Rite of Dance

A simple blog dedicated to a simple purpose. To share with the world my thoughts and opinions on live performances of dance. From the lesser known local dance companies, to world-renowned ensembles, I enjoy watching them all.

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OVO • Cirque du Soleil

Performance Details

March 2017 at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas

I had seen little ad inserts online for OVO when I was buying tickets to other Cirque du Soleil shows on their website, and from those gained a very rudimentary idea of what it would be about. It seemed buggy, with little tufts of grass and insect antennas taking up most of the ad space. It was simple and I didn’t question what I thought to be the theme of the show. It was enough imagery to tide me over until I was able to attend the actual show. Let it be mentioned, however, that I did have some skepticism about how much I would enjoy the show since I absolutely hate bugs and insects. I reasoned with myself that it was a Cirque du Soleil production, and usually the group’s shows are beyond amazing. I entered the venue with some doubt, but thankfully I was more wowed by the performance than put off by the theme.

Right off the bat, just from taking my seat and seeing the stage setup in all its stillness, I was impressed. Perched on a circular raised-floor stage was a massive egg, behind which was a wall that held a computer-generated image of natural scenery. In front of the circular stage positioned among the front-row folding chair seats were two rock-like mini platforms on either side. What can I say? It looked pretty cool, even if it was confirmed in my mind that this show would involve a lot of bugs.

I was right to some extent. There was really nothing but bugs in this show, with the exception of the woman who appeared on and off stage to sing in what appeared to be a more indigenous costume, and a few bug catchers who were swinging their nets around before the show started to get peals of laughter from audience members who had the net come down over their head. I tried in vain to identify each bug that came out in the show; ants juggling their kiwi and corn tidbits on their feet, a fly swirling and maneuvering magnificently on a spiraling vine-like pole, the comedic ladybug and what I took to be a mosquito, the spider in her light-patterned web with a contortion act that really agreed with her role, the grasshoppers who very characteristically had jumping choreography on the trampolines, and the butterflies who soared above the audience in a dazzling aerialist display of grace and fluttering ease. There were plenty of insects that I couldn’t place specifically, like the tightrope walker and the juggler.

As much as I do not like the insect theme in a general personal preference, I have to say that the show really delivered visually. The costumes were amazing and were used in interesting ways that at times interacted with the staging. The grasshoppers were fascinating to watch because of the protruding angle-bent legs that were sewn into the design. Every time the performer lifted a leg or simply walked, it moved the angled cricket-legs and completed the whole illusion that the performer was indeed a grasshopper. My personal favorite, the butterfly, made a stunning entrance using a mix of costuming and set interaction. A rope was lifted from a hole that had opened up in the stage floor, and as it lifted it pulled up a white cloth-covered person. The best description I have for the imagery here is perhaps to imagine a much looser, thinner, and longer body-bag. The performer within pushes against the fabric incessantly until we see an arm pop out from the top of the cloth, it disappears into the bag again only to reappear seconds later accompanied by the other arm. A leg, the head, the torso… one by one body parts emerge in what is reminiscent of a butterfly escaping its cocoon. I was enthralled by how beautiful it was, how the human body could capture the nature of such a creature. I think I might have let out a gasp when I saw the butterfly-perfomer completely free itself of its cocoon only to lower herself down midway on the rope to the fallen material and use it to give the impression of having and flapping wings. Here, I think it was impressive how the performer used part of the set as an interchangeable part of costuming. It definitely upped the artistry in my eyes.

OVO was about bugs, yes, but it did have a vague storyline. Most Cirque du Soleil shows are set around storylines that can come across as interpretive to the audience, and I felt that OVO was no different. The storyline seemed to revolve around the romance between a ladybug and a mosquito, simply and bluntly. For the most part the ladybug, mosquito, and bug leader were all comedic relief characters. They rarely took on serious notes, or added to the powerful athleticism that the other bug-performers brought to the show. Truth be told, I immensely disliked all the slapstick-like comedy from these characters for the first 20 or so minutes. I wanted to see a performance, choreography that dazzled, acting that spoke through gesture, but I was getting rudimentary comedy. However, the comedy bits became funnier the longer into the show we got, so I started to enjoy them more. Thinking on it now, I realize it might have employed so much comedy because of the children-friendly, city-traveling nature of the show.  

Part of what was so captivating about the show was the way the performers committed to their buggy roles. I noticed subtle movements like the abrupt tilt or turn of a head that really captured the finicky and sudden movement of bugs such as crickets. It helped that the costuming took on bug antennas and made it so that they jiggled and wiggled every time a performer did. For the ants, there was a lot of scurrying and following in groups that the actors managed to act out incredibly well. The spiders moved very slow and deliberately, but could amp up their speed without sacrificing the flexibility of their traveling movements. For this show, I think the acting really came through in subtle movement qualities that are associated with bugs and managed to engage the crowd visually.

In all, OVO was definitely an artistic work as much as it was an incredible showcase of ability from its performers. Everything from acting, movement quality, choreography, costuming,  and staging was pretty superbly done. However, I could recommend that the giant egg that appears throughout the show be better included in the storyline. It almost seemed as though the egg was just… an egg for the purpose of having an egg in the show despite how often it appears in promotion ads.

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Ka • Cirque du Soleil

Performance Details:

March 18, 2017 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The experience for the performance of Ka really starts from the moment you begin lining up to enter the theatre. The men and women who work there by keeping the lines in order and checking tickets take on personas and characters that vary drastically. My personal encounters involved a rather buff and stoic-looking man who barked hilariously specific orders to those who were trying to figure out where the lines of entry were, and a greying man with a walking stick who was friendly but entirely kooky in his conversational topics (Which ranged from pointing out baldness in males who were waiting in the same line as myself to the history of helicopters and their resemblance to dragonflies). Each comment got a chorus of good-natured chuckles from those of us waiting in the line, and while at first it can be confusing, it became clear that these were not just workers. They were very good at acting and initiating conversation in their character’s mindset. 

Like I said, it becomes a performance experience almost as soon as you walk into the theatre lobby. 

Inside the actual theatre, the stage is staggering in its design and construction. It really makes your mouth gape in awe, and wonder what sort of show is about to unfold. Several people behind me, when I turned around, had stopped entirely in the middle of the walkway inside the theatre to openly marvel at the stage extensions that ran above our heads. As the show would progress, the magnitude of the staging would continually prove to be awe-inspiring. I think that this is one of the most prominent factors of the show itself, acrobatic amazing-ness aside. With rotating stage floors that spin and rearrange itself to provide a tilted or completely vertical position, it makes the actions of the performers atop it even more impressive. The skill necessary to flip, run, fall, twirl, jump, and fling off of a moving, tilted, or completely vertical stage is not something that many dancers (like myself) can even imagine doing. 

Returning to the performance, the show is described as being “the story of the coming of age of a young man and a young woman and their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of Ka”. The storyline is revealed throughout the performance, and it is done fairly well. The story is told in parts, where a scene will cut and the staging will switch around to move to a different character much like a book written in sequence through various points of view. 

A short summary of the story’s plot: A brother and sister seem to celebrate (the occasion seems unclear, were it not for the booming narrative voice that opens the show, declaring the occasion as being the twins’ coming of age celebration) in the midst of a great gathering of individuals. The position of everyone else in relation to the twins suggests to the audience that the twins are royalty. They are happy and carefree, until a band of hostile enemies appear and decimate the mood of festiveness. In the fight that ensues, the parents of the royal twins are killed. Despite trying to escape via boat together with their court, the twins themselves are separated; the male twin falls off the boat and is saved by the court jester, and the female twin with the caretaker and two male court valets wash up on the shoreline of a beach after the boat sinks. The twins each face their own set of challenges and build up experiences (including falling in love) that test their determination which culminates in an eventual reunion between brother and sister and a final battle against the enemies that threaten them and their loved ones. 

There is no spoken component to the storyline, though the performers do speak in what is assumed to be a made-up language when dialogue comes about. The real communication comes from the body gestures and facial expressions. We don’t know what the female twin is saying, but we can see her curious expression and careful steps forward toward the unfamiliar terrain she’s been exposed to. 

The costuming for this production was complex, and at times I felt that the design of some of the costumes could have been done differently so that the movements of the performers could be more clearly identified, specifically in the case of the performers who were supposed to be royalty or royal court members. Sometimes, for instance, the leg-tucked-into-chest flips that performers executed were almost hard to follow and appreciate because the costume would be too long and the only visible thing moving through the air were folds of fabric. 

I appreciated the stark difference in costuming between the royalty and royal court from the enemies because it made it simple to understand who was part of which side. A point I have to make because there have been shows in the past where strong distinctions were not made and the audience was constantly in a state of confusion trying to identify who was who when they could have been focusing on the movement and story. In all, however, the costumes were imagery-inspiring and certainly drew in the eye. My personal favorite was the Firefly Boy in his glitzy and sparkly nude body suit - who I like to refer to as the “glitzy Tarzan”.  

The show had an astounding musical score. In intense moments of complex choreographed fighting or thrashing aboard moving stage sets, the music was positively engulfing and prompted an almost physical reaction in my own heart to feel each deep drum strike or buzz with the enchanting male choral chanting. I admit, the more dramatic music was my favorite and I loved it so much that I absolutely had to buy a CD of the soundtrack as soon as I left the Ka theatre. 

Interestingly enough, the whole production seemed to me to gain much of its influence visually from the Eastern world. The Dragon that roared at the interest was sculpted and painted in much the same way one would see them portrayed in Chinese artwork, the face paint and mask design on many of the performers seemed to draw off of the art style of the Japanese, the royal costuming was reminiscent of robes worn by Eastern royalty, and the use of the little instrument by the main villain at the very start of the show to assumedly signal the beginning of the show had such a strong resemblance to Buddhist practice. Because of all this, I wondered if the title of the show ‘Ka’ was to highlight the theme of family in the show since the Cantonese word for family is Ka (家庭). 

The performers of this amazing show were brilliant, and can certainly be considered masters of their art. The aerial acrobats were a personal favorite, especially the scene in which the Sister Twin and Firefly Boy soared high above the stage together, landing gently on solid stage flooring to be playful and flirt innocently only to wow the crowd by flying up and over the audience. It was a scene that left the audience captivated, heads following the progress of the two contorting bodies through the air and gasping collectively when the Sister Twin latched on with her feet to the Firefly Boy dangling without holding on with arms or hands above the crowd. 

Another stand out scene, amongst the many that existed, was the ship scene in which the ship convincingly rocked to and fro violently in the midst of a stage actively lit to appear like a thunderstorm. It was about mid-scene that I realized that the ship was not moving mechanically, at least not completely, because it was being rocked by the weight of performers at each end of the ship like a giant see-saw. The job that these performers had almost slid past my radar since their ability to act and move the boat at the same time made me believe they were just as frenzied as all the other performers were. It truly was a spectacle, and one I will never forget. 

The production of Ka at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is without a doubt a must-see event! It will thrill you, make you laugh, keep your level of alertness always at the max, and it will not leave you disappointed or underwhelmed. If you are a dancer like myself, the show will make you wish you could train harder so that one day you can join the world of Cirque Du Soleil and dazzle the audience the same way you were dazzled the night you stepped into the Ka Theatre. 

-Patricia Hernandez 

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CultureDANCE: Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

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Noble Motion Dance Company (Critique)

Performance Details:

April 22, 2016 at Texas A&M International University’s Fine and Performing Arts building.

Noble Motion is a dance company based out of Houston, Texas and brought pieces from their repertoire to the Laredo community for one night following a series of Master Classes open to TAMIU students. Of the performance itself, It is important to note that the the Noble Motion performance comprised of six pieces that were very different and in no way related. This is in comparison to other dance company performances where a common theme is portrayed and in some way links all the dance pieces together. In this case, there was no central idea or existing link that connected the dances to tell a larger story. Each piece was stand-alone and vivid in its own terms.

The first piece, entitled “a CrB”, was as a whole a shocking piece to watch in the sense that it used technology to such a huge degree. On the stage, side by side at angles suited to form an equilateral triangle, there were two large screens. These two large screens were displaying distorted video feeds of the dancer’s movements in real time (or what can be assumed as real time). The use of technology to this scale was enormously surprising at first sight, almost incomprehensible.   

The dancers themselves seemed to be at odds with something within themselves, struggling in their movements and showing signs of distress as they replaced each other in front of the screens. This impression of inner-struggle was only heightened by the use of the screens that were reflecting video of their dancing. At times, when all the dancers would dance in the space in front of the screens, the video feed would also multiply and have overlapping imagery of the dancers. This made the activity appear chaotic, like there was more than individual struggle to contend with. The part where dancers sat around in a semi-circle just outside the lighted area of the stage’s main space used by the dancer in front of the screen and simply watched the others dance their struggle only heightened this feeling. The idea that perhaps each person has an inner-struggle to deal with, but also must deal with it while others look on. And while others are also struggling, self struggle becomes a unit of struggle where no one problem is more tangible than the rest. 

“Flash Burn” was a very heart-wrenching piece that will leave embedded impressions on the viewer’s mind. It was very severe from the first siren that wailed through the theatre. The sirens kept going and a forbidding feeling follows as the darkness of the stage lifts to reveal what looked like two street lamps and figures that changed for the worst with each dim and lighten of the light. The image that surfaced from just the beginning sequence of light off - light on choreography was that of wartime. Perhaps the warning of the threat of atomic bombs being dropped during WWII. 

Continuing along, a group emerges and they dance to the music of unrelenting sirens with forceful movements and audible breathing patterns. The use of breathing in the choreography helped to induce a feeling of fear. Something was not right, something was occurring that forced these people to shake and lift their hands to the sky as if seeking some form of help. This in particular, the reaching skyward with spread fingers, seemed very Alvin Ailey reminiscent. It was when the spotlights became a focal point for movement and spacing on the stage that a new image surfaces of the context of the dance. The lights seemed like searchlights, similar to those that would have been used to scout areas around concentration camps during WWII at night for stragglers or escapees attempting to flee. In most instances, the dancers appeared frightened of the light and both hesitated to be caught in it as well as out of it. The dancers went through a lot of shaking movements in their upper body, lower body, arms, and head that gave off a strong impression of being unwilling and frightened. There was one part in particular that struck a deep chord in which as a group the dancers swayed in sync until one burst into a frenzy and then fell back into the synchronized movements of the group. This happened several times with several dancers. The image that came from this was one that was cold and sorrowful. I imagined a scene in which prisoners were left in showers to await the acid rain that would end their lives. Not knowing what was to happen, until the first feels the effects and the rest follow suit. 

In this case, the costuming was very imperative to the way the piece was understood. The costumes were simple nude in color, like underwear. This bare-minimum concept for costuming only heightened the feeling that these were people being accepted to concentration camps whereupon they were typically stripped of personal belongings and clothing to receive more suitable ones to their adaptation of lives as labor workers or one-stop-trips to the execution lines. 

Both of these pieces were incredibly well done, and very impressionable upon the audience. The use of lighting was astounding and, frankly, surprising. It seemed like such a different world of possibilities can be opened up just by more creatively incorporating the use of lights into choreography. Not only did lighting enhance certain movements, but it created atmosphere and different ways in which to play with the space available on stage (especially with “Photo Box D”). 

Though not all the pieces in the program were expanded upon in this critique, they still complied with similar praises already mentioned for their use of lighting and amazing ability to show movement in groups and as pairs that worked together (like “Out of Pocket”). They all had some sort of deep lasting impression to make on the audience that stuck out as being unique and vivid. None of the pieces were so unmemorable in their choreography and overall delivery to risk being forgotten or confused for another.

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Paul Taylor Dance Company as featured in Vogue.