The Fall for Dance Festival was the first live performance I have ever been to and I was not disappointed. I arrived and waited outside the theater with my classmates as the audience swarmed inside to find their seats. The environment was a lively bright city night and positive vibes as I walked through the door. Watching similar videos of the performances in class prepared me for what I was expected to see and I kept a keen eye for the meanings of the dances instead of the acrobatic skills. Although, all the performer did show an array of dance moves, more important was the meaning behind the performance. The first performance was lively and kept me on the edge of my seat as the group told a story of Mexican Immigrants in America. It was full of beautiful ballet performs, positive energy, and some comedy in the mix. This performance was specifically eye opening because I could relate as an Egyptian American immigrant. It explained the struggles of living this double life and being misunderstood. However, performer Brazos Abbiertos and Michelle Manzanales looked at the bright side, danced and flew in the air in happiness. This was also one of the only performances that brought a couple people from the audience to their feet.
The second performance was a Tango that described a love story between a Hispanic man and woman. The man and woman were dancing together happily, but this wouldn’t have been such an entertaining performance if the man did not get drunk. I loved how he held the champagne bottle, swayed left and right, with his dress shirt untucked displaying an event that happens in real life. My favorite part is when the performers were dancing their way off stage, but drunk Acosta Danza had to wave at audience before the exit.
The third act included diversity by contradicting so called “norms” and had a beautifully organized dance by the couple Junior Cervilla and Guadalupe Garcia. The performance began with one of the laying helplessly on the stage and the other slowly approaching him with acrobatic ballet moves. The music had a sorrow tone as if they had not met yet. However, when the two men touched each other, they displayed happiness and stayed very close together for most of the performance.
All in all, this was a spectacular night and showed me that New York is filled with lots of theaters and art. I had only went to a Broadway show in the third grade and never visited any type of performing arts events. Last Friday changed that and I look forward to taking more trips like that.
