DANCE PERFORMANCE ESSAY
The Modern Dance of University of Utah performance lived up to its billing. The performance was not only amazing but was exciting and thrilling. The audience was enthusiastic and impatient. In addition to the students of Utah University, neighboring colleges attended. Parents, teachers, staff, and invited guests attended too. Everyone was anxiously waiting for the “moment” which seemed to take eternity. The clock on the wall clicked away at a snail’s pace. It was a tense moment. Expectations were high and the mood in the dance hall was enthusiastic. The performance was at the west of the Marriott Library and approximately 2,000 people attended.
At exactly fifteen minutes to nine, Universities dance troop raised the curtain and welcomed guests with a thrilling dance performance that left the audience in utter enthusiastic mood. It was to be a lively performance. The movements were coordinated and moved rhythmically with the music form the background. The welcoming dance, Propel, created a fairy tale mood of unison that greatly blended with the dancers moves. This accompanied Classical instrumentals lifted the dancers through the air with a great sense of pride and jubilation from the audience. The welcoming dance set the audience mood right and this elicited happy and joyful reaction. After a fifteen minute, slow and smooth dance that left the audience yearning for more, the stage was set for the first batch of dancers who not only utilized the stage, but also left the audience with a strong feeling of love.
The dance titled “lovely”; it set the mood of love in the air. The costumes matched the stage light and the background music could be mistaken for a love scene movie. It was slow, smooth, and sensual. The dancing team comprised of three males and three females. As the dancers collaborated and moved around each other, their grace and happy mood elicited a romantic mood. The music was a piece from the 60s and went a long way in reinforcing the dancing moves of the dancers. The dancing concentrated mostly on the upper torso and the waist. The female dancers were airlifted and could be seen as if they were floating in the air atop a firm support. At one moment, the female dancers raced to the far end of the stage and squatted not far from the audience. Just in time with the music, the male dancers came upon them with such grace and masculine moves that baffled the audience. After a ten minute, solo dance in which the dancers took turns to show case their beautiful movements, the dancers came around and started dancing round each other. The female dancers were kind of resisting the male’s approaches with such grace that elicited applause and great laughter from the audience. The dancers maintained consistent moves that blended well with the music, which to a slow rock piece of the 80s. The dancers utilized the stage wholly, which made it even more interesting and enjoyable. With strong and steady movements and the males streaming to one corner while the female left in the center, it portrayed a unique dramatized dance and the message was very clear. The dancers finished their performance on such a high note that the audience yearned and wanted more. They greatly connected with the audience throughout the performance, which further enhanced their confidence on stage.
The second dancers on stage performed a ballet. The dancers comprised of only males. Their performance was dull and lacked the momentum of the first two groups. The audience jeered them and after a boring twenty minutes of a dance that bored the audience, they bowed out of the staged. The dancers concentrated their eyes on the floor and rarely looked at the audience. Their performance was not properly coordinated and at one point, they almost lost balance. They never connected well with the audience. The dance itself was more or less like an arabesque and very far away from a ballet dance. At one moment, they almost confused their next unison movement and they ended up bumping onto each other, which greatly embarrassed their choreographer. The dancing moves were totally out of touch with the music. The moves and the bodies were not in rhythm at all. It totally killed the lively mood that had been set amongst the audience.
The performance finally closed after a thrilling performance from Utah Junior dancers. It once again lifted the mood of the dancers with a creative piece of “healing skies”. The dancers were confident, well versed in their performance and with great movements. They worked very hard to deliver their best. One obvious thing was that they had aggressively rehearsed on their movements. The music was cool and their ballet movements were well coordinated. Their legs were straight and high with perfect pointed toes and leg line. This enhanced their lucid movements. The dancers maintained a steady high, medium, and low levels, and they lifted each other graciously in the air lifting the mood of the audience massively.
In conclusion, the Utah Dance Performance lived up to its expectation. Later reviews were positive and the dancers received a big standing ovation.
