By Julie O’Neil

This past Saturday night I had the pleasure of watching the annual fall student dance concert, entitled "1120 Dance Ave." The show is in its seventeenth year and this one was organized by seniors Emily Altiere BMC ‘10 and Caitlin Iles BMC ‘10. The show ran for just the right amount of time—a brisk hour and fifteen minutes—and had a second performance on Sunday afternoon. The performances ranged from the stellar to the unique and covered many different styles of dance. Though there were moments where I felt like I was in a flashback to my own dance recitals, I was excited to see all of these pieces.

From my seat in Haverford’s Marshall Auditorium, I watched sixteen different pieces. To begin with, there were a few obvious themes to the routines. The first pattern was the inclusion of the late Michael Jackson’s music. "Smooth Criminal" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" were used for cool jazz performances. Similarly popular were songs from the musical "Spring Awakening"—"All That’s Known" and "The Song Of Purple Summer."

As far as specific dancing goes, there were a handful of standout performances featuring some pretty awesome talent in the bi-college dance community. 

In the first act, I really enjoyed the modern dance to a slowed-down more-pop-less-hip-hop version of Outkast’s "Hey Ya" re-done by Obadiah Parker. Audience favorite, choreographer, and dance program newcomer Chris Flores HC ‘13 was particularly technically skilled, performing turn after turn at the end of the performance. It was a fun and colorful piece that brought lots of energy to the opening section of the show.

My other favorites were dance troupes Mayuri (Indian dance) and Yalah! (belly dancing). They were absolutely synchronized and just really awesome. They reminded me why I love dance and why I find it fascinating. The costumes were beautiful for both groups and the movement was so fluid. The combination of rough movements and etherial movements made the performance magnetic. These styles of dance are very difficult to master and I laude the efforts of these groups.   

The song mentioned earlier, "The Song Of Purple Summer", was a beautiful choice for an emotional modern performance. All of the dancers wore purple dresses in homage to the song and moved like wind in fall across the stage. It looked effortless. The group took turns in the spotlight and proved quite good. 

Finally, the beautiful closing dance entitled "Black Sheep" featured five dancers (Aliza Rothestein BMC ‘12, Anisha Chirmule BMC ‘10, Crystal Fraser BMC ‘11, and Christina Wagner BMC ‘11) and told the story of an outside dancing around a group of elite and pure insiders. With black and white costumes to signify the characters, the piece closed the show perfectly.

All in all, the night lived up to the goal set forth by the show’s organizers which was "to bring the bi-college dance community together." The night included great dancers from both Bryn Mawr and Haverford and showed just what we are capable of in the arts. It was a great creative showcase with lots of diverse viewpoints and impressive artistry.  

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