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Studio Dance II

Kayla Bekermeier

    On Friday, April 19, I went to go see Studio Dance II at the Krannert Center. I was very impressed by this show because of the wide variety of dances. I liked watching in this particular performance space because you were able to be up close to the dancers. I felt very engaged in the dances and was able to bring myself to feel different emotions while watching. In the first dance, I was confused as to if there was a story behind it or not. I was trying to take myself to a place where the choreographer was coming from, but could not figure it out. However, I did like the style of movement and how he really created great levels within this movement. The choreography had many movements on the ground, but also a many in the air. Some sections were performed quickly and some slowly. This created an interesting variety in the visual of the dance. I really enjoyed the second dance. I felt that that the movement was very beautiful. They were dressed in bright colors, which added happiness to this dance. The dancers really reached to each extent of every movement. They were able to portray themselves pushing through the space. The movement was very flowy and they really used a deep plié throughout the dance. They used music to give off storm like noises. They used a great use of their floor work and moved through flower petals that were placed on the ground. In the third dance called “Walking a thin line”, I got the sense that the dancer was on a journey. She started off by singing while holding a lantern. This added a cool effect because you could tell that she was on a journey, possibly searching for something. This singing brought something different into this piece to make it very interesting. It kept me intrigued because of these different aspects. This dance was very fast pace, but she used a good use of her body. The fourth dance was something that I have never seen before. The lighting in this piece was very bright, which created happiness and a joyful sense. This dancer really knew how to use all of his space. He would run from corner to corner in many directions. He gave off a corky vibe and the music in the piece added a nerdy, goofy feel to it. The dancer seemed to be wrestling with himself throughout this dance. I felt that the dance could have been showing off what life stages this dancer was going through by the way he was moving. My favorite piece was “Turn to Dust.” This was a group piece danced to a beautiful song. The costumes added a subtle look, as they were cream lace dresses. You really felt a longing through watching this dance. This dance made me feel caught in the moment and I was able to stop thinking and enjoy each movement in this dance. The lifts were amazing, the movement was continuous, and the dancers really spoke through each small movement. In the next dance, there was no music. It was silent, but created a focus strongly on the movement of the dance. The dancers breathing made me feel scared and anxious for something bad coming. Her small movements were danced at a level where she made them look big. In the last dance “Micro love,” there was much going on. Continuous movement was happening throughout. In the beginning, I thought it was going to be a very intense dance, but it ended up being joyful and funny. It portrayed a story. The dancers were talking in another language, which added effects. In this dance, the dancers were very hard on their feet and they performed many falls to the ground in the dance. This dance taught about different cultures and ways of life, which was very cool to see. Overall, I felt the performance as a whole was very well done and I enjoyed every work of art. I was able to see a difference in choreography and appreciate the different styles and ways to move.

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Phantom Limb’s 69 S Dance Review

Kayla Bekermeier

    To be honest, I came to this dance show completely unaware of what it would be like. I did not know what style of dance they were going to be performing, who the company was, or what the show would be about. As I watched the beginning of the show, I tried to visualize what kind of story the performance was trying to play out. At first, the dancers had on a full red body suit with just their eyes showing. Their movements were very small and slow, but because of this I felt that each move was important and added much detail. Their small movements began to look like big movements. I felt a couple different scenarios could have been happening. I felt that they were either looking into a new world or they were very confused, lost, and not sure of what was going on at all. The dancers seemed they could be on an intense journey or going through a challenging situation.

In this performance, the sets were very interesting and helped set the mood through the different colors, lights, and props. For a majority of the show, the lighting was a bright white, dark gray, or black. The white light made the dancers stand out very clearly. They used 3 dimensional blow up paper mountains and a wooden boat as props. The props made me feel as if there was a war or a storm happening. Between these things and the icy snowy look the lights gave the set, I was able to tell that the scene of the story was set in the arctic.  This dance performance had live music, which I was not used to. I thoroughly enjoyed the live music. I felt it gave the performance a live feel and made my emotions more real. For example, when a drum was struck, it made me more scared from the loudness and intensity of the strike. The band consisted of drums, guitar, bells, and many other little things used to make sound. They, also, had history video clips playing on the icebergs at times, which added a new creative aspect.

The second part of the performance, women came out standing on sticks legs that made them extremely tall holding a string with a person attached to it as a puppet. The women were in all white and they directed their puppet wherever they went. The dancing here, again, consisted of very small movement. Many might say that there was no dancing in this section, but when you include a simple arm or leg movement or a small walking pattern as dancing, I would say there was a good amount. The puppeteers were able to lift the puppets and place them down in different places.

As I looked into what this performance was about, I learned that it was about a historical time period of the Endurance expedition in 1914. The journey was a failure and the ship sank at a latitude of 69 degrees south. After reading this and learning about the performance a little more, it made sense. When I looked into the company, I realized that it is known for its marionette puppetry and theatrical production. It helped me understand where the performance was headed.

As an audience viewer, I did not enjoy the show as much as I would have hoped for. I felt that there was not that much excitement and that it was very slow paced and dull. I felt that the movement could have been more elaborate to add something different into it. I did not feel engaged the whole performance and was not as interested as I have been in past performances. I felt that the band, the lighting, and the props overtook the dancing and I wish the movements were bigger and more exciting. Some aspects were very interesting in this performance, but it was different from my liking of dance performances.

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Studio Dance 1 (REPOST)

Kayla Bekermeier

  Studio Dance 1

    On Thursday, March 7, I went to see Studio Dance 1 at the Krannert Center at 9 p.m. It was in a very cool performance theatre. This theatre was very small, which gave the setting a different feel. I felt that I was able to feel more of what they were trying to express while they were dancing. Because you were so close to them, you felt the energy the dancers were giving off. The dance became more real as they were dancing so closely to us. They did not seem to feel intimidated or the need to keep their distance and were able to come as close to the audience as choreographed. Each dance portrayed a different meaning in my eyes. In some, I was not exactly sure what they were trying to portray, but they all tended to tell me a different story. In the first dance, I felt they were giving off a feeling of longing. It seemed like the dancers were trying the get somewhere, as they would run from corner to corner and side-to-side of the stage. With the reaching of their arms and using the movement of pulling, I felt they were trying to strive to achieve something or reach for something more. It was brought to my mind that maybe they were on a journey through life trying to find the meaning. With the dark lighting and the use of lanterns, I felt they were on a search longing to find the answer. After having these thoughts, I looked at the program to see that the dance was entitled “To the Land.” This gave me some assurance that the dancers were on a journey to a possible search for a new land. The second dance was very interesting and intriguing. By the use of a prop, Renee Archibald really created an amazing piece. In this dance, they used a long white sheet of paper hanging from the ceiling. They used this sheet to hide behind, to cut, to walk on, and to roll in and out. I felt the title of this dance “Shake shake” was very appropriate because the dancers were always moving. This dance reminded me of chaos and a lot going on. In the beginning of the piece, a dancer started off but cutting the paper. Once she fully cut it, two dancers were revealed. They were dancing with their feet, performing quick movement that was very interesting to watch. Halfway through the dance, two dancers used vocals by gasping and humming to create intensity and engagement in the piece. I could not draw a connection as to why that was performed but feel that it was just important as the other dance movements seeing it added a new element towards the dance. To end the dance, two dancers started rolling and unrolling the scroll of paper. I felt that this could portray a pathway that was open and ready to be walked on, but also closed and ready to be moved onto a new journey. I liked this dance because it was made up of many different elements and I feel the paper created a new creative side to the piece. In the last piece, all the dancers were wearing different costumes and shoes. It created a different look, other than a uniform style. I feel this look created a lack of togetherness, but a big connection to differences in people. This dance portrayed a place of many people who were stranded, but not alone. I felt like they were all thrown in a place where they were forced to be with each other. In this dance, the dancers were very helpful of each other. I felt even though there was lack of uniformity between the looks of the dancers, there was a connection of unity from the movement and supportiveness of each other through their movement. In the dance, they seemed to help other’s move places as they traveled through the space together. I felt the show, as a whole, was very interesting to watch, as it triggered many emotions and feelings through the beautiful art of dance.

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Don Quixote Dance Review

Dance Review 

By: Kayla Bekermeier, January 27, 2012 

            On Tuesday, January 22, I got the privilege of seeing the ballet performance entitled Don Quixote performed by the Russian National Ballet Theatre.  I was extremely impressed by the dancers in this ballet company. There were many different characters in this production including Kitri, Basilio, Dox Quixote, Sancho Panza, Lorenzo, Gamache, and Toreador. Each dancer portrayed their character very well. They put on the expression of their character and lived them out to the fullest. Their facial expressions were very pleasant and necessary for the character they were portraying. Reading the summaries of the acts in the program helped me understand each scene in the ballet a little more. If I did not read the summaries, I feel I would be a little lost in what story the ballet was trying to portray. The dancers were put together very well. They wore many different types of dresses and tutus. Their dresses were poofy and colorful to create a nice look of liveliness. They looked very clean cut. Their buns were slicked back and all the dancers looked the same to create unity.  They wore many different types of shoes including jazz shoes, ballet shoes, pointe shoes, and character shoes. Many props were used in the ballet. The props included fans, capes, tambourines, swords, and cans. These added a nice image to the scenes and helped portray the story. The music and lights helped set the mood of the story. By hearing what style of the music was playing, if it was up beat and happy or down and dark, I was able to understand the mood of the act. The lights portrayed if it was a cheerful scene or a sad scene. By the music and lights, we could tell if there was an intense angry section happening or happy joyful section appearing. The formations in the pieces were interesting and clever. A good use of space was used. They used a half circle, lines going different ways, and had dancers in every corner to fill up the stage. While one dancer was doing a solo, they made sure to enclose him or her in a half square to make the stage look more full of dancers with less movement. They used a good variety of group dances, trios, duets, and solos. It kept things interesting. The actual dance technique and use of style in ballet was amazing. The dancers did a great job making the steps look so easy, when in reality I know it truly is not. They were always in sync and together in their group dances. They had many lifts that were very unique. The tricks and lifts in the dances kept me intrigued and wanting to see more.  Their turns were exquisite. They really used their spot in getting around in turning. The dancers really knew how to get off the floor while jumping as they got so much height on them. Every toe lifted off the ground was pointed and every step made was precise. You could easily tell that they have had a lot of training and much practice. Their technique was wonderful and they did an amazing job. I was really impressed by this ballet and all the aspects they used in it. I felt it was very entertaining and well worth my time of seeing.