PREVIEW: Sleeping Beauty

It’s been one hundred and twenty-five years since the ballet adaptation of Sleeping Beauty premiered in St. Petersburg to high acclaim. However, the classic fairy tale about Princess Aurora–cursed to sleep for years and years–still draws audiences today (probably in large part due to the fact that many of us wish we could sleep that long).

In celebration of the show’s big anniversary, the American Ballet Theatre is taking it on the road in a multi-city national tour. This production features many of today’s most talented dancers, including Isabella Boylston, Sarah Lane, Cassandra Trenary, Hee Seo, and Gillian Murphy, all of whom will be performing the role of Aurora in different performances.

Featuring the original choreography by the great Marius Petipa–considered to be one of the most influential choreographers in ballet history–this production of Sleeping Beauty is sure to do anything but put audiences to sleep.

The show will be at the Detroit Opera House from Thursday, March 31 through Sunday, April 3. You can read how the University of Michigan partnered with the Detroit Opera House to bring the production to Michigan here. Tickets are available now at www.michiganopera.org/dance/sleeping-beauty.

REVIEW: Impact Dance Leaps It’s Way To the Power Center

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!

Impact Dance Show Poster (from Impact Dance Facebook Page)
Impact Dance Show Poster (from Impact Dance Facebook Page)

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.

REVIEW: A2 DHOOM AT THE MICHIGAN THEATER

A2 Dhoom attire

The Michigan Theater is a building whose beauty rivals even that of Hill Auditorium.  This was my second time visiting the theater and my first time sitting on the balcony, which is a whole new experience.  The setting itself was astounding, but that was nothing compared to the dance competition.

The event started around 7pm.  Nova Nassa was the first team to compete.  Their theme was “Finding Nima,” a spin off of the movie, Finding Nemo.  They kicked the night off with a high energy performance, the highlight, in my opinion, being when one of the team members did a back flip from the wings onto the stage.  The stunt was perfectly timed, with strobe lights beginning the second his feet touched the ground.  The team executed many synchronized lifts, creating depth within their members with some dancing on their knees.

The second team to take the stage was UIUC Fizaa.  Their theme was “Knockout” and it was about a girl who started boxing in order to better control her anger.  Their costumes were very well-coordinated with said theme, everyone dressed in reds or pinks.  At one point, there was an amazing mass lift in which every female team member onstage was lifted from the legs and spun around in a graceful, synchronized maneuver.  This team used lighting well, and during the final fight scene, their dance was made even more dramatic by the dark light sequence.

The third team, Broad Street Baadshahz, an all male fusion team from Philadelphia, danced for “The Pursuit of Happiness.”  They began under a colorful backdrop, with an upbeat dance number.  The mood, however, soon turned, illustrating that the pursuit of happiness isn’t always an easy journey.  Later, they used colored saaps to illustrate solving rubix cubes, which was pretty cool.  Their team was set apart from the others because they had a live singer in the front of the stage.

BSB

After BSB, UNC Chalkaa started their performance.  Their story was that a group of people got caught in a Super Mario Bros game, ending with the main couple getting engaged.  This team used lights onstage as opposed to just those on the ceiling, creating a more interactive performance in which the audience was further subjected to more dramatic parts of the dance.  There was an instance in which the male lead “died,” but was soon revived by the classic 1-up green mushroom dancing across the stage.

There was an intermission, and then the board members were introduced.

Board Members

The fifth team to dance was Temple Agni.  They were an all female group also from Philadelphia.  Their story consisted of a president coerced into sending her troops to war because her daughter was kidnapped.  The daughter was later murdered, and the president revealed the moral of the story: all lives are important.  She did not send her troops to war for that reason.  The dance itself was invigorating, showing the daughter’s metaphorical revival through dancing.

After Temple Agni, OSU Genesis took the stage.  They are an all male fusion team.  They reenacted the story of Peter Pan.  They had a very cool promo video, with very poetic narration.  This team also used onstage lights and they told the tale behind Captain Hook’s hatred for Peter Pan.  They used shadows against the far wall to create a more dramatic setting.  At the conclusion of the dance, their story seemed unresolved.  It ended with Hook taking Pan’s hand, almost an eye for an eye sort of theme.

OSU Genesis

The Slu Shakti team went next.  Their theme was a spin off of the movie, Brave.  They used lights on the brim of the stage (pictured below) and Roman themed columns and torches that had lights placed into them for effect.  Their costume colors also corresponded for most of the light sequences, their main colors blue and green.  This team also used shadows against the far wall (also pictured below) and discussed the necessity of breaking old traditions to create new ones.

Slu Shakti
Slu Shakti

The final team in this competition was Rutgers S.A.P.A.  They told the story of the struggles of a transgender student, using the popular movie, Inside Out, as their theme.  They even used light colors to illustrate which mood was being used (ex. green lights meant Disgust was telling her story).

After that, the main coordinators of the event came onstage and discussed their purpose for the event: to raise awareness for human trafficking.  They promoted endslaverynow.org, which is an awesome place for people around the world to get involved in solving this global issue.

The exhibition act, Furteelay Shokeen, appeared onstage next.  They are Detroit’s premier all-male bhangra team.  They were incredibly popular and used fire and a live drummer to pump up the crowd.

Exhibition act

OSU Genesis won the best mix award and they placed second in the overall competition.  The best male lead was given to Captain Hook from Genesis, as well.  UIUC won third place with Slu Shakti taking first.

PREVIEW: A2 DHOOM AT THE MICHIGAN THEATER

A2 Dhoom is a Bollywood America Bid Point Competition.  The winner gets 8 points, 2nd place earns 7 points, 3rd place earns 6 points, and etc.  The points count towards going to Bollywood America. There will be 8 teams from around the country participating in tomorrow’s competition!  It’s the biggest national Bollywood fusion competition and the teams that get to go are the best of the best.  Sarah Izor, Sushanth Boda, and Meghana Karmarkar will be judging the event.

Get your tickets soon at the Posting Wall in Mason Hall before 2pm, or online here.  Also, be sure to watch A2 Dhoom’s promo video and check out the Michigan Mazaa’s website for the official lineup of the event.

Doors open tomorrow night at 6:30pm, with the dances beginning around 7.  Hope to see you there!

PREVIEW: Impact Dance Leaps It’s Way to the Power Center

Impact performs their annual spring show this weekend, Friday, February 19th and Saturday, February 20th! And to add a cherry to this treat: Impact’s show is also on the Passport to the Arts Voucher. What does this mean? This means that you can pick up a voucher from your residence hall’s community center or the LSA Building and turn it into the Michigan Union Ticket Office. Voila, you have yourself a free ticket to a night of dance.

Impact performs contemporary, jazz and a variety of other dance styles. Their group mostly consists of non-dance majors. The company’s members contribute to designing each show, so the dances are choreographed by your fellow Wolverines!  I was a dancer for 14 years and have been meaning to get to one of their shows for forever! With two chances to see the show, and a voucher for a free ticket, it’s the perfect performance to go see while avoiding studying for midterms.

Both performances are at 7 pm. Check out their Facebook Event for more information and updates.

Review: Nrityopahara

On Tuesday at UMMA’s Helmut Stern Auditorium, Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant performed three pieces of Indian classical dance. The first piece, performed in the bharatanatyam style of dance, was an interpretation of a segment of the life of Rama, an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The second piece, performed in the kuchipudi style of dance, was a scene from the life of Krishna, another incarnation of Vishnu. The third piece, a bharatanatyam performance with influences from other classical dance styles, was a portrayal of nine different emotions: anger, fear, wonder, disgust, fear, compassion, valor, love, and peace. All three dances were set to music incorporating traditional Indian elements, including flute, violin, drums, cymbals, and vocals (in the first two dances, the vocals were prayers or stories corresponding to the dance, and in the third it was simply syllables, analogous to the Western do-re-mi).

Her performance was the first professional Indian classical dance performance I have seen before, and it was simply spectacular. There were two elements in particular that mesmerized me most: her impeccably timed choreography, and her beautiful facial expressions and body language. Her movements coincided precisely with the music: for example, at one point she portrayed a bow being strung and subsequently breaking. To convey this, she stamped her feet four times, corresponding with four percussive beats in the music, perfectly evoking the sound of snapping wood. I have never noticed that kind of parallelism in the bharatanatyam performances I have seen before, and experiencing that connection between the dance and the music brought another dimension to the performance.

Her body language and facial expressions were similarly eye-opening. Bharatanatyam is a very abstract dance and uses hand gestures to symbolize nouns. Though Dr. Jayant explained the story of each piece and demonstrated some of the key hand gestures before she began, her facial expressions were instrumental in my ability to follow the storyline. For example, the first piece involved a scene in which Rama’s father was forced to send Rama and his brother to fight demons—her brokenhearted face was more touching than any other sorrowful scene I’ve ever seen enacted, and made me want to cry. Similarly, the first piece also included a marriage scene, during which she was portraying two characters at once: Rama and his wife Sita. She gracefully shifted from one persona to another, giving Sita demureness and rapture by keeping her eyes lowered and her head turned to one side, while giving Rama confidence and boldness by keeping her back erect and stance tall.

I could not believe how expressive the performance was. During the brief Q&A session after her performance, during which she talked about everything from the amount of time she spends practicing to her opinion on the role of politics in art, I asked her if she had choreographed all three pieces herself, and she told me she had. This explained the perfect alignment of the music and the choreography as well as the accessibility of her body language, and it only made me more awestruck at her thoughtfulness and thorough attention to detail. It was a fantastic performance, and I was simply bedazzled throughout.