To be honest, I did not know what to expect upon arriving at this show. I am not so big on dancing, and my expectations were set low. The first act, Miami City Ballet’s “Polyphonia” was rather interesting. It started off really cool, with the ballet dancers all on stage together in synchronization. When the dancers began to separate into pairs, I found the performance to be a little boring; however, they all came back together in the end, finishing off with a strong ending. This was the first dance festival that I had ever been to, and I was excited to see what was going to come next!
After sitting in my chair for about seven minutes when the first act ended, I immediately looked up when someone yelled “ooh, look at that smoke!” I saw the stage fill with haze and heard a bird whistling softly. At first, I thought a bird somehow got into the building, or that maybe my mind was playing a trick on me. The sound, however, continually grew louder. With the lights slowly dimming, a man suddenly appeared on the stage, quickly making his way through the smoke. He had on a rather odd facial expression, and all of a sudden, he created a small circular shape with this mouth, and began to whistle. This man was the bird. Not only did he imitate a bird’s voice, but he began to mimic its actions. I was definitely a bit weirded out, but the energy that this man radiated really kept me captivated. I could not take my eyes off of him. When he finished, he smiled boldly and took a bow. It truly seemed like he was enjoying himself, so I commend him for that.
The next act, Trisha Brown Dance Company’s “You can see us” creeped me out a fair amount. The music sounded medieval and I could not figure out exactly what was going on. I am absolutely sure that some people had different thoughts and reactions towards this dance, but I was not the biggest fan. The lighting and music made my head spin a bit. My reflection of this act will not do much justice, so I will attach a picture below for your enjoyment:
Last but not least, came Dorrance Dance “Myelination.” I was truly entranced by the entire performance put on by this group. Their take on modern tap dance was incredible. I waited all day to see it live in action, after watching some clips in class. I did not expect it to be as amazing as it was. All I have to say is WOW. The dancers were all in sync; they seemed to enjoy themselves while putting on a serious performance; and they created an entire story without having to say a single word. I could watch Dorrance Dance for hours on end without getting tired of it. Overall, the show was great. Each act was very unique and entrancing, and having Dorrance Dance finish off was the perfect plan.
