Dancers prance with spring fever
By Molly Gore
A dozen hopeful spectators sat in the Fess Parker Studio Theatre lobby waiting with crossed fingers for seats at the sold out Spring Dance Festival on Sunday afternoon.
Inside, the lights dimmed and murmurs silenced as the beginning of Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved A Man " echoed from the corners of the stage.
Dramatic lighting illuminated five dancers in long black and white dresses, beginning the opening piece of Raquel Galindo's senior recital.
The Spring Dance Festival is a collection of choreographed performances by four senior dance students. Each recital consists of six or seven dances conceptualized around one theme, varying in dance style and genre of music.
The four senior choreographers of this Spring's festival were Raquel Galindo, Genevieve Horvilleur, Lauren Baines and Darla DeCair. Galindo's set, titled "Dimensions of Love," began the festival, featuring the catchy beats of Rihanna, Maroon 5, DJ Sammy, En Vogue and Christina Aguilera. The dancing was upbeat and modern, the costumes flashy and eye-catching. Ending with a pepped-up cancan to Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man," Galindo's show was audibly crowd-pleasing.
After a short intermission, Horvilleur's recital commenced with a slower and more mellow piece to an instrumental version of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Titled "Building With Our Hearts," Horvilleur's recital was full of delicate movements and visual impressions that felt moody but serene.
Eight dancers, dancing in couples, performed the second piece to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds' "Sister." The costumes were light chiffon in daffodil yellow and white, and the choreography was classically pleasing to watch. As the piece slowed to an end, a visual of a cross was projected onto a piece of canvas at the back of the stage, cuing the dancers to kneel toward it and hold up their clasped hands.
"My spirituality is at the core. I wanted to put that at the center of it and show that it is such a strengthening element in our lives," said Horvilleur.
Testament to her heritage as inspiration, Horvilleur chose to perform a Latin American dance for her solo, executed energetically with an irrepressible smile. Following her solo, a seven-dancer piece set to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" was performed against a background of a photos projected onto the canvas sheet. The photos featured Latin American children, women and families doing everything from sitting in the streets, to working, to crouching and smiling at the camera. During the performance, the dancers gradually laid a series of seven circular "stones," forming a sort of path.
"For this one, I set a street or path, a path towards a brighter future in Nicaragua. I trust that the arts can be a form of empowerment, especially in a country as marginalized and poor as Nicaragua," said Horvilleur.
After graduation, Horvilleur plans to go to India with the nonprofit organization Artists Trying to End Poverty to teach the arts in rural areas.
Next came Baines' intriguing and avant garde recital, "Finding a Framework." The first piece began with a subtly lit Baines sitting in the corner of the stage reading a small book, which, once she is "asleep," is replaced by a near-six-foot-tall replica, rolled out by a series of quirky but graceful dancers. Baines is eventually guided through this "dream" in a series of dances that explore the idea of normalcy and abnormality in the society that subjectively defines them.
"People have expectations of what we should consider normal or abnormal, but those kinds of categories aren't really correct. No one really fits what is really normal and abnormal," said Baines. "Perhaps we should abandon those categories."
The choreography was atypical and fresh, and conceptually quenching to watch. Each piece felt more about telling a story than anything else. The lighting was simple but effectively dramatic, and the costumes dark and unfussy.
Especially outstanding and effective was Baines' "Chair Dance." Choreographed entirely around the use of a chair, Baines managed to gracefully but anxiously trap herself with the chair in a variety of ways. The dances were laced with contrasting movements -- some nearly robotic or puppet-like, others organic and graceful.
"I want to make people think. I want it to be aesthetically pleasing, but more than that," said Baines.
Possibly the most impressive thing about Baines' recital was the attention to detail. Facial expressions were deliberate, subtle and telling. Often there were two or three scenarios occurring at once, placing one or two dancers at the other end of the stage and in the background, curiously interacting with each other or the wall.
Concluding the recital was DeCair's "Angels and Demons Project," commencing with a black-light-lit piece to "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. Wearing masks that glowed in the black light, divided into dark and white costumes, 11 dancers performed an intense battle against each other.
DeCair's recital featured music by such artists as Marilyn Manson, Korn, Disturbed, Jefferson Airplane and Danny Elfman.
Edgy and dark, DeCair's choreography was strong and declarative. A more memorable movement was a dance designed around the "Beetlejuice" theme song, as effectively eerie and dreamlike as the creature himself.
The aesthetics and themes of each recital were remarkably different, some more conventionally pleasing, others grittier and more nouveau. Each choreographer was responsible for planning the lighting, stage set-up, promotion, costumes and technicalities of their performance, as well as the seamless execution of each. To dancers and audience alike, the Spring Dance Festival was a success.
"Afterwards, we went backstage and everyone started screaming and jumping on top of each other. Everyone was sharing the energy of the others," said Horvilleur.
Contact Molly Gore at (408) 551-1918 or mgore@scu.edu.