Music Critique

Dancestry Illuminating the Past Inspiring the Now: Music Critique

Dance is a form of physical expression that is different from most other arts. The physical abilities one has to have are incredible. Balance, poise, footwork, timing, strength, precision, and rhythm are some that come to mind when I think of what one must have to dance at a high level. I have considered the three questions that Mr. Peeler had given us to help give structure to our essays. I tried to look at the dance as a whole performance meaning I tried to look at every dance and how they related to each other, as well as look at the style of each original choreographer. I also tried to look other parts of the performance into account like the lighting, music, costume, and

special effects.
I went to see Dancestry on September 11, at 7:30 pm., in the Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre. The event was performed by the Texas State University Department of Theatre and Dance. Dancestry was a collection of different dances from three major names in dancing who to this day not only stay relevant, but inspire plenty of modern dancers. The three people are Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Erick Hawkins. Honestly I’m not sure why they did the performance it might of just been for entertainment. Although I was getting a vibe that there was a sense of honor behind it. I guess all fine arts should have a sense of respect when performing them. It might have just been because of how important they seemed to be to the craft and them also being deceased. Each person that the dances took style from were very different in pretty much every way. Loie Fuller’s style was very interesting the use of the dresses reminded me of the baile folklorico which is the Mexican folk dance that the women do with their dresses. It got way more interesting when the dress got longer and the poles were added. That was some of the most original dance routines I have ever seen, if not the most. The dances with the long wavy dresses also gave off an elemental feeling depending on what lighting was on the dress and the movements of the dress. When there was a blue light on the dress and long slow patterns I got the feel of waves and water, but with red and orange light and quicker movements I felt like it was similar to fire. The dances with the long wavy dresses also gave off an elemental feeling depending on what lighting was on the dress and the movements of the dress. When there was a blue light on the dress and long slow patterns I got the feel of waves and water, but with red and orange light and quicker movements I felt like it was similar to fire. Then there was Erick Hawkins who had a much, much different style. I felt like his dances were much “more free”. I say this because there was a lot more movement in his routines and a much larger use of the stage. Hawkins’ routines also used less lighting, changes of lighting, and special effects. It was more of a focus on the moves then everything else. I found this to be especially true in “Plains Daybreak” The gazelle jumped in a circle which went all around the stage. There was definitely more movement and the stage seemed to be used more whereas the lighting was hardly used or changed at all, but unlike the Fuller’s style this did not take away much or anything at all. Hawkins’ routines seemed to have more “structure”. With Duncan’s and Fueller’s routines there seemed to be a lot more interpretation for how long a movement should last or the timing of a motion.
I do not know much about dancing, and therefore cannot judge the ability of the dancers accurately.

However I can try! I will say that everything the dancers did they did with great confidence, no hesitation. The whole team did a very good job of making me feel something for example when I was watching “Night” which was the first performance of the night, and was the one of the long dress dances, I could feel the subtle intensity. It was an in your face feeling, but it was almost like an anxious feeling, it made me ask “what is going to happen next?” They accomplished this by playing some quiet, yet powerful brass while adding some blue and purple lights, and even some fog while the girl with the dress on would change from making very small movements to large hands in the air motions and the motions would change from slow to fast. They did an excellent job in that particular dance of getting emotion out of me. Another that did of getting some emotion out of me was “Plains Daybreak” This one gave off a very different feel it used very dim warm colors, and a lot of percussion, it made me feel like a war was about to happen, but I was excited about it. It got me amped, and I could feel the “animals” that were dancing energy of ready to go and be wild! I also strangely got a feeling of hope and tranquility I think it was from the wind instruments and the colored lights, so even though these are some wild animals they are calm at points, but can change in an instant and go back to that wild, war ready, nature of

theirs.
In conclusion, I legitimately enjoyed some of the dances and they drew a lot of emotion out of me while some of the others, almost put me to sleep. It was the first dance performance I had ever been to and it was eye opening. In all honesty I would not suggest this to the majority of the people that I know. That being said I would actually suggest this performance to some of the more open minded people that I know to go check it out. I would also really like to know how it made them feel.