Although Pioneer’s Fame was a high school production, neither the subject matter nor the incredible performances that I was witness to were elementary. The maturity of these students to tackle such complex issues such as addiction, body image, racial bias, and more was impressive. They handled each of these scenarios with care and honesty- you could tell that they had done the research and done the work to portray these with as much delicacy and respect as they possibly could. In addition to the challenges that embodying these roles with these issues presented, they were also singing, dancing, acting, and performing complicated lifts. The sheer array of art forms that I saw during this performance was almost enough to make me feel like I was at a variety show. Isa Grofsorean as Iris Kelly brought such grace and poised strength every time that she began a ballet sequence. I was simply entranced by the choreography and its execution, especially on the small stage with which she had to perform it. Kenyatta Campbell was easy to love as a character. He brought a fire and drive to Tyrone Jackson and not only that, he had a contagious energy when dancing, singing, rapping, and just in his interactions with other characters. We, as a collective audience, rooted for him through and through. Bridget Roberts as Serene Katz was remarkable. Her voice is the kind of perfect that you stop everything to listen to and could listen to on end without ever ceasing. The way in which she switches with great dexterity from her belt to her head voice, while all the while making it seem effortless, is incredible. Bravo to her. Mia Galbraith as Carmen Diaz, is a true triple threat. Not only does she absolutely annihilate (in the best way) potentially the most complex, impressive, and most fun numbers in the first act and potentially whole show but she also comes out in the second act to wow the audience again with her dance skill in a flamenco-style piece while simultaneously juggling perhaps the most complex and tragic storyline. I applaud her immensely, for closing out her senior year with this truly beautiful performance. Francisco Fiori as Joe Vegas was wildly hilarious. His number, “can’t keep it down”, whilst a bit inappropriate, almost had me in tears. It speaks to his versatility as a performer, as this role departs majorly from previous parts he has had as the grandpa in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the dad in In the Heights. Seeing him play a youthful and comical class clown, who also has some pretty great dancing chops, was a refreshing change of pace and truly made me appreciate this actor for all he has to offer. Ella Manning as Mabel Washington brought the house down with her vocals, as she sang about changing her major. Her story was as engaging to watch as it was to listen to her fill the auditorium with her powerful, beautiful voice. The entire ensemble and rest of the cast, who I couldn’t possibly have time to name one by one, but who all deserve recognition were phenomenal. I don’t think I have ever seen a show that more perfectly showcased the talents of each of its students while also maintaining the integrity of what truly was an ensemble show. I truly felt that this show could have been performed at a performing arts high school, that’s how impressive it all was. This show had me wanting to give a standing ovation by the end of the first number, and if that doesn’t sum up the experience, then I don’t know what does. Overall, this show rocked me in every was that a person can be. Between wanting to laugh and cry and throw roses at the actors feet, I can’t give enough props to the incredible cast and crew who made this show look and sound great from start to finish.
Category: Arts
PREVIEW: FAME
RUN to see Pioneer High School’s production of FAME!
Based off the classic movie and set in the iconic New York High School of the Performing Arts, Fame showcases the many talents of its performers. The lives of the students that the show follows couldn’t be more different. Some are trying to break out of the shadow of their family’s legacy, some are a little too obsessed with finding fame, and some are trying to hack it at a prestigious school that couldn’t be any more different than the neighborhood they grew up in. But they all have something in common: they are willing to put in the hard work to make it as a professional artist. Within the walls of these schools, we see these students grow up over four years: find love, experience struggles, and bust out some serious acting, singing, and dancing chops.
You don’t want to miss this production in its last weekend of shows: May 3rd and 4th at 7:30 pm and May 5th at 2 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors, available at a2tix.com or at the door. Go fall in love with these characters, be awed by their talent, and feel all the feels before it’s too late!
REVIEW: Martha Graham Performance
The Martha Graham Dance Company’s performance last Friday night was fantastic. The four pieces which the troupe performed were a fascinating combination of new and old, literal and abstract, light and dark. The first piece was easily my least favorite. It was described as a rare comical piece choreographed by Martha Graham but I just personally didn’t enjoy the narrative which felt a little literal to me, and I will never understand artists’ obsession with Greek mythology and philosophers. However, the second piece was creepy and gripping. I loved the witchy, demonic feel of it all. I could have easily been convinced that I was witnessing a secret, pagan ceremony where the devil was being summoned. The second dance was also supposed to be based on Greek mythology and the story of Persephone, but it was not an obvious or literal translation. Deo was the recently premiered piece which was co-sponsored by UMS and I was quite impressed with it. After the intermission we came back to a similarly interesting and sometimes dark piece. The third dance was creepy in different ways though. The first movement featured three women in bland, grey uniforms which reminded me of communist East Europe dancing in and out of a strip of light. It was such a gripping effect, really displaying the power of lighting. When the women were not in this strip of light they ceased to exist on the pitch black stage. The third movement of this dance was not my cup of tea. It featured the full dance crew in prom dresses or little black dresses and the men in shirts and trousers which instantly set a strange tone to me. My boyfriend best described the dancing itself as being reminiscent of mannequins. However, the fourth piece was another Martha Graham original and it sold the show. The first movement featured a sole dancer in a black and red cape-skirt-thing, reminding me of a witch meets a flamenco dancer. She then danced with various parts of the female part of the dance crew, eventually wearing a black and white dress which had me instantly thinking of stormtroopers from Star Wars. The story behind this piece was interesting. Graham choreographed it after denying the chance to dance for the Third Reich leading up to WWII. It played well with the general theme of the show which was focused on women. Her piece in particular dealt with the consequences of war and the way women play into that narrative. I expected to be able to draw comparisons between this performance at that of Ballet Preljocaj, the modern ballet company. However, I found the two so different in tone that they can’t really be compared. If forced, I think I would end up saying I preferred the ballet, but it didn’t take quite as long for me to get into the Martha Graham performance as it took for me to be convinced that I liked ballet preljocaj.
REVIEW: The Dream
The Dream the Dreamers Dreamed was a small but impactful exhibit. It’s so easy to overlook GalleryDAAS and I think that’s symbolic of many students with marginalized identities’ experiences on this campus. The exhibit had pieces created by Black undergrad and graduate students here at Umich which symbolized various aspects of their experiences at the university whether it be direct reflections on their time here or the way art helps them process their experiences in this space. The breadth of this theme was evident in the pieces featured in the gallery. Without reading the exhibit description, it would be easy to struggle to find a common narrative. Some pieces were paintings of beautiful scenes while other were multimedia representations of the victims of police brutality. Yet other pieces were more abstract. One piece that caught my particular attention was the Diary of a Daughter in Diaspora. It was a small book of poetry by Bayan Founas on a stand in the middle of the room. I craned my neck to catch a glimpse at the pages without touching it, and there seemed to be print on the pages. I wanted to pick it up and read it but all my instincts tell me touching something in an art gallery is the number one no-no. I probably should have just asked the woman working in the gallery if this was an interactive piece. Now I will be forever curious about the poetry inside that book. What diaspora does the author identify with? How is that represented in their work? As a student at Umich, I’ve definitely been sleeping on GalleryDAAS and I’m a little sad that, as a graduating senior, I won’t be back next Fall to see what new exhibit they have.
REVIEW: Sweeney Todd
This play was a lot darker than I expected, there wasn’t a single moral lesson or redeeming feeling at the end. I thought that at least Johanna and Anthony would have a happy ending together, but they just disappeared and became irrelevant. It is slightly twisted, but the only possible feeling of justice is cold sweet vengeance when Sweeney Todd finally kills the Judge. I am curious what such an intense feeling of revenge is like, is it more satisfying than uhh chocolate…? Sweeney Todd suffered wrongly for years, and the man at fault for his suffering, Judge Turpin steals his daughter as well. It was clear that Sweeney Todd’s sole purpose became to get revenge on Judge Turpin by killing him, which he finally does. When I get revenge on a sibling or friend for making me angry or upset, it is one of the most satisfying feelings. Revenge to the degree of Sweeney Todd must be the most powerful emotion in the world.
Acting wise, Mrs. Lovett was incredible. Her movements reminded me of Johnny Depp. She was definitely crazy, but a fun whimsical crazy that makes the audience fall in love with the character. Sweeney Todd great job of being pure evil. His face was always grimacing and he had a dark tone to his voice. My favorite interaction between Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney was their waltzing. It was an evil jerky waltz that fit really well. Tobias Ragg played the role of a juxtaposition perfectly. He was an innocent pure kid with a soft voice and blissful demeanor.
Everything seemed to be about being crazy. Every character turns crazy by the end. Sweeney and Mrs.Lovett as murderers, Judge Tobin who wants to marry his adopted daughter, Johanna spends time in the insane asylum, the crazy homeless lady is one of the major characters, Tobias goes insane from all the death, there seemed to be no end to the madness. The extras did a great job being very expressive and lively. I would often watch the extras just to see their facial expressions. The extras were very jerky which fit the crazy theme.
Musically I appreciated all the harmonies between characters. Moreso than any other musical I have ever seen, Sweeney Todd is filled with songs where multiple characters sing their own parts in harmony. This is extremely hard to coordinate, so props to all the actors.
REVIEW: Becoming Untethered – BFA Dance Recital
This was my first time seeing a dance show. I was blown away. I thought I knew what to expect walking into this event but the incredible variety and creativity that I was witness to was truly remarkable. The title and central theme of the performance, Becoming Untethered, was presented in a myriad of ways throughout the piece. From what I could tell, the seniors representing the work each performed a solo piece and then choreographed a longer dance for a larger group of performers of which they were not one. The performance opened with one of these solo works which showcased the struggle of a dancer, slowly breaking away from the strict confines of her ballet shoes into a freer form of expressive movement. There were many other notable parts of the performance. One included a solo that was, quite frankly, a bit unsettling to watch, but I felt that this was the dancer’s goal, as she moved with an almost primal persona, twisting and contorting, and ultimately, rushing toward the audience as the lights blacked out. I almost took a message of disturbed body image from this performance, as the girl seemed almost to be eating her own arm, may have represented a dialogue on eating disorders. I’m not sure I would have been wanting to sit in the front row for that performance but it was certainly evocative, that’s for sure. I was also incredibly intrigued by the group performance where a girl seemed tethered to both her chair and her a static screen projected against the back wall. I can’t be sure, but I took from this piece a statement on our society’s obsession with things like television and drugs and the need to be liked by others. The dancers did a wonderful job of conveying this message, the identically-dressed dancers somehow always excluding the sole dancer in different clothes. Overall, the performance was incredibly well-developed, exploring complicated themes through choice of music, costumes, and of course, movement. Seeing one girl unable to escape the clutches of repetitive, compulsive movement, even as her fellow dancers attempted and slowly stopped trying over time to cease her actions was difficult to watch. But this later become resolved as, in a following piece, she was finally able to be led off-stage by a fellow performer. It was so interesting to me, how complex, how emotional, how varied these stories could be that are told only through one’s body. Each dancer and choreographer clearly had a vision that was brought to life through their own creativity and the incredible skill of those that embodied their work. These seniors and all those other dancers involved should be incredibly proud of the work that they presented. I doubt if anyone in the audience could have left without still thinking about what they had just witnessed.
