and listen. There were less boundaries in this performance, since the music predominately appealed to our ears, I felt more freedom to sit back, relax, close my eyes. The funny thing about this performance was that I felt more engaged with what was happening on stage even though I wasn’t watching. My heart rate would increase and I would feel nervous and tense when the music escalated to match the plot’s climax, and the story I was creating in my head that went along with the music would also change accordingly. When I did open my eyes, I loved watching the first violinist’s movements, she really had a stage presence among the many musicians surrounding her. Maybe it was her seating position on stage or the way she used her whole body to play the violin, it was just captivating. Not only her, but every musician seemed to show a bit of their own personality and style of playing in the way they moved to the music. I really appreciate how music can affect your mood, and the different senses that it indirectly affects. Relating this back to Fall for Dance, when many responses (myself included) were about music and how it made the listeners feel, I could feel the uneasiness of the situation in Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest and jumping on the bandwagon, this piece was easily my favorite from Thursday’s performance.

— Chloe Chai