Critical Blog Post3_Dance Alabama!

Last night I attended a dance recital that was held in Morgan Auditorium which is the oldest theatre on campus located in Morgan Hall on campus. Dance recitals are held there throughout the year. The recital was the Fall Concert given by Dance Alabama and is still showing through Friday, October 7^th.

Dance Alabama is a student-organization that choreographs concerts to expose people to the arts by showcasing the talents of UA students and is currently in its 12^th season. It had 21 performances total, with dances ranging from ballet to lyrical to burlesque to tap. The show was, in a word, spectacular.

I do not know much about dance, but the performances tonight moved me. Each performance was choreographed to tell a story, and the movements, in combination with the dancer’s facial expressions, the lighting and music conveyed each story perfectly. The show opened with a piece titled “Last Round of Goodbyes,” choreographed by Jamarious Steward and danced to Jon Hopkins’s Vessel. The number started off with all the dancers standing in a line, each of them moving in sequence, almost like the way a line of dominos fall, one by one. The dancers each had unique, beautiful moves throughout the performance, before finally rounding back and standing in the same position they started. The show ended with what ended up being one of my favorite pieces in the entire show- a tap dance number, titled “Certified Tap Dance Material,” choreographed by JJ Butler to edIT’’s Battling Go-Go Yubari in Downtown L.A. Although there were several dancers on stage, it mainly centered around two dancers. The two main dancers seemed to communicate—to flirt with one another—through tap. The dance was exciting and playful.

The entire show was wonderful. It is hard to choose and say which performance was the best. There were some pieces that I absolutely adored, however, and I feel are particularly worth mentioning. For instance, the number titled “That Man,” choreographed by Corey Rivers to Caro Emerald’s That Man featured dancers in 60s-styled dresses and told the story of four, single women who were all fighting over the attention of the local mailman. The dance was light, comical, as at first the mailman was delighted by all the attention, but soon tried to run away, but the women would not let him leave. Another piece worth mentioning was titled “Bird Flu,” choreographed by Ethan May to M.I.A’s Bird Flu. The dancers for this number were all dressed up like birds and they put on a stunning performance. One of the pieces I enjoyed most was titled “Lighters,” choreographed by Stephanie Abram to Bruno Mars’s song Lighters. It was a more modern dance number, and the moves matched up to the lyrics of the song perfectly. The piece ended with the dancers joined together, holding up lighters. “I’m Already Home,” choreographed by Colleen Frake to Tim McGraw’s I’m Already Home was also a brilliant number. The two dancers conveyed a sense of longing for one another, and the audience could feel the emotion and connection that existed between them. These are only a few of the incredible dance numbers that were featured in the Fall Concert. I strongly suggest that if you have not had to chance to attend yet, to either go tonight or tomorrow, and see it (before it ends!!).

The Dance Alabama Fall Concert is what the arts is all about, and it shows the emotional release that dance provides the performers.   The concert, however, did more than that. It also made the audience feel alive, as if they were dancing along with the performers, and thus provided an emotional release for the audience as well. The dances inspired me to want to express my artistic side. The concert was absolutely beautiful.