Dance Visions can’t be summed up in a few simple opening sentences.
The concert can’t be judged as a whole because of the six students and three faculty that choreographed 10 different dances, all performed by dancers from Humboldt’s dance department. Each dance had its own different look. There were fairy tales, night clubs, and cabaret halls all on stage, as well as a few more archetypal modern dance pieces.
It was a celebration of aesthetics. Though none of the costumes or lighting was overly elaborate, it was all rich. No dance was boring to watch. All of the dances were a thrill to watch as performers contorted and flipped, swayed and leaped. Broken Boundaries, a dance choreographed by professor Linda Maxwell and performed by just three dancers, looked like a moving painting.
Though the pieces by the professors were perfectly, reasonably interesting, the most entertaining and daring performances came courtesy of the student choreographers. Alli Bush’s 8te was a neo-burlesque extravaganza. Miriam Allen’s Evocative Pigment juxtaposed three different colors in a dazzling display of light and motion that was wholly captivating.
The one criticism that could be thrown at Dance Visions is that art usually has some kind of meaning, a meaning that many of the dances seemed to lack. What significance or idea they expressed wasn’t easy to pick up on, though I’m no professional art critic.
But how much does that even matter? Dance Visions was a beautiful spectacle, a fun look into the minds of Cal Poly Humboldt’s dance auteurs and performers. Meanings or messages can be overrated when it comes to critiquing art, especially at a college level when people are just learning how to express themselves. It was joyous, a delight to the senses. That in itself is a meaning.
When I discovered that the spring play would be Radium Girls, I was ecstatic. I had previous historical knowledge of the event and the TV show, but was unaware there was a play. The play was a meaty one at nearly three hours, but had impressive delivery by the all-student cast for such an emotionally charged story.
The Theatre Department put on quite a well-organized performance, considering the main cast was only eight people. Each actor aside from the main protagonist, Grace, (played by Sophia Escudero) were playing up to four characters each.
One could look at the small cast, lack of props and scene changes as a dealbreaker for the production, but it only impressed me more. Cast members being involved in all of the moving parts is what really made Radium Girls so charming and applaudable. A majority of the scene changes were led by the cast members immediately after delivering lines.
There were no closed curtains and very few techies were spotted on the wings or stage throughout the show. The lack of props on the stage during most of the scenes really forced the audience to focus their attention on the actors’ performance. It seemed to me the cast and crew were able to work with what they had and still deliver a killer performance.
Krystie Obiso and Izzy Waring stood out to me the most with their performances.
With Obiso playing the parts of Irene, Miss Wiley, Board Member #2, and Mrs. Michaels, she put a firecracker spirit into every character portrayed. From her impressive transatlantic accents and strong emotional outbursts, she really had an enchanting stage presence even when playing side characters.
Waring also played a handful of characters including Mrs. Roeder, Madame Curie, Customer, and Board Member #3. Her performance as Mrs. Roeder is what wowed me the most; Waring’s ability to deliver such emotional anguish and distress of a wife discovering her husband’s negligence following the truth of radium’s negative health effects was not something I expected to see in a college play.
Obiso and Waring’s delivery really set the emotional ambiance of each scene and of Radium Girls as a whole. They really pushed the theme of women’s pain and truth being overlooked throughout history.
The set design was also very professional and clean looking. It had a lot of technical parts to really get an emotional reaction out of the audience, but was still simple. From the city skyline physically “closing in” to symbolize the truth about radium, as well as the white screen used as screen to play with light and impose the feeling of ‘time running out’ throughout the show.
I will say the one critique I had during my time as an audience member was the lack of microphones. I wasn’t able to tell if any of the actors were wearing mic packs and had a hard time hearing some of the dialogue, especially during what seemed to be vital conversations within the storyline, like the scenes between Grace and her mother. Same with stage blocking; sometimes a cast member would turn their back and be completely muffled out from the audience. This made following some of the intense dialogue on stage a bit harder, especially when accents came into play.
When it comes to such a detailed and long play, I do wish the actors were mic’d up to make it a bit easier to follow. I can assume that the cast and crew were working with a tighter budget for this production, but it didn’t stop them from executing a successful opening night.
Susan Connors knew no matter what her daughter Gabby decided to pursue, she would never give up.
“A lot of people don’t follow their dreams, they say I can’t do it or I can’t make it. She’s not like that,” Susan Connors said. “She tries her hardest to make sure it happens. She has a strong sense of self and a strong character.”
Gabby Connors, a 19-year-old dance major at Humboldt State University, is set to teach advanced ballet at North Coast Dance next fall.
Gabby Connors has spent 13 years of her life dancing, a talent she inherited from her grandmother.
While reflecting on her journey, the young dance major said dance is a never-ending journey.
“You have to keep working no matter what,” Gabby Connors said. “You can only advance so much in one day and then the next day you’re just off.”
Gabby began dancing when she was in the second grade after her best friend’s mother opened a dance studio.
“Dance is a very vulnerable artform,” Connors said. “You are asking your body to do crazy stuff, and you are asking your mind to let you release yourself and show those emotions and be vulnerable in front of strangers.”
Gabby said that in spite of compliments from others and all the years she has put into dancing, she does not always recognize her talent.
“I perceive it more as hard work than I do natural talent,” Connors said.
Susan never danced growing up and was surprised by Gabby’s ability to pick up dance so effortlessly.
Gabby has been dancing from the age of six, but said her path was never simple.
“It hasn’t always been easy choosing dance as what I want for my life,” Connors said. “It’s really difficult when the one thing that brings you the most fulfillment and peace is also the root of a lot of your self-doubt and criticism.”
It can be very difficult to manage the stress that comes with participating at such a high level in dance.
Susan said that while she does not know much about HSU, she does know that Gabby is trustworthy when it comes to making the right decisions for herself.
“Gabby is very independent so we didn’t have much of an input into where she would go,” Susan Connors said. “She was accepted into UC Irvine’s dance program, but they focused on pointe and she wanted to go with contemporary. I think Humboldt is a good fit for her.”
Regardless of where Gabby chose to attend college, Susan said that she knew she would thrive wherever she went.
“As long as she stays healthy, I think she could go very, very far,” Susan Conners said. “I am proud of her and glad that she followed her dreams.”
Gabby transferred to HSU with over two and a half years completed in credits because of her advanced placement classes, and is already expected to graduate in the fall of 2019. She felt that she had gotten everything she could out of her high school experience, and that it was time for her to move on and grow.
Connors said she moved from Washington to study dance at Humboldt State, not only because she loves the ocean and the trees, but also because of the smaller learning environment.
“One of the many perks about the dance program here is that we are a smaller school so it’s a smaller program, which means you get a lot more individual attention.” Connors said “[It] is important for any major, but is very important for dance.”
HSU Dance Program Lead, Linda Maxwell, is one of Gabby’s professors. Maxwell has been teaching at HSU for 12 years. Out of those 12 years, she said Gabby Connors stands out.
“Gabby is probably the most talented student that I’ve ever had at Humboldt State University in the 12 years that I have been here,” Maxwell said. “She never talks during class. She does everything full out, and she is very supportive for students that are not of her level.”
Maxwell said she remembers when a guest dance company traveled to HSU and taught a master class on HSU’s campus.
“She picked up every detail. A lot of students were struggling and she was able to do it full out,” Maxwell said. “She has that ability to pick up anything.”
For Gabby, dancing comes down to her ability to manage and transgress her emotions on the stage.
“Having danced so long, I have gotten very comfortable wearing all of my emotions very openly on my face at all times,” Connors said. “I am a very emotional person so dancing is very comfortable for me.”
The audience at the John Van Duzer Theatre were fortunate enough to witness a cacophony of kinetic expression in the form of HSU’s annual spring dance concert on April 15, this year titled “Divergence.”
Students of intermediate and advanced levels were given an opportunity to work in tandem with other students and alum choreographers. They chose music and themes to collaborate in the creation of 10 beautifully executed dances.
The performances were varied both thematically and visually, yet all seemed to perfectly complement each other. While some dances were more lighthearted and obviously purely for fun, other performances emphasized the many social issues we as college students and young people have, and may experience in our communities.
One of the more poignant pieces in the performance was titled “1 in 4. It’s been 5,” a dance deriving some inspiration from the recent #MeToo movement and personal experience, and was choreographed by HSU dance professor and choreographer Kyleigh Carlson.
Carlson derived much of the performance inspired by her own experiences, and wanted the piece to be as empowering as it was a reflection of the horrible abuse and oppression many women experience in their lives, particularly on college campuses.
“One in four women on every college campus has been sexually assaulted and it has been five years since my attack,” Carlson said, discussing her title choice for the piece. “I believe in dance as a tool for advocacy and as a healing art form. When combining both of these motivators, I believe it can create real change and that is what inspired me to create this work.”
The audience was initially confronted by the 12 female dancers walking in unison, illuminated by low-level stage lighting until they reached a spot so far downstage that they seemed nearly atop the front row of the audience.
They spent a good amount of time there just waiting and looking directly at audience members before delving into more movement. Even throughout their choreography, the dancers continually glared in synchronized confrontation toward the audience, forcing us to pay attention, to watch and to be cognizant of them.
It was intentional to cast solely female dancers as well, as Carlson wanted to reflect her own experiences and was reflective of them, yet still inclusive of every survivor and their own experiences.
“It was important to me that while I was creating this piece that it be reflective of my story, and yet give room to allow my dancers to grow and develop their stories and experiences too,” Carlson said. “We opened up to each other during our twice-a- week rehearsals and shared our experiences, creating a safe space and community. The bond was important for performing this piece together as a group of strong unified women on stage.”
Following “1 in 4. It’s been 5,” was a far more lighthearted piece with dance collective “The Dizzy Delightful Dazzling Dancers,” presenting “Friends on Fire,” a piece inspired by “inspiration itself,” according to choreographer Serena Mann, and all set to the iconic power bop “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.
Dancers whizzed around stage in jazzercise-themed choreography, all while clad in outrageously fabulous multi-colored unitards and leotards.
After intermission, the audience was entertained by the amazing choreography and dance, both executed by HSU dance major, Austin Silavong. Both of Silavong’s pieces in “Divergence” were selected to represent HSU at the western conference of the American College Dance Association that occurred March 14-17 this year.
Silavong’s solo performance “Asunder” was inspired by the “forced conformity so many of us adhere to,” Silavong said, and he encouraged viewers to “break free” of these conformities.
In preparation for both “Divergence” and showcasing his two pieces in the western conference, Silavong had to extensively rehearse for nearly five hours a week with HSU dance professors and “Divergence” faculty advisor, Sharon Butcher.
“Dance is a discipline,” Silavong said. “Talent is always a bonus, but to really connect, you need to show up and practice.”
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