Our trip last Tuesday to the Fall for Dance Festival was the first time that I had ever seen a dance performance on stage. Initially, I wasn’t too interested in the ballet or Trisha Brown performances, but I did think the Dorrance Dance performance would be fun from what we saw in the videos. When we got there, the theater was extravagant. The stage itself was quite plain, but each performance had a different theme.
For me, I thought starting off with the ballet was a great introduction of dance. The setting and music were simple, and the movements were graceful, but complex. The dancers did a really good job of showing the dynamic that a relationship can have in dance. I realized how importance precision is when it comes to ballet. All of the dancers had to be in sync, with every spin and leap they did across the stage. In my head, I kept questioning how it was possible for six to eight people to be in complete synchronicity.
Trisha Brown’s choreography left me in awe because of how different it was from the other two performances. The two women dancing alongside each other was intriguing, because I didn’t realize that one was acting as a mirror, or reflection, of the other until halfway into the performance. It must have taken a lot of time and effort to perfect the angles, so that the audience could not see the other dancer’s face. Also, the male dancer who acted as a bird was both comedic and thrilling.The whistling bird noises and his imitation of the animal was truly captivating; I couldn’t take my eyes off of his performance because I kept wondering what was going to happen next.
My favorite performance was definitely the Dorrance Dance company because of how exciting and fast-paced it was. I liked how it started off with an urban vibe, with the choreography supported by live music. I thought the use of piano, guitar, and the occasional “ooh’s” in song really helped paint the setting for the performance. I also liked how, with tap, you can easily differentiate between the loud, powerful steps, and the softer, lighter taps. Before watching the Fall for Dance festival, I always assumed tap was straightforward, plain, and old-fashioned. Now that I’ve seen the performance, all I can say is that tap is a lot more lively and energetic than I thought. Dorrance was able to weave a storyline within the performances, having each dancer perform a solo, and sometimes a duet.
Ultimately, going to the Fall for Dance festival has opened my eyes to experiencing different styles of dance. I’m glad that I was able to watch three different types of performances, each one equally interesting and exciting in its own way. However, I think that I’m more of a fan of upbeat music and fast-paced choreography. None the less, I plan on going to more exciting dance performances in the future, jazz, hip-hop, the salsa, and the tango.
