Words cannot express how excited I am to review one of the biggest events at the University of Michigan! True Blue! A Tribute to Michigan brings together past and current U of M students, fans, and families to celebrate the bicentennial. Special guests include: actor James Earl Jones (aka original voice of Darth Vader!!!), neurosurgeon and media reporter Sanjay Gupta, Glee actor and my future husband Darren Criss, and Cecilia Munoz. Through music, theatre, dance, and speech, faculty, alumni, and students will come together to share the past, present, and future of the University of Michigan.
True Blue! A Tribute to Michigan will take place at Hill Auditorium on Saturday, April 8 at 7pm. Tickets are on sale online. For adult tickets: $50 main floor, $30 mezzanine, $25 balcony. For UM students: $25 main floor, no mezzanine available, $20 balcony.
Additional information can be found at: https://events.umich.edu/event/38600
Sitting in the audience of the Power Center, I soon realized how distant this show was from any previous theater experiences I’d had before. The show began looking into the set of a vaguely warehouse-esque room with a column in the middle, and the first thing to happen was the movement of electrical cords, spreading apart to opposite ends of the stage. Almost ghost-like, they seemed to move on their own accord and there was no indication where the movement was coming from. This first minute was when I began to question what I had entered into for the next two hours. As I searched for words and footholds into this piece, something to describe and relate to it, the closest mainstream theater description I could find became the musical Chicago meets psychological-thriller-horror-movie. Think jazz numbers and spangled costumes mixed with the anticipation of brutal plot twists and fear. The lack of footholds to grasp onto in the piece, though, seems characteristic of new age-y modern expressionism. It is the interiority of the creator depicted onto the stage, meant to make the audience think and contemplate, not merely for surface-level enjoyment. A potential, and possibly more accessible, dance comparison that kept coming to mind throughout the performance was the “Slip” video that circulated the internet about while ago.
Both the slippery, interconnected choreography and the eery industrial set (with flickering fluorescents and all) is quite similar in style to that of Betroffenheit. The first act of the production mixed theater and dance together, with very little dialogue. In a premonitory twist, a strobe-light warning was issued before the show began; as it progressed, the production itself became a strobe effect. A bombardment of the senses, I continually felt that just as I had regained my balance and was beginning to understand, I was quickly thrown off, left reeling and scrambling back into the show.
Image c/o Kidd Pivot
The show was an exploration in the experience of trauma, and though it held the aforementioned eery quality, it was not exclusively a dark production. A bright and exciting cha cha-esque number was thrown in, along with a series of tap and vaudevillian pieces.
The second act was more of a dance production than theater, focusing on the choreography of Crystal Pite. Her work in Betroffenheit was mesmerizing; almost pedestrian with liquid-like partnering work that featured the breadth and skill of the performers more so than the first act had. While I struggled to grip and understand the first act’s interpretation and representation of emotional exploration, I loved the emotion and expression through the choreography.
Image c/o UMS
As I listened to the reactions of those sitting around me, many people were in love with Kidd Pivot and the Electric Company’s work. Many also seemed as though this style of performance was not outside their wheelhouse. Betroffenheit, from my interpretation, seemed like a show best suited for those saturated within the dance and experimental performance community – those who are constantly looking at and working with this genre of material. While I, as an outsider, could appreciate and enjoy pieces of it, I feel as though the powerful and soul-stirring impact was somewhat lost on my uninstructed-self.
The name Kidd Pivot and the Electric Company itself intrigued me enough as I flipped through UMS performances. Unless you speak German (I don’t), the title Betroffenheit does not give away any hints as to what the performance consists of. A German expression meaning deep-rooted shock and bewilderment, the performance combines theater and dance to explore the experiences of tragedy and loss. While it appears to be deep, dark, and eerie, comment after comment on the show’s previous performances contains the repeated message of the show’s compelling, powerful, and life-changing qualities. While I’ve fought through my background knowledge in theater performances to find anything to compare the looks of Betroffenheit to, I’ve come up blank. Betroffenheit appears to be like no other performance I’ve (and possibly you, unless you’re adventurous with your theater) ever seen before.
When my friend and I arrived at the venue, over an hour before the show started and still minutes before the doors opened, we were surprised to see a long line already waiting for us. As we waited to be let into the theater to claim our seats, those around us mingled and greeted each other like old friends, immediately establishing a comfortable atmosphere. My friend and I delighted in the fact that the event had not one, not two, but three separate geo-filters for snapchat devoted to it. By the time the show was about to begin, the theater was absolutely packed, almost every seat on the ground floor was filled.
Finally, the show began and our three hosts for the night walked onto stage. The show was divided into two parts with a 15 minute long intermission in between. Each part had a good mix of performances and other various short segments, such as some vocal performances, quite a few different energetic Dabke dances, and several short, humorous video clips that were played between segments. I also was impressed by the mix of tones they were able to balance throughout the night. There were several touching spoken word pieces about the struggles of being Arab in America, but immediately following it would be lively dance performance.
While all of the performances were enjoyable, there was a couple segments that particularly stood out to me. The first one was a video clip in which the Arab Student Association asked various students on the Diag basic questions, like if they could name 5 Arab countries or name a single friendly Arab character in American media. Only one student out of those interviewed could accurately name 5 separate countries, and everyone was stumped by the second question, revealing some real issues we have with representation in media. The other segment that particularly stood out to me was a fashion show, where students modeled the fashions of various Arab countries.
Overall it was a wonderful night, and I applaud the Arab Student Association for making everything run so smoothly. I can’t wait to attend Arab Xpressions 2018! The event was just one of the many events planned for this Arab Heritage month, you can check out the full schedule here!
This weekend,6PM Saturday, March 11th, join the Arab Student Association’s show “Arab Xpressions” at the Mendelssohn Theater. There will be performances by students in the group, as well as skits and dances by an arabesque dance troupe. Refreshments will also be served promptly at 6.
Tickets will only be $5 at the door to students. Half of all the proceeds from the night will be donated to the humanitarian organization Zaman International. There are also several free tickets left at the Office of Multicultural Ethnic Students Affairs left to the first students who show up!
In less than a week, the organizers of TEDxUofM will open the doors to: TEDxUofM 2017: Dreamers and Disruptors.
Although tickets are sold out, you will be able to watch a livestream here
Also, you can still arrive early for live music, interactive activities, coffee from RoosRoast, and pastries from Avalon Bakery all in the lobby area of the Power Center
This year has another incredible list of speakers, as well as performances by Groove and Midwest Territory Band
Words cannot express how excited I am to review one of the biggest events at the University of Michigan! True Blue! A Tribute to Michigan brings together past and current U of M students, fans, and families to celebrate the bicentennial. Special guests include: actor James Earl Jones (aka original voice of Darth Vader!!!), neurosurgeon and media reporter Sanjay Gupta, Glee actor and my future husband Darren Criss, and Cecilia Munoz. Through music, theatre, dance, and speech, faculty, alumni, and students will come together to share the past, present, and future of the University of Michigan.
