When I first found out that our class would be viewing a contemporary dance performance, I was intrigued and enthusiastic about what we were going to see. However, when Donna later elaborated that it was going to be an emotionally driven show complete with naked performers, I cannot lie when I say that I was feeling a little confused and apprehensive. Not too many teenagers my age can say that they have viewed such a mature piece of art and dance. But, taking Donna’s words with a grain of salt and using the knowledge gained after reading Wendy Oliver’s “Dance Critique”, I attempted to approach the performance with an open mind.
My first impressions of the show were of the perplexing sort. The stage—which wasn’t really a stage at all but more of an elevated floor space surrounded by seats—had nothing on it. No props, no anticipatory lights, no grand aura about it. There was, however, a naked woman with short, pixie hair strumming a rather uneasy set of chords on stage left (from my seat at least). Eventually, the woman stopped playing and went on to put on some interesting beads that made her look like Egyptian royalty. She walked around the audience and gave certain members of it concerned, almost angry stares. Then, the band off-stage began playing, and if I recall correctly, the bulk of the performance began.
As the show progressed, three other performers trickled onto the stage, all women, and each had their own unique look. I feel as though Spradlin had chosen these women because of their different body types. One was larger than the rest, while the other three filled in the rest of the body types that society considers the norm. The women seemed to be upset with their body types or their clothing because they eventually stripped and performed naked. At one point, they all left the stage and came back fully clothed. A few moments later, they danced but “seizured” out of their clothing. This was extremely powerful, and I am certain there are some meanings behind this that Spradlin purposefully put into her work.
The dancers were very sporadic in their movements. Aspects were either very blunt and short or flowed more and included more ballet qualities. They stomped around the stage, acted as if they were having spasms, but they would then transition into lifts that were quite elegant. At one point in the show—when they had all stripped of their clothes—the dancers walked as if they were on a runway. It was powerful and meaningful. One of them screamed “Do it!”, and they would turn. I’m unsure about this aspect, but if I am correct, I believe it was supposed to be reminiscent of society and how society always tells women what to do.
“beginning of something” had to have been an emotional satire about society and how it treats women. The women wore clothes but were unhappy in them. Perhaps they are wearing these articles of clothes only to please those around them. The runway part of the performance exemplifies my point. The woman who screamed “Do it!” was, in my opinion, mimicking the loud noises of a negative society. The women did not want to be in their clothes. The clothes could have represented society; they wanted to leave society and be their own people.
Another way of viewing the performance is solely through the eyes of a woman. I am not a female, but after having talked to a few after the show I felt a new perspective open up. Perhaps the women were unhappy with their bodies. Perhaps the reason they hated their clothes was because of their unhappiness with their bodies. Their clothes could have, once again, represented society; society is like a poison sometimes. It can slowly kill people when people feel like they do no fit in, and this is something the dancers were trying to convey.
At the end of the show, after all of the seizures, spins, awkward stares, and dances, I felt like Spradlin put together a powerful performance that is relatable to most people and generations. Society can target people—women especially—and tear them apart. Through the use of minimalistic tactics, Spradlin was able to showcase a huge, negative facet of our society. Perhaps we can take what we saw at this performance and make for a more accepting society.
