Complexions
Complexions was definitely a very pleasant surprise to see. I had originally thought that we would be seeing weird dance choreography and dancers essentially writhing on stage like the “contemporary” things you see in movies. Instead, I was amazed to find that the dances were, although different, all very cohesive pieces and I really enjoyed the performance.
I was definitely a skeptic as I walked into the theater but when the performance ended I was definitely a believer in Contemporary ballet. It has all of the professionalism as traditional ballet but also livens up the originally stiff movements by incorporating different styles of music and I think also different genres of dance such as social dance and street dancing.
My favorite piece was the second one they performed called “Memories” where the dancers danced to an acoustic guitar. That particular dance stood out to me because It was the most different one from my expectations. It might have been because the dancers were dressed in casual wear, but the dance reminded me of some break-dancing or street dance performances I’d seen before. I liked how well the choreography was blended and all the moves transitioned into each other really nicely. The guitar was a little bit distracting but it was nice to have a live accompaniment to the dance.
About two weeks ago when we were discussing the difference between professionals and non-professionals, it was mentioned that there would be a difference of at least 10,000 hours in amount of experience or practice. I believed that piece of information but I only really got to understand it fully when I saw the dancers perform along with the students from New Orleans. The students were very talented and some of the things they did were really great but there was definitely a difference in I guess the refinement of the moves they used in their dance as compared to the movements of the dancers from the company. This isn’t to say that they don’t have the potential to be as great as the other dancers but just that the company dancers were definitely more fit both physically and experience wise. There was more fluidity to the movements of the company dancers and the way they held their poses in the dance were more steady and the lines they made were more clear. That is where I understood the whole idea of the 10,000 hours and that practice really does make perfect.
Overall, I really enjoyed the performance and I was really happy seeing it. My hands were definitely red from clapping too hard and my face was stretched from smiling to much but it was really worth it and I’m glad I was able to see it.
Posted: November 20th, 2012 under Uncategorized.
