Last weekend, Connecticut College’s Dance Club hosted its fall performance, “Kinetic Conundrums.” The show was entirely created and organized by students. Members, predominantly seniors, choreographed a variety of intricate, dramatic and even comical pieces that showcased the talent of our student dance community.
Each dance was unique in both content and intent. Every one utilized light, sound, props and costumes to convey emotion and often, a story. For example, the first piece, choreographed by Chloe Spitanly ’13, was a comical exploration of the benefits of being short. She combined the audio from a YouTube clip with the folksy tunes of the Avett Brothers to create a cute, quirky dance that captured the audience’s attention from the start.
The rest of Act I was an interesting combination of fast and slow, elegant and bold. A piece by Amy Gernux ’13 featured Richard Schenk playing Bach on the cello while twelve dancers moved fluidly to the string music. The last half of the dance was a more somber solo by Liz Charky ’13, ironically set to an upbeat Beach Boys tune.
Some pieces were more theatrical, like the piece choreographed by Skyler Volpe ’13. According to one of her dancers, Stephanie Reeves ’16, “When we first began to rehearse the piece, we were simply hobos on a train. By the end of the process, we had turned all of the silly little mishaps into something wonderful.”
Other dances throughout the show seemed to be similarly experimenting with mood, rhythm and body movement. Matty Burns ’13 choreographed and danced in one particularly memorable piece that also featured Volpe. The two danced to the jazzy, slow melodies of Baby Dee and Barbra Streisand in a theatrical duet. Burns entered the stage in a dress, instantly changing the dynamic of the duo. Rather than using the cross-dressing for a purely comedic effect, Burns and Volpe re-enforced the romantic quality of their duet through their passionate movements. As the dance progressed, the audience witnessed more deviance from the ordinary. The two incorporated taking shots of alcohol into their choreography. Yet, again instead of being comical, it only added to the build-up toward the end. The most impressive aspect of the dance, however, was the dancers themselves, and their commitment to conveying a message. Throughout the latter half of the piece, both Volpe and Burns stripped away their clothes, and proceeded to finish the dance nude. Their sincerity and confidence again sapped the piece of awkward humor, instead making it a really special tribute to love, regardless of gender. Burns called it a dance about “people who need people.”
“Originally the idea for my piece began as an experiment for a choreography class. I wanted to create a series of relationships between Skyler and I that emphasized the natural chemistry between us. I also wanted to create a dance that left my audience intellectually puzzled and emotionally involved. As Skyler and I worked on the piece, we soon realized that we were doing much more than just experimenting. Somehow we ended up creating a work far more intimate, personal and truly human than either of us could have predicted,” Burns said.
Photo taken by Miguel Salcedo
Act II continued to showcase unique works from the Dance Club seniors. One particularly memorable duet was choreographed by Spitalny, and performed by herself along with one audience member. The dance, titled “Our Duet,” consisted of the audience member reading instructions from a booklet. Spitalny then allowed herself to be manipulated by the audience member’s mandates, resulting in a hilarious and exceptional dance performance.
Though these dances were all visually rich, many times the audience was left to interpret the meanings. To get a better idea of the work and thought behind one of the pieces showcased, I talked to Rachel Pritzlaff ’13, choreographer of the last dance: a trio to “The Trees Were Mistaken” by Andrew Bird. This fast, rhythmic performance was enhanced by the addition of rice flour. The dancers incorporated the flour into their movement, covering their feet and leaving footprints all across the stage. When asked about the inspiration behind her dance, Pritzlaff replied, “I kind of really let the movement guide the meaning behind it. I didn’t come with a preconceived notion of what I wanted to make… I sort of do movement research, if you will, to figure out how to put some sort of abstract meaning in what the dancers are doing.”
When asked about the role of the flour, she admitted, “About two weeks before the show I decided I wanted to play with the idea of having footprints on the floor just to show pathways. The Monday before the show we tried it with flour and it kind of became this whole other aspect, and made this atmosphere within itself. It created a fog, but it was within the dance that the fog was created. It wasn’t like there was some outside effect.” Sometimes with the creation of any type of performance, things just fall into place. In this case, Pritzlaff’s incorporation of flour enhanced the effect of her dancers’ quick movements, creating a swirling, foggy atmosphere.
Pritzlaff also elaborated on her collaboration with her dancers. She praised her trio, consisting of Hillary Lindsay ’13, Nora Loughry ’13 and Meg Robbins ’15. According to Pritzlaff, they are all very musically intelligent, and were able to adapt her ideas to the quick pace of the music. She even said that it would be hard to substitute for any of them, as they were able to pick up her choreography so quickly.
When finally asked about the most difficult part of the whole process, Pritzlaff had just one answer: time. The Dance Club has a limited amount of studio time per week, and every minute matters. She said, “Logistics really dictate the process.” Her dance involved a lot of rhythmic repetition. When asked if she would change anything about her process, Pritzlaff admitted, “If I were able to rehearse for longer amounts of time I don’t know if I would use as much repetition in the choreography. I would play with that if I were able to do it again.”
Overall, the show seemed to be a huge success. The senior choreographers took advantage of this opportunity to showcase their talent, as did all the other dancers who performed. The show consisted of a wide variety of themes and, thus, many outlets for creativity. If you happened to miss this event, consider attending the other Dance Club performances later in the year.
