Category: Dance

REVIEW: UMS presents Ballet Preljocaj

Kayla Silverstein

Thought-provoking, inspiring, and very bizarre, Ballet Preljocaj’s performance of And Then, One Thousand Years of Peace was how I spent my outstanding Friday night. The performance had everything from enormous plastic sheets, 15-foot metal block-wall-things, frighteningly-athletic dancers, and two baby sheep. It was truly spectacular.

The subject of the dance was the apocalypse. As the dancers fought, made passionate love, crouched and swayed, the audience felt the earth crumble and collapse. They performed a few routines using flags of different countries of the world, soaking them in water and whipping them out to dry. As the full arc of the show came to a resolution, all the flags lay dampened on stage. Two baby sheep were released next on the stage, symbolizing a sort of rebirth of civilization, in my opinion. That part was a little much. I was so distracted by the sheep and nervous that they were going to run off stage that I kind of forgot I was watching a dance performance. There was an air pocket in one of the wet flags and one sheep was poking it until finally it daringly leapt over the bubble. With that final image, the dancers faded into the blackness and the curtain fell. It was weird, but awesome all at once. I left the performance breathless and awestruck.

This dance struck me as more complex than any other dance performance I’d ever seen. The dancers moved so fast for so long during the show; I felt breathless. They had a bunch of different props too! The metal block-wall-things, sheep, plaster sheets, silver trays, metal-helmet contraptions, books, and chairs. It was raw and sharp. One of the most memorable moments was when a series of metal chains fell from the ceiling. They would drop two, as one man danced below. And I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this – I certainly hadn’t – but when chains fall, they fall in a straight line before crumbling to the ground with a sharp clang. It was super cool and added to the intensity of the performance.

As an intern at UMS, I got to ask people what they thought of the show and record their reactions after the performance. I talked to a few dance majors who were so astounded and inspired by the performance that they could hardly contain their enthusiasm. Others felt that the performance was strange, albeit beautifully done. I didn’t hear any overtly negative reviews. The harshest criticism I overheard was just: “What was that about?” (To see some of the video clips of reactions check out this page on the UMS Lobby website!) There’s something in letting go while watching these sorts of performances – you have to just sit back and let the show wash over you. I think this is why dance, especially modern dance, takes some viewing experience. I’ve found that the more modern dance I see, the more I am able to let go and just roll with the performance without overly analyzing what I’m seeing.

Thanks to UMS for bringing this immensely-talented dance company!

P.S. If you liked this (or think you would have), be sure to check out Compagnie Käfig when they come to UMS in February!

Review: Blur the Lines

Zoe Marie

Blur the Lines was a collaborative effort sponsored by SMTD Collaborative Student Assembly (CSA).
SMTD CSA’s Facebook
The performance was on October 19th in the Arthur Miller Theater at the Walgreen Drama Center. The cast was made up of student volunteers from several majors in the School of Music Theater and Dance. The goal of the event was to create, and perform, a one hour show in 24 hours.
Through Facebook promotion, Blur the Lines rounded up two volunteer composers, two writers, a director, several musicians, dancers, and actors, as well as PAT majors and a MUSIC THEORY major, to donate around 24 straight hours of their time to creating this show. First, the script writers and composers met at 8pm and wrote the show until 8am, when the performers joined in order to rehearse until the show started at 8 pm. Apparently this was the first year Blur the Lines had been organized, but I had no idea because the show was so put together, but it explains why so few people knew about it despite the Facebook efforts. However, I have no doubt, as the semesters progress, this will become a widely attended event.
BLURDALINES
It is honestly difficult to review the show because it’s such a unique situation for people to perform under, and it doesn’t seem to allow for much editing, which is arguably the most important part of the creative process. The concept of the show was supposed to be a day in the life of a person, starting in the morning, and ending at night. Honestly, that concept did not really come across. The whole show was made up of several, individual scenes about extremely varied topics. There was a scene with young love at the beginning and a scene revolving around a funeral towards the end but most of the scenes in between didn’t seem to have a strictly chronological order or revolve around time, like the theme suggested they would. The scenes also varied from great hits to scenes which could have benefited from much more editing. However, the show still had many great moments.
One of my favorite scenes was a monologue about a “Magic Girl”. I enjoyed the writing, which was very memorable, and the staging, which was active enough to hold the audience’s attention, while still complimenting the text, and music, instead of distracting from them. The scene following was also enjoyable, and extremely relatable for anyone who has grown up in a religious family, but is atheist. This monologue described how a person, forced to attend Sabbath every weekend with their family, struggles with a lack of ability to spiritually relate to the ceremony in a life “measured in Sabbaths”. The most entertaining scene was a monologue spoken by a girl about her desire for emotional and physical contact. What made this scene so unique was her “duet” with the violinist, who would respond musically to her advances, and eventually broke up with her. The two dancers in the cast also had a modern dance segment, which was very beautiful.

Honestly, what I recommend even more than seeing Blur the Lines next semester is PARTICIPATING in it. Everyone involved had the absolute time of their life and learned so much about themselves, and the creation process, no matter their major. It was also a great way for students to bridge the gap in SMTD, which is a school very separated by majors. But, what will lead to an even better experience is that the organization is planning on expanding it’s reach to the whole school, not just SMTD. I urge you to like SMTD CSA on Facebook and keep in touch about when the next Blur the Lines will be. This is an event which can only be made better by a bigger variety of student involvement, so I really hope you keep this on your radar and at least attend the next performance to see if you would like to get involved in it!

REVIEW: G-Fest

Gabriella

With an almost full lower level at the Power Center for the Performing Arts, student performance groups across Michigan pulled together October 18 for G-Fest, a 2-hour extravaganza of singing, dancing, comedy, slam poetry, percussion and glow-stick dancing. Each act brought something fresh and new to the 5th Annual G-Fest. Alumni G-Men from the inaugural show had the honors of opening this one. Not only were the acts solidly executed, but the ever quirky, comical G-Men introducing them kept the show’s momentum running strong throughout the entire program. Personal favorite included when two G-Men made dubstep with their mouths, including dubbing the beats to Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it Likes it Hot” and Ginuwine’s “Pony.” I think this was when the crowd cheered the loudest the whole time, although each group received a respectable amount of loud, rambunctious applause, and for good reason.

The G-Mens opening number
The G-Men's opening number

The Harmonettes killed it in black pumps and blue jeans.
The Harmonettes killed it in black pumps and blue jeans.

I found myself feeling like I was an extra cast member in Pitch Perfect when the G-Men and Harmonettes sang in harmony and pitch together. The G-Men pulled off a catchy Spanish number to open the show, followed by a mash-up of Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe” and Adele’s “Skyfall.” Pure ear candy. In the second part of the show, the self-proclaimed always classy, sometimes sassy Harmonettes brought their girl power with Little Mix’s “Wings,” my favorite number from their set. To quote the movie, both groups were “aca-awesome.”

Asante looks dapper in his top hat and jacket.
Asante looks dapper in his top hat and white jacket.

Asante, the only solo act on the bill, sang two original compositions at the piano. He described the process of creating his own music by visualizing different keys as different colors and putting it all together. His two pieces complemented each other perfectly well, and had the venue feeling like a small intimate jazz club. As a senior in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, he was one of my favorite acts for his ability to silence and mesmerize the crowd with his smooth voices and even smoother piano playing. He’s got showmanship down, looking and sounding mighty classy. I loved every minute of it.

The Michigan Raas Team
The Michigan Raas Team
Photonixs eye candy
Photonix's eye candy

The first dance group, Michigan Raas Team, performed to traditional Indian music wearing traditional Indian costumes. Their fluid movements had me wanting to get up and dance too, if I knew how to dance like that. G-Fest ended with Photonix, a group that dances with glow sticks to create visual art with trippy trance music in the background. It takes a whole lot of talent to wave glow sticks up and down to create something magical, and Photonix’s did just that in this out-of-this-world finale.

Grooves jamming out on trash cans
Groove's jamming out on trash cans

Before intermission, Groove beat their trashcans and quad drums made of plastic bins to perform several numbers of carefully crafted percussion numbers. The intensity and speed at which these performers can go is remarkable, and I can only imagine how much time and practice they endure to get it just right. These guys nailed it, and the best part is all their instruments are random, common items one wouldn’t expect to find in a formal show. Groove’s ingenuity, coupled with their urban allure, made for a stylistic success to round out the first half.

ComCos improv players provided plenty to laugh about.
ComCo's improv players provided plenty to laugh about.

Not only did talent lie in the musicality of performances, but in comics and poets, too. The first half featured six ComCo. members, campus’s oldest improv comedy group, playing various games with audience participation. They pulled off one of comedy’s greatest exercises, telling a story with someone else’s hands behind them guiding the action. Another game had the game master control the flow of dialogue, interrupting a “mother/daughter” pair whenever he didn’t like what they were saying and making them redo the line in a different way. The best part about the players was the sheer improvisation–these guys can think fast on their feet and that makes it all the more enjoyable and entertaining. One of the highlights of the night for me was being able to laugh at the absurdity of the situations the players acted out.

Four members of the Slam Poetry Club read their poems on stage, giving the audience chills with their themes of growing up, being there for someone in tough times and a poem chronicling Adam and Eve’s experience in couple’s therapy. Each poet slammed really well, slowing and quickening their voices at the appropriate times and really speaking from the heart. It takes a lot of guts to speak like that in front of such a large audience, and these kids nailed it.

I couldn’t have asked for a better Friday night listening to and seeing all the great talent this campus has to offer. Each group shined, and it made me even prouder to be a Michigan Wolverine. Even though G-Fest was just a sampling of the many performance groups on campus, it accomplished its goal of entertaining attendees. Bravo, everyone, for your amazing performances.

REVIEW: Hubbard Street

Kayla Silverstein

Dance is somewhat of a challenge for me to understand. I lack the proper vocabulary and background knowledge to truly and accurately describe what I see performed in front of me. That said I thoroughly enjoyed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s amazing performance of, One Thousand Pieces. I will do my best to tell you why.

First off, it’s beyond beautiful. The dancers move with such grace and precision – I sort of made up this game to try and see if I could see someone’s knee twitch or foot slip out of place, but I never caught any slip-ups. Every move was deliberate and precise. They would rush to complete a phrase then slow to a gentle glide across the sleek dance floor. It was spectacular. Their performance also featured a mist curtain, hanging as a billowy and ever-changing backdrop to their movements. The scene change with the mist curtain also left the stage littered with water droplets, in which the dancers continued to glide and float on stage to the rhythms of Phillip Glass’s music. The sound of the water could reach me in the balcony. I was even able to make out sparkling droplets of water dancing through the air as the artists flipped their arms in the mist.

This dance performance was not a story ballet or anything – the aim, as defined by Hubbard’s first resident choreographer, Alejandro Cerrudo, was to show how images are shaped and distorted through stained glass. Why stained glass? The choreography was inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows, as seen on display at the Chicago Art Institute. The props were simplistic but did include a few mirrors, tilted this or that way. It was also cool to watch the dancers when the lighting adjusted to show a vibrant reflection in the floor beneath their spinning bodies. So many of their movements seemed to me to be in a singular plane, moving within some sort of field of restraint. When I would glance at the dancers’ reflections in the mirrors or the floor, their movements seemed flattened and more distant – as if I were watching the performance through a window. It was unlike anything I’d seen before. It gave a whole new dimension to the work for sure.

Hubbard Street is an amazing company and worthy of all the praise they receive. Bravo to the dancers and thanks to UMS for bringing this fabulous company to our Ann Arbor stages.

PREVIEW: Hubbard Street Dance!

Kayla Silverstein

This weekend come check out the UMS presentation of Hubbard Street Dance. Performing a piece inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows and written by Hubbard Street’s first resident choreographer, Alejandro Cerrudo, the performance is sure to take your breath away. Cerrudo, when interviewed, commented on how windows shape and distort images – this is the inspiration of the piece. They use water effects, like mist curtains, and special backlighting to exemplify the beauty of the dancers. It is sure to be a spectacle of a performance, so get on those tickets, folks!

PREVIEW: Friars’ Concert

Kayla Silverstein

One of the University of Michigan’s most beloved a cappella groups, the Friars will present their 57th annual Best Concert Ever, Friday April 19th, 8pm in Rackham Auditorium. Wowing us with their vocals, humor, and terrible dance moves, I’m sure they will not disappoint. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. Hope to see you there!!