Alessandro Sciarroni choreographed an impressive and entertaining feat in “Folk-s, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” The performance was a reimagining of traditional folk dances from Europe, extended over the course of nearly two hours. The performance began with a ring of dancers simultaneously repeating a rhythmic pattern of steps, stomps, and slaps. This pattern persisted throughout the rest of the show, acting as a foundation that was built upon and varied upon several times before the end of the show. Like this rhythmic pattern, a loose narrative also persisted through the performance. In the show, there was a vague premise of dancers who, like the audience, were allowed to exit the at any time but not allowed to return. Over the course of the show, each character departed, concluding when the final dancer walked off stage.
Sciarroni must be commended for choreographing a dance as intense and physically demanding as this. The dance, although consisting mainly of one short, repeated dance, lasted, continuously, for an incredibly long amount of time. By the time the performance had ended, the dancers were drenched in sweat and had palms that glowed red from slapping their thighs so much. It seemed exhausting to just do it once, but to know that these performers rehearsed this multiple times beforehand really illustrates the emotional dedication and physical commitment that these performers have. It’s admirable.
In addition to the physical impressiveness of the show, the entertainment that the show provided should not be overlooked. I enjoyed watching the show very much because of the appeal both visually and sonically. A dance performance, of course, creates its entertainment through the use of the human body’s movement. This show, however, also utilized the sounds created by the human body to entertain. The rhythm created by the dancers’ bodies was entrancing to hear and impressive to watch. Watching this performance brought to mind step team performances and the UK group STOMP, which focus on human percussion and percussion on everyday objects, respectively. Like “Folk-s,” they use the creation of rhythm as a main aspect of performance, which is just incredibly fun to watch.
While the show as a whole was very entertaining, it did have a weakness in its repetition. While the base rhythm underwent several variations throughout the show in order to diversify the performance sonically, there were some points where it felt like the repetitive rhythm was dragging on, leaving me longing for something different. However, these periods seemed to be transition periods, as they would be followed by standout moments, such as the “jumping” section performed by the final four performers, which was very intense and engaging.
I am very glad to have had the opportunity to watch this performance. It was extremely fun for myself, and I really enjoyed seeing the performers having fun as well. I really appreciated seeing the performers just having a good time, not being afraid to smile and laugh. The chemistry between performers is always important in a show. In this show, that chemistry was necessary to enhance the comedic moments of the show, but also seeing performers interact in such an innocent and unashamed way just made the performers more relatable and, therefore, the performance more engaging.
-Jaimee Rodriguez :^)
I agree with Jaimee that the show was very intensely physically demanding, and that is one of the things I admired the most about this piece of work. I liked this performance more than any of the others that we have seen. As an athlete I can truly appreciate the cardiovascular and muscular endurance that the performance required, and enjoyed it thoroughly throughout the entire performance. To perform the movement for 10 minutes to me would have seemed difficult, but to go on for hours and maintain the synchronization seems impossible. Alessandro Sciarroni must have obviously put in a great deal of work in order to perfect the movements and get himself and the other dancers to continue for such an extended period of time. I did not find many faults in the dance, and unlike Jaimee I considered the repetitiveness of the dance to be very entertaining. I enjoyed how the dance had a specific framework and everything else was built on from the base movements. I felt as if I watched the movement over a thousand times and it did not become jaded in the least.
I enjoyed the way that we, as an audience, became part of the storyline and in the end I felt a certain sadness in watching the final performer leave the stage. I sincerely enjoyed certain comical parts of the performance, and I appreciated the fact that the dancers were enjoying themselves. If nothing else was taken from the play, I couldn’t describe how much I appreciated the familiarity that the dancers’ smiles gave off. I enjoyed when at one point they would seem to mess up, and when their eyes gazed upon each others’, I saw genuine smiles. That says a lot about the passion that the dancers have for what they are doing, when it’s not a chore, rather an honor.
The one thing that I didn’t like too much, yet I didn’t mind too much either, was the fact that some of the dancers seemed to be out of sync for the comedic effect. At certain parts, I thought it was very appropriate and entertaining, but I felt that it was overdone. I enjoyed the music, but I feel as if the piece could have acted fine without the music in the middle. The final song seemed very appropriate because we as an audience had been in the story and almost felt a certain attachment to the dancers.
I entirely agree with Jaimee concerning the fact that I feel lucky to have seen this performance and I would most likely go to another like it if I had the chance to do so. I was engaged throughout the entire performance and I found myself having a whole lot of fun.