Dance Concert

This past Sunday I went and saw the Escaped Images Dance Concert, which was a wonderful collection of dances in tribute to the dance instructor, Ginger Folmer, since she'll be retiring this year. Now, I have a hard time understanding interpretive dance so a few of the acts, such as A Kinetic Study in Chuck Taylors, were incomprehensible to me but I was able to appreciate the unity amongst the dancers and the form. A Kinetic Study in Chuck Taylors was interesting in terms of how it was performed; all the dancers wore black pants, Hawaiian print shirts and Chucks. I was impressed at the dancers' flexibility in chucks, yet I was confused sometimes because I wasn't sure if the dancers truly were offbeat or if they were supposed to be offbeat because often they weren't in harmony. The choreography however for each dance act was impressive, and the music accompaniment was also great. A few acts that were memorable, were Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Paper Pushing 101. Crazy Little Thing Called Love was the quintessential 1950s at the hop sequence, with Michael Buble singing and the swing dancers. The costumes were of the period, and the entire act was engaging and simply fun. Couldnt help but tap your foot along with the beat, and you could see that the dancers themselves were having fun. Paper Pushing 101 was really interesting, and relatable to the college student, because the basic plot is a dance about writing a paper late at night. The harmony between the music and dance sequence was wonderful, such as the scene when lying in a circle on the floor, the dancers moved their legs to the sound of a typewriter. It was really a comedy too because the audience couldnt help but laugh when the dancers were in a line, brushing their teeth and all of a sudden a brawl begins begin between two writers. It was really a funny piece, and well performed. Another act, Discovering What's Important, had a comical, and serious plot that focused on relationships. The beginning started out with two girls and a boom box dancing off and suddenly one of the girls is whisked away by a serious, interpretive dancer. The rest of the piece shows the girl struggling to decide whether to stay with her friends, and be who she really is; or to go off with the guy who wants her to change (this is shown when he gives her a set of clothes that match his) who she is instead of accepting her difference. The street dancers randomly appear back on stage throughout her dances with the guy and her decision-making, and ends with her returning back to the dance off. The ending was really neat because the lights were turned off and all the dancers wore glow in the dark bands, which created a really interesting stage performance. The dance concert was really a great showcase of what the dancers have been working on, and also what Ginger Folmer has overseen. I wasnt able to understand all the performances, but I did walk away with a greater appreciation of interpretive dance.