The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

Complexions was definitely an eye-opening experience that forever changed my view of modern dance. The synchronized, precise movements of the dancers combined with the wide variety of different music styles to satisfy everyone’s taste in dance.

At first, I thought that the dancing would be slow and boring, because that was my impression of the first dance, THE CURVE. I didn’t really enjoy the music or the introductory dance routine. However, after the intermission when certain people got awarded for their work in contemporary dance, the dances got more livelier and the stories they told were more interesting.

One of the dances I liked was MEMORIES, where the two street boys danced to the song Time After Time. It was really interesting seeing this popular song being danced to in this new style that I’ve never seen before. And the musician didn’t seem to steal any attention towards himself, allowing the audience to focus on the dancers.

Then, most of the performances with Christina Cooling (the Ukrainian) were awesome as she was certainly the star of the show. Her love story in SUBJECT TO CHANGE really portrayed the immense skill a dancer has to contain to incorporate a story into her movements. But really, every performance she was in was an enjoyable performance.

Another really good performance was the finale, PRETTY GRITTY SUITE, when the professional dancers and the students danced together in one big collaboration of beautiful costumes, tempo, music, and choreography. The incorporation of tambourines into the performance just proved how talented these people were, as they became musicians as well as dancers.

Overall, after the mood of the performances went up and the songs became recognizable, the performances really became mind-blowing. It was amazing that we got to watch the show from so close, allowing us to see the sweat-drenched, yet always smiling faces of the dancers. It’s definitely something I would want to watch again in the future.