Tonight, I had the pleasure of attending the Queens College dance show, “Embracing Diversity.” From the beginning of the first performance, I knew a style had appeared that I’d seen before. The final performance of “Fall for Dance” was almost identical to this one, “Embracing Diversity” as far as style goes. The style of music is a mix of sounds that have a bit of a beat and is repeated over and over again. This is similar to the part in “Fall for Dance” when the dancers were dancing to the song with counted numbers. Now, I mentioned to a friend next to me that these dancers really have to rely on each other and make sure they’re in sync. This style is more about feeling the music than counting the music, because when a song is so repetitive, it’s easy to lose track of which part the song is at.

As far as the actual movement is concerned, the dance moves are performed slowly and are stretched out. It almost looks as if they’re dancing separately from the music. There is also a lot of twisting of the body, so it draws attention to the shapes that the dancers make. The dancers perform a set of these movements and then repeat them as the song repeats. In my opinion, a performance like this makes me think, which I appreciate, but I know that it also tries a lot of people’s patience. I believe that an audience can’t walk into a dance show and have a certain standard for the show to live up to. It’s like any art form: stay open minded and give it a chance.

My favorite part of the show was the final tap number of course! My professor, Marshall Davis Jr., choreographed the piece, and he used the style of Charlie Adkins. His style of tap is classy and clean. The tappers were dressed in suits, suspenders, and and fedoras, with tastefully placed gold sparkles around the costume. I want to mention an aspect that I found interesting, because I’ve discussed this with Professor Smaldone and Professor Marshall Davis: the use of arms. In this number, the choreography included use of the arms in unison. I always appreciate when they are, but I also expect that this was part of Adkins’ style.

I’m happy to share that “Embracing Diversity” will be performed on December 3rd and 4th as well in Rauthas Hall at the bottom floor! So come down and support the Queens College dance department!