Eclipse (Photo by Tanaha Simon)
What first started as a creative avenue for students to express themselves through dance in genres typically unrepresented, the Eclipse show has evolved into an expansive and impressive display of student talent. This year’s performance did just that: impress.
The theme of this year’s Eclipse show was a “Tribute to the Stars,” meaning the program featured dance pieces influenced by the choreography, music and persona of momentous artists such as Michael Jackson, Lady GaGa, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, and many more.
Last Saturday, an excited and enthusiastic audience packed Evans Hall auditorium in Cummings Art Center at the 7 PM showing of Eclipse. As the lights dimmed, the stage, draped with a wall of gold streamers and a life-size replica of a music award, sparkled and gleamed as smoke machines and neon lights created an eerie, fog-filled anticipation of the first act: a tribute to Lady Gaga. The mood was immediately set from the high energy and spectacular choreography by Zooey Gonzales ’11 and Anakena Paddon ’12, featuring dancers costumed with sparkly face-paint and crazy headpieces in true Gaga-style.
The performances continued with a line-up of belly-dancing Beyonce and Shakira numbers, an extensive Britney Spears tribute representing the many faces and moves of the princess of pop choreographed by Zuleika Munoz ’10.
The audience’s attention and anticipations were equally satisfied by the rest of show’s performances and the surprise “celebrity” appearances. Various students posing as famous music celebrities introduced dances throughout the night. A splendidly, stumbling drunk Amy Winehouse, played by Celine Lahuerte ’11 complete with a teased-beehive hairdo competed with a reenactment of the infamous MTV run-in between Taylor Swift and Kayne West played by Julie Sizer ’11 and John Meade ’11 for the most memorable and hilarious “celebrity” appearances of the night.
This year’s Eclipse featured some unique choreography as the show seemed to branched out in dance genres not normally featured in past years. A tribute to America’s Best Dance Crew’s break-dancing phenomena, Jabawockez, was a new addition to Eclipse’s usual lineup, choreographed by Alex Hsu ’12. This dance piece succeeded in highlighting the different aspects of break-dancing and the dancers performed with great skill and energy, especially behind plastic white face-masks characteristic of the Jabawockez.
The Connecticut College Dance Team enthusiastically performed an *NSYNC tribute characterized by “I Heart Justin” tank tops, a medley of the pop band’s top hits, and dance moves reminiscent of the 90s heyday of screaming teenage girls and the reign of boy-bands. The dance team’s two performances, although enjoyable to watch, seemed a bit out of place within the Eclipse show’s amalgamation of dance pieces, the choreography exuding more of a feel of watching a cheerleading competition.
Even so, a contemporary-dance piece choreographed to Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” by Emma Augustine ’12 and Oceane Hooks-Camilleri ’12, was a beautiful tribute to another unique dance genre. Augustine and Hooks-Camilleri’s performance was carefully choreographed and stunningly executed with both dancers moving at ease, visually showing how jazz and modern dance can meld interchangeably. This performance was out of many from the night that made it easy to forget previous assumptions that Eclipse only showcases hip-hop dances.
The tributes encompassing the Eclipse show were all strong embodiments of each celebrity artist evidenced by representative choreography, music and costumes successfully accomplished by the wide variety of choreographers this year. The last dance of the evening was a full-fledged tribute to the Jackson 5 and the late Michael Jackson choreographed by Tremana White ’11. A short montage of video, photos and songs reflecting the life of the King of Pop was shown on a screen before Eclipse dancers performed to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” and Michael Jackson’s “Do You Remember the Time” as a strong and reflective closing piece.
Overall, this year’s Eclipse performance was a great production that throughly reflected the great lengths the dancers, choreographers and Eclipse members reached to produce a truly unique, and exciting dance show while continuing in the tradition of this diverse dance show.
