Complexions Contemporary Ballet at The Joyce Theatre was the first modern dance performance I’ve seen. I found contemporary dance to be interesting because it doesn’t follow the normal forms and rules like other forms of dance, like ballet. What surprised me was what the article said about how contemporary dance sometimes ignores the music altogether, so I paid special attention to how music played in a role in the performance.
At the beginning, during the performance of Head Space, I felt slightly uncomfortable because of the dissonance in the music that was playing. At one time the dancers were in pairs and each pair danced their own routine. This goes with the dissonance in the music in that it seemed messy and uncontrolled. I found this especially interesting because it was unlike other dance performances I’ve seen in which they were usually in unison. I didn’t know which pair to look at since there were so many different things happening on stage. There were a lot of push and pull in their dance between the pairs that made them complement each other.
I was able to see how they emphasized the use of different muscles. I noticed many times the use of the Martha Graham stance, which we tried in class. While it looked simple, we realized that it was actually quite difficult. It takes a lot of strength to dance while staying in that position and the dancers even did it on tiptoes!
My favorite part of the performance was the final dance, The Groove. It was different from the rest of the dances in that the music was upbeat and energetic, making it lively and exciting. The lights were also brighter and moved around the stage adding to the overall effect of the mood that was portrayed.
Throughout the whole dance, I was constantly thinking about how talented the dancers were and how much practice and effort they must have put in the performance. Overall, I definitely enjoyed the experience.
Cornell University Campus
Last weekend, I went to visit my friend who is attending Cornell University. During my stay on the campus, it was impossible not to notice the extraordinary architecture for which the university is known, such as the physical science building, and the McGraw tower, which was designed by William Henry Miller and currently serves as Cornell’s most prominent landmark. As seen in this picture, it is a highly impressive structure, and in real life, it is even more remarkable.
McGraw Tower
Cornell’s Physical Science Building
However, Cornell does not only have amazing architectural structures, but also amazing dance teams. On one of the days, my friend and I went to watch a dance show that was put up by the numerous dance teams that the university has. The dance was performed in Bailey Hall, which is also a beautiful building that was perfectly appropriate for this performance.
From the very first moment, I was really impressed with the number of people that came to see the show. No seats were left empty, and as seen in the picture below, there are MANY seats in Bailey Hall!
Bailey Hall- Outside View
Bailey Hall- Inside View
Once the show began, I was captivated by the costumes that each group of dancers had. Each set of costumes matched the theme and mood of the dance, and it was evident that much effort was put into them.
There were different types of dances performed, such as belly dancing, hip-hop, contemporary, Latin, ballroom, Indian, and tap dancing among others. The dancers were very talented, though I especially noticed a few particular dancers. These dancers were so talented to the extent that they were able to not just dance for the sake of dancing, but also to become actors and get into the character that the dance was supposed to represent.
As we have also seen in the contemporary dance show Complexions, dance is a form of art that appeals to its audience with no words, and sometimes even with no music. Body language can be so powerful that it can tell us a whole story through the portrayal of emotions and different types of movements. Undoubtedly, the dancers of Cornell were able to do just that!
Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take videos, but I was able to take a few pictures, though their quality is not the best.
Belly Dancing
Belly Dancing
Hip-Hop
Indian Dancing
Salsa/Latin dancing
Latin dancing
It is needleless to say that I had really enjoyed watching this two-hour dance performance!
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