The University SMTD Opera Studio is putting on The Barber of Seville by this weekend at the Power Center! The cast is made up of Doctor, Graduate, and Upperclassmen voice students. The plot is super funny, involving disguises, and trickery! Student tickets are only $10 at the Power Center ticket office.
You don’t want to miss this one!
Thursday 11/14/13 7:30 PM Power Center
Friday 11/15/13 8:00 PM Power Center
Saturday 11/16/13 8:00 PM Power Center
Sunday 11/17/13 2:00 PM Power Center
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!
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.
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, 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 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.
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.
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.
Who: Performance groups of Michigan
What: G-Fest
Where: Power Center of the Performing Arts
When: October 18, 8 p.m.
Cost: $10, tickets available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office
Looking for something to take your parents to Parents Weekend besides the Indiana football game? The G-Men have organized their annual fall concert, G-Fest, which will be highlighting many performance groups across campus in a variety show with an impressive bill. Student performers work hard in rehearsals and practices to put on their best show, so come show support for your fellow Wolverines.
RSVP to the Facebook event, like the G-Men on Facebook, or buy tickets online here.
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.
Last Friday I went to see the Musical Theater Department put on Gershwin’s “Crazy for You.” This production is filled with memorable songs like: “Slap that Bass,” “I’ve got Rhythm,” “They Can’t take that Away from Me,” and “Nice Work if You Can Get it.”
Although the production started out a little slow, and there were a number of technical difficulties, a lighting gel fell on stage at one point, the cast of the production expertly handled all of these slip ups in an expert fashion.
The highlight of the production was the dancing. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure to see a non-professional theater put on a production with such amazing choreography.
Shari Jordan was the “Susan Stroman choreography recreation” choreographer. Susan Stroman has won numerous awards for her work, most recently the Producers (Mel Brooks). Shari Jordan was in the original cast and film of the Producers, she played the lesbian stage manager “Shirley Markowitz,” as well as the assistant choreographer to Stroman.
The dancing was truly wonderful to watch, kick lines, chorus girls, acrobatics, tap dancing and wonderful duets between the leads. I was breath taken.
The chorus did an excellent job keeping the energy up and the background occupied. Their voices blended wonderfully and they managed to be both a smoothly knitted group while maintaining individual interest.
L’ogan J’ones played Bobby Child the lovable young man trapped into a financial job by his controlling mother, who only wants to be a Broadway dancer. J’ones has a very lovely voice and dances beautifully. He had a lot to carry in this production and I was impressed by his stamina.
Mary Little played Polly Baker, the Navada tough girl sweetheart with whom Bobby falls in love. Little’s voice was surprising and moving. I must admit the sound of her singing “They can’t take that away from me” made me cry! She is also a beautiful dancer and has quite a strong stage presence. I was very impressed by her.
Over all I really enjoyed this production. The few things I wasn’t so keen on was the implications of bondage in “Naughty Baby,” I thought that was taken a bit far. Also, the energy in the first quarter of the play felt rather flat, although whether that was the actors or the stupor of the audience is always a question (this was the evening of tensions in Boston.)
I really appreciated the modern twist on personalities. Often these older more classic musicals can feel outdated, I think the Theater Department did a very nice job updating the feel of the production.
I look forward to the next production and applaud the cast and crew of this dazzling piece of theater.
