BY SARAH BRICAULT

In print | Published December 6, 2007

Imagine flowing, sensual, flirtatious, even erotic movements across the stage. Imagine tap dancers, ballerinas and African ritual dances. On Friday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m., Swarthmore students introduced audiences to all these and more during the Fall Student Dance Concert. Held in the Lang Performing Arts Center, this concert was engaging because of both the diversity of dance styles displayed and the beauty of the dances themselves.

There were 10 very unique performances, and each utilized dance in its own rich way. From a tap performance to a traditional Ghanaian dance, from two dancers to 13, from music created onstage to dancing that began before the music, there was diversity in every element of these performances.

The night started with Alma’s Rock House, choreographed by Henry Roy. Skirted dancers skipped and twirled across the stage, flirtatious and flowing, playing with the music.

A dramatic tone change came with Parson’s Etude, the second performance choreographed by David Parsons. The sensual motions of three dancers replaced the playful motions of many, their harsher motions creating a much more dramatic tone. Their movements were “dry and harsh but still so beautiful,” said Marilyn Batonga ’08.

The next dance group paraded onstage to the sound of traditional Ghanaian music from drums and other native instruments. Their ritualistic movements and rhythmic music had the audience clapping along.

The next dance began in silence, with the two dancers weaving among ten glowing bulbs that had been lowered from the ceiling. Their erotic, sensual movements and the accompanying music conveyed a story of love and separation in the piece, entitled “Never Before.” It was refreshing to “see a dance in which the women do the lifts and are touching in a very real way,” said Claire Galpern ’10.

“The relationships between women are often in the subtexts [but not expressed],” Anjali Jaiman ’10 said.

After a brief intermission, the concert continued with three ballet performances: variations from The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Ciechi. These three dances captured all the flowing beauty of ballerinas.

A clip from “A League of Their Own” began the next section: a tap rendition of girls playing baseball complete with gloves, bats and even baseball uniforms.

Skirts made from newspaper and bubble wrap (and one person dressed as a box) constituted the costumes for the next dance, entitled “Unpacking” and choreographed by Michael Nguyen ’08. The unique interpretative dance captured the conflicting elements of separation and conformity, of leaving and remaining.

The final performance in the concert was another African dance entitled “Aaracatu de Baque Virado.” The dancers in this scene actually brought members of the audience onstage to participate in a rousing conclusion to the concert.

The audience, which ranged from Swarthmore students to professors and families with children, all seemed to enjoy the performance. “I always enjoy the dance concert,” said Batonga, “[not only was there] good choreography, but also good lighting and costumes.” Indeed, colored lights and patterns played on the wall behind the performers created an interesting backdrop for almost every dance, and the hanging bulbs for “Never Before” and the boxes present in “Unpacking” were particularly effective.

“I enjoyed coming to see what my friends have been working on,” said Galpern. The concert ended with enthusiastic applause from the audience – a fitting end to a night of diverse, beautiful dances created by students at the Fall Student Dance Concert.

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