The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

I have to be honest, when the show first started, I thought to myself, “oh it’s one of those dance performances.” I thought it would just be a lot of strange dance moves to equally strange music. I didn’t really like the first performance, THE CURVE, at all. The music choice was really irritating for me because they chose the pitch that makes my eardrums feel as if they were going to burst and I didn’t particularly like the choreography; It seemed more mechanical than the dances I prefer that tells a story or is filled with emotions. Although it did show me that the dancers were very talented.

The next few performances I liked a lot more, but they still couldn’t really get the aftertaste of the very first one out of my mouth, so I was not enjoying it as much as I could have and I felt guilty for it. It wasn’t until the performance the students were in started that I really started getting into it. The performances were much more upbeat, and the choreography seemed to match the music and lighting a lot better, even if this is just my personal preference. I can’t remember which one was performed first but out of the two dances that we got to see I think I liked the one accompanied by “Children Go Where I Stand Thee” more than the one accompanied by “Pray On/ Hold On”. Both of them were amazing. When I first saw them, I thought to myself, “wow, are these supposed to be the students? This is better than the previous ones by far,” although my words weren’t quite as articulate during the actual performance, I believe my actual words were along the lines of, “Damn, dey good.”
The thing about “Children Go Where I Stand Thee” that I really liked, was how well everything seemed to fit together. The costumes seemed to match the music really well and made me start making up my own little story in my head. Then the choreography followed the lyrics and beats in a way that set a certain mood that made me think of a church group down South where there isn’t quite as much money as there could have been, but filled with hope.

Then there was SUBJECT TO CHANGE. It was the best performance done by the Complexions Troupe before the intermission. I could really feel the emotions coming from the performers. The choreography also told a great story, I thought it was about a relationship that was great and brimming with love but as time passed the relationship became strained and it seems that the woman is ready to end the relationship while the man isn’t ready to accept that. I couldn’t find the actual story behind it so that is just what I think it was about. Edgar Anido and Christina Dooling were also amazing in this piece and is the main reason they are up on my top five dancers of the performance. It was the first performance where I could sense and see the emotions coming from the dancers themselves rather than just from the music or choreography. The emphasis in the motions, and the facial expressions were all factors into why I loved this dance.

Because the pictures are too big to actually insert into the post I will link them instead, this one is from SUBJECT TO CHANGE
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The other performance I enjoyed was called MEMORIES and was performed by Mark Caserta and D. Gary W. Jeter. It was the performance where the two of them were wearing normal street clothes and there was a man, Nick Demopoulos, sitting off to the side playing his electric acoustic guitar. It was refreshing change from the previous dances that were harder to understand and connect to. It’s also partially because of this performance that Mark is one of the top five dancers from the performance, in my book, although he was even better in PRETTY GRITTY SUITE.
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And my favorite performance of the night, and most likely most of yours’ as well, was PRETTY GRITTY SUITE. It was the long dance performance that covered the entire second half after the intermission ended. I loved the bright lighting and the yellow costumes; it was really great to have the mood pick up and have the pace change from slow and sad to fast and exciting. The way they incorporated the tambourines was something I really liked because it reminded me of the first live dance performance I went to as a child and they did the same thing. The whole thing made me feel like i was walking into a ritzy Las Vegas Casino and just looking around and seeing all the different people there. It was just so fun to watch and before I realized it, my legs had started to move along with the music. It was this performance that made me want to start dancing and play some Just Dance on the Kinect.
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http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/486160_10151164782978892_986502279_n.jpg

I’d have to give it a 8.5 out of 10; I really liked it.

Oh, as for the other two people in my top five dancers, I couldn’t find them. Their names are on the playbill but I don’t know who is who, and there are some things even Google can’t find.