University’s fall dance concert a feast for the senses
By Aaron Bokros
Old Gold and Black Reviewer

Two weeks ago, the last production of the year by the theater department of Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was closed and torn down. For most theater students, that is the end of the semester. There is no more painting; the scene shop is silent. To most, the season is over, ready to continue in the spring. For me, I am nothing short of ecstatic.

On Nov. 12, our custom rubber Marley dance floor is laid on top of the shiny oak paneled stage floor. Lights appear in the wings, hanging from 16-foot tall-poles, casting long beams on the floor. The theatre is filled with music, not quiet to fit under actors’ voices, but loud and boomy – so loud it makes your sternum thump. It is dance concert week, and I couldn’t be more excited.

To me, a dance concert is the ultimate artistic expression that can go onstage. Lighting, sound and beautiful movement combine to form flawless paintings in motion. I look forward to each of the two dance concerts that the university dance department puts on each year.

This fall’s performances took place Nov. 15 – 17. Each year, Nina Lucas, an associate professor of theater and the director of the dance department, combines works choreographed by professors and guest choreographers into a two-part show that showcases the talents of the university’s dance company.

For this concert, the show was divided into two parts. The first part contained four dances, three of which were choreographed by university dance professors. The first piece was Nina Lucas’ Eclipse. The piece combined modern ensemble dancing with music taken from Cirque du Soliel.

Following the suggestive lighting and modern look and sound of the first piece, the second piece was a classical variation of the pas de trois from Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake. Choreographed by Fanchon Cordell, an adjunct professor of theatre, the piece was highlighted by the performance of young Matthew Murphy, a high school sophomore at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Murphy not only handled his partners, sophomore Michelle Bettin and senior Emma Jane White, very assertively, he shined on his solo sections. The two female dancers were both wonderful in their solos, but Murphy’s capability as a jumper and turner had the audience on the edge of their seats.

In glaring contrast to the classical piece, adjunct professor of theatre Sherone Price’s Fractural Images Indigo Moods explored the combination of modern dance with distinct African dance moves. Also a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Price’s piece was a showcase for not only wonderful dancing, but perhaps was set against the best lighting design of the evening. Frank Ludwig, an assistant professor of theatre, was again masterful in his control of dance concert lighting, but this piece was definitely the standout.

To round out the first act, North Carolina School of the Arts’ Susan McCullough choreographed Lament, a classical ballet piece with modern influence.

The second half was completely taken up with the performance of Diane Markham’s Cowgirls. With its narration based on Teresa Jordan’s novel Cowgirls: Women of the American West, the piece centers around a daughter’s remembrance of her mother. With quirky choreography in some places, the piece was emotive and sometimes silly, giving the audience and idea of the wide range of emotions felt by the daughter. Triad actress Lesley Hunt gave narration as the daughter as an elderly woman.

Each dancer in the piece deserves a hand but special consideration must be given to seniors Cheryl Woodin and Jessica Poirier. Woodin combines emotional release with fluid and controlled movement in a very moving solo. Poirier’s highlights included a duet with a stoic cowboy, senior Sasha Cole. Set to Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” Poirier flung herself around the rooted Cole with such ease that she seemed to be an orbiting rag doll on occasion.

This fall’s dance concert was a well-balanced mix of modern dance and classical ballet. Not only that, it combined different types of pieces into one concert; the first act consisting of four individual pieces and the second act of a 45 minute epic.
The diversity of dance presented by our department never ceases to amaze me. I have not missed one concert in my four years here and I encourage everyone to take advantage. To miss these feasts for the senses is a travesty. Don’t miss your opportunity coming up in the spring, where fellow students will be able to showcase their own works.