They didn’t just leap; Impact twirled, flirted, kicked, cartwheeled, and flipped their way through the weekend. Friday and Saturday evening dancers filled the Power Center with their movement and everything from The Cinematic Orchestra to Britney Spears. More than just the music was varied: Impact performed contemporary, modern, competition, and cheer inspired dances, along with one hip-hop piece. To add to there were also guest performances by Rhythm (a tap dance group), G-Men (an all male acappella group) and The Friars (another male acappella group). All the guests were amazing! At one point The Friars and Impact collaborated on a piece. Impact danced a visually dynamic contemporary performance, as the Friars sang “Run to You”. It was a special treat!
But of course the headliners were Impact. Although at times the show reminded me of an end of the year dance recital, with the dad sitting two rows ahead of me filming the whole thing on his little tripod and many of my fellow audience members shouting out their friends names like we were at a sporting event, I enjoyed the variety of dance and it was visually pleasing. I was surprised by the number of costumes! There was a new one for every dance, a small fact that added to the story of each. In terms of movement, there were a few too many times that a hairflip counted as a dance move for my taste. The group as a whole struggled consistently with spacing, so that often at least one person was hidden behind someone awkwardly.
The actual patterns of movement themselves were pretty ingenious at times. The choreography and dancers used the stage space effectively. Perhaps my favorite example of this from the night was the modern dance to the song “9 Crimes” by Damien Rice. At one point there were three different groups dancing at the same time, each something different, but the movement’s complimented each other in such a way that it looked almost cohesive. And then the groups crossed and intersected in some really cool movement patterns. It took up the whole stage and got every dancer involved so the effect was really powerful.
Impact dances well in unison and together as an ensemble. They seem to have a strong intergroup connectedness, as well as a love for what they do. The show was highly energized, emotional, and vibrant! Having created all those dances themselves, their dedication translated to the audience and made for a night that almost had me leaping home.
