This past weekend, the U’s Department of Modern Dance gave students an opportunity to see the fruits of student labor in their senior showcase, “Shirts and Skins.”
The showcase began with a light-inspired piece, with the sharp movements and geometric formations of the dancers highlighted by sharp, crisp lighting. The intense shadows that resulted enhanced the eerie mood of the dance.
This was also helped by the dancer’s percussive movements — stomping, snapping and clapping. Having the dancers creating a new sound to the beat brought all of the disparate aspects of the dance together, greatly contributing to the piece.
This play of light and dark continued in one of the most striking pieces of the night, “Illumine/Exchange,” choreographed by Krista Widdison. The performance brought the audience to a pitch-black room, where dancers performed while holding flashlights.
The dancers pulled members of the crowd onto the floor, arranged them in stationary groups and then used flashlights to create the illusion of movement by stretching the shadows of the groups on the walls of the dark studio. This disorienting, interactive and objective performance in the darkness forced viewers to see only bodies — no gender, no appearances, just limbs and movement.
After the intermission, “Oscillation” started. The title fit the piece; its noticeable trait of movement in a reactive fashion was noticeable even before reading about it in the program. Each dancer sparked a shift in the other, creating a circling, rippling visual effect.
“Infinite Decisions,” choreographed by Vixy Boldt and performed by Jasmine Stack, was even more strikingly abstract. In the program, Boldt called it “an exploration of the decision-making process, and how to reflect decisions through movement, as well as an exploration of the decisions available to the body.”
The dance portrayed this process effectively, exploring left-to-right balance of the body throughout the piece, finally ending with the dancer progressively laying down, giving the idea of “settling” on a decision, while continually “kneading” it on the floor throughout the dance.
The final piece appeared to be a favorite of the performers themselves. Choreographed by Kate Wallich, this dance’s personality carried it through. Wallich worked intimately with members of the Modern Dance department, allowing each of them to express themselves as a part of the group. There were countless unique shifts in movement, and you could tell that the final product was an impressive piece that each of the dancers was immensely proud of.