Dance-Extravaganza!

Kids, if nothing else, please make your way over to see some truly spectacular dance in Memphis. Anyone who knows me knows that I am possibly one of the most critical people, but I passionately love Ballet Memphis, New Ballet Ensemble, and Dayton Dance Company (which flew through Memphis on Friday) and I rarely have any negative criticisms to offer regarding these three. Friday evening, I saw Dayton Dance Company (a feeder into Alvin Ailey) and was incredibly moved and entertained throughout the evening. There were four pieces--all with a great amount of variety--and the show lasted about two hours. The dancers were young, fresh, fully engaged in the work, and 100% entertaining. Dayton Dance focuses on modern dance--no ballet shoes, no pointe shoes. While there were a couple of stand-out dancers (as there usually are in companies), the company worked exceptionally well together. My two favorite pieces were traffic (basically making human beings cars, planes, trains all moving around one another) and Unresolved (a duet between two absolutely gorgeous dancers about an intense relationship that ultimately remains "unresolved.") I had never seen the company before, so it was a pleasant surprise for me to be that enthralled!

Last night I had the opportunity to see Ballet Memphis' AbunDANCE. I'd only seen Ballet Memphis twice before (and was equally in love both times) but I had another wonderful time last night. The focus of the evening was variety of religions and faiths. The first piece was focusing on "Meditation" and was Asian-influenced, the second piece was "Seven Threads," focusing on Judaism with Spanish music, the third focused on the Muslim faith, and the last was Trey McIntyre's "Grace." Meditation was enjoyable, but it's often hard for me to become fully engrossed with a piece when I don't like the music. The music was fine--but nothing heart-stirring or really pleasant, even, so I had a hard time following. That said, the movement was truly innovative and beautiful. The second piece had beautiful staging and better music, but the movement wasn't as exciting as I wanted it to be. The piece focusing on the Muslim faith, however, was more of a stand-out. I still found myself lost, at times...And I was somewhat bothered that the choreographer was interpreting a faith he didn't believe in or follow, but it was largely a beautiful piece. I was particularly excited for "Grace," since I'm generally madly in love with Trey McIntyre's work. While it was moving at times (particularly at "Greater Day" and "His Eye is on the Sparrow") it was not my favorite piece I've seen him create. The stage set-up was amazing--there was a raked upstage with a gospel choir on each end. The movement was, as always, beautiful, but it wasn't life altering. The whole evening was lovely as a whole, it just wasn't my favorite performance I've seen.

Anyway, that's essentially the arts update for the weekend. I leave you now to write a five page paper and study for a test--both tomorrow!!