Students try their hands, and feet, at choreography
By Molly Gore
There was standing room only by the second half of the Fall Dance Festival Saturday afternoon, as patrons crowded in to see the capstone projects of four seniors: Julia Canavese, Leah Laroche-Paperno, Amanda Lowrey and Marcella Reynolds.
The festival was a showcase of the choreography of the four dance majors, who began work on their recitals last spring when they conceptualized their dance themes, auditioned and cast dancers and began choreographing a 35-minute recital with the option to work over the summer.
"There are a variety of themes and dancing styles. It's different for every person who comes to the show; it's a pretty diverse show," said Lowrey.
Beginning the set of four recitals was Canavese's up-tempo dance series, "Speaking Volumes," that commenced with a performance to Don McLean's "It's a Beautiful Life." The costumes were bright and retro, the dancers were all smiles and intermittent chuckles erupted from the audience at exaggeratedly comical points of the set.
Following Canavese's light-natured, feel-good set came Laroche-Paperno's darker, more dramatic, French-inspired "The Colors Underneath." The set began with a dance titled "Thank You" to the song "Mama" by Universal Revolution. Immediately following the first applause came Laroche-Paperno's unaccompanied voice performing "French Lullaby," a song that quickly advanced into three pieces set to music by Ben Harper and Tracy Chapman.
Highlighting the section was "Hearts on Fire," a provocative performance featuring Laroche-Paperno and alumnus Pablo Madriz in a passionate dance with a Latin-American flavor and plenty of sexual tension.
Mobs in the doorway and standby ticket holders lining the walls signaled the next recital choreographed by Lowrey, titled "Cataphyll." Based on her mantra that states, "Living in societies that foster isolation, we lack connections to the world and to each other â?¦ I would like to invite you all to see. To connect. To embrace life and humanity." Lowrey's choreography was often a synchronized ensemble.
Lowrey performed in each of the four dances, which were modern, athletic and set to such dance beats as "Idioteque" by Radiohead. The choreography was a delightful and unexpected mix of robotically abrupt movement and softer, more natural motions.
"I really wanted to explore human connections, especially living in a society where we communicate through visual language," said Lowrey.
The series ended with Lowrey's own take on the Afro-Cuban folkloric dance, "Emerging Whole."
Concluding the festival was Reynolds' lively, contemporary, unique series of pieces themed around the lyrics of the song "Unwritten," by Natasha Bedingfield. Reynolds' choreography was a mix between jazz, modern, lyrical and tap dances. The dances were performed in a variety of stylistic fusions which were highly engaging, never stale and rhythmically irresistible.
"I've been really excited for the tap. There hasn't been a tap on stage here in almost 15 years," said Reynolds.
Reynolds' performances were met with roaring appreciation from the audience as well as post-show praise in the lobby.
"You could obviously tell they put a lot of work into this. It really showed," said sophomore Justine Macauley.
Reynolds divided her recital into 10 parts, three of the 10 being tap dances to the music of Ratatat, KT Tunstall and dance beat DJs Gabriel & Dresden.
Reynolds added drumsticks to the percussion of the tap shoes for one dance, staging metrical drumstick fights between the dancers and using the walls and floor as drum tops in a spectacle that resembled the "Cell Block Tango" sequence in the movie "Chicago."
After nearly half a year of preparation, the festival succeeded in delighting audiences and proceeded without a visible glitch. Reynolds could not have been more pleased.
"I'm relieved," she said. "That was our best run ever. I can't control what's going on onstage anymore because I'm backstage. I have to just let it happen. It's kind of strange, and kind of surreal."
Contact Molly Gore at (408) 551-1918 or mgore@scu.edu.