Ryan Loredo
A&E Editor
Every dance performance is nothing without one central figure in production, the choreographer.
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The practice of choreography ranges from on-Broadway performances to amateur art dance showcases.
In the case of KSC aspiring dance students one showcase in particular is essential for some of their careers.
The Choreography Dance Showcase at KSC’s Mabel Brown Room on Dec. 9 was a showcase devoted to student choreography.
According to KSC Dance Professor William Seigh, the showcase “is the culmination of Theatre and Dance 318, also known as Researching Choreography, so it’s the culminating event of that course that the students in the class have been working on this class and these pieces over the course of the semester.”
The show started off with a performance choreographed by KSC senior Anna Peterson titled “Strung.”
The pieces involved the dancers dancing beyond the limits of the stage and keeping in perfect unison as they twirled and leaped on and off the stage until they were taken by the darkness.
KSC sophomore Gabriella Pacheco danced in the piece and said the dance was “about moving on from school and understanding that everyone was going through the same thing basically and relying on others.”
After “Strung” came a dance by another KSC senior, Ashley Taylor.
“45 Past the Hour” was a piece of perfect unison and could be compared to clockwork. The dancer’s steps were silent and the gold outfits added to the cog-driven music beats. The piece ended in the dancers frozen on stage just as the music stopped, almost as if time stood still.
A cavalcade of claps began and the next piece, by KSC senior Allison Lee Relihan, titled “La Lun,” began with the darkly dressed dancers moving in strong motions coupled with loud breathes of exhaustion.
With no music the constant breathes added a more human connection to the piece.
The dancers piled on each other in a form of desire mixed with self rejection. The most notable move the dancers performed was hugging each other’s foot while being pushed away.
After some time a fourth dancer entered the stage dressed in a brightly colored outfit. Music started as soon as she came on stage and she eventually led the dancers to exit stage left as she sang the song, “Dead Meadow Bird.” KSC senior Richard Ouellette commented on the piece he danced in, saying, “It’s sort of a core theme that appears in the piece is taking care of people.”
He went on to say, “A huge image that we used as like a going off point is the moon itself it was a really fun piece to work with.”
“Shadows,” a piece choreographed by KSC senior Samantha Gardner, was more colorful than both its predecessor and title.
The duet featured aqua colored dancers moving in fluid motion. KSC dancer and sophomore Emily Oleksak commented the piece’s meaning which was, “to be shadows, from the beginning of the day to the end of the day.”
The next piece of the night was titled “Epilogue” by KSC senior Samantha Gardner. The dance featured bright lights, good music, and modern outfits. KSC sophomore and dancer Alexander Davis commented on the piece saying, “‘Epilogue’ was a piece, it was very personal to the choreographer, it was about her experiences last year and about moving forward with a new support system that she found in her friends and leaving behind things that she didn’t want to deal with anymore and entering the next phase of her life.”
This support system was symbolized by two duets switching on and off partners while they supported each other in leaps and bounds on stage.
After “Shadows” came a ten-minute intermission, followed by a very dramatic piece titled “No Time” by KSC junior Michelle Davy. The piece started with the dancers behind the curtain convulsing to white noise. The dancers then appeared on stage to the sound of a gong. The four performers moved in both unison formation and dramatic convulsive self-hitting moves. The dancers ended in darkness while on the floor.
The darkness filled with the sounds of a clapping ovation and the lights grew in intensity as the next dance by KSC senior Deidre Lewis titled “For There is Always Something to See” began with a poem about life’s untouched moments. His dancers performed to the verses and stanzas of the poem and then switched off with the music to a more animalistic and diverse dance formation.
The dancer truly extended his body’s limits on the stage.
The eighth dance was then on stage after the audience gave their approval.
The purple dressed dance titled “Equilibrium” was by KSC senior Stephanie Gemme. The dancers all moved in sync with both the beat and each other.
They were all influenced by each other’s moves to the point of perfect unison and ended with all the dancers representing an invisible beat with their hands.
Black-starred outfits were present on the stage for the ninth dance of the night. “Night Flight,” choreographed by KSC junior Lindsey Arceci, had the space influence all around the stage from lighting to music.
The final performance of the evening was a piece titled “The Glorious Trees” by KSC senior Riley Ahern. The piece was an excerpt from her original work and involved a multitude of dancers all dressed in black and performing confusing and energetic movements.
The music was a mix of drum beats and slashing noises which coupled with sudden vibrating movements by each individual dancer.
Senior Alison McCrae commented on the piece saying, “The section was kind of portraying anger for the choreographer.” The dance ended in both darkness and a loud ovation.
Professor William Seigh commented on the event saying, “It was very well crafted.” One of these dances will be selected for a future event. Seigh said, “We do select work from this performance and also from the finals from the other classes.”
He went on to say, “The work is reviewed and revised and worked on over the course of the spring semester and they will be shown in Evening of Dance in the spring.”
Ryan Loredo can be contacted at rloredo@keene-equinox.com