Having never been to a dance performance before I didn’t really know what to expect. I sat in my seat, anxious for the performance to began so I could get home early (I did not). The lights dimmed and suddenly everyone was very quiet. The curtains revealed a line of dancers and the music began.
The show was opened up by the Miami City Ballet, performing Wheeldon’s, Polyphonia. The ballerinas danced across the stage with their delicate, but exact movements. Pretty soon I was entranced by something other than the dancers on stage, their shadows. With the light source projected directly in front of the dancers, their shadows were clearly projected on the blank background behind them. When the ballerinas would twirl, they’re shadows would to, but it almost seemed like a cartoon strip or animation when looking solely at the silhouettes dancing across a white canvas.
Looking at the shadows reminded me of a music box my mother once had that would open to reveal a tiny plastic ballerina who would twirl to a tune when the the metal wind up key was cranked. Pretty soon I was only paying attention to the shadows, how they moved, and became bigger and smaller as the dancers moved closer or further from the light.
I began to wonder if this was done on purpose, or maybe the lights were the same for every performance. But as the Miami City Ballet concluded their performance the same light technique was not used again and the shadows did not return.
