ARTS & LIFE
Page 8
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Review
“You Move, Move You” spans multiple dance styles, venues
Philip Knox/ The Denisonian
Above: Quaanzale Thompson, ‘15 performs in the second movement of the dance performance, choreographed by Stafford Berry Jr. called “Bring it Out/Let it In.” Below: Maren Berg, ‘16 performs in the first movement of the dance performance, choreographed by Sandra Marthen called “You Move, Move You.”
Continued from page 1 An interesting aspect of their piece was the fact that ten audience members were invited to sit in the middle of the stage while they performed. First Year Oliver Deak was one student who had the opportunity to sit center stage. Of his experience, he noted that “Sitting in the middle definitely shaped a lot of [his] experience, [and that] the 360° viewing angle was fascinating.” Professor Stafford Berry Jr. choreographed part two of the performance, which was entitled “Bring It Out/Let In.” This piece was radically different in presentation and in style than “And Now, And Now.” Upon arriving at Doane Dance, after a cold trek down to South Quad, audience members were warmly greeted at the door by dancers, such as sophomore Michael Guerrero. The performance space felt inviting and there was a sense of anticipation and excitement. This piece opened with student performers warming up around seven students warming up on the drums—something not common in many dance performances. According to sophomore dancer Graciella Maiolatesi, “[this] was an organic way [for the dancers to warm up] while the audience was coming in—Stafford wanted
to create a very chill, welcoming environment, kind of like the environment that goes on ‘backstage,’ because it’s one that the audience doesn’t get to see to often.” Every dancer was dressed in either black or white “dabbas,” which are traditional African dance pants. This piece featured music that was native to Guinea, West Africa, as well as the song “Let The Groove Get In” by Justin Timberlake. Both provided fast paced and energetic beats that were necessary to give life to the African style dances that was being performed. The entire performance of “You Move, Move You” was concluded with a tribute to Nelson Mandela. Graciella Maiolatesi ’16 mentioned that the concluding song was “... used to honor the death of Nelson Mandela; it was one of the traditional South African songs that were used during the fight against apartheid.” According to dancer Hailey Bruce ‘16, this tribute was added to the Friday and Saturday performances. The choreographers and dancers stood as one and ended by raising their fists in solidarity. This addition was beautiful and emotional to say the least. If interested in exploring dance at Denison, courses ranging from Modern to West African dance are offered each semester.
“Messiah” fills Swasey with spirit after the Granville Candlelight Walking Tour BY DOMINIC RENDE Special to The Denisonian Senior Ray Marolt walked onstage with his violin to address the audience and open Handel’s Messiah. The Symphony Orchestra then commenced with a seamless and beautiful “Overture” that carried into the night and supported both Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. The performance on Saturday Dec. 7th was well attended by friends, family, community members, fellow Denisonians, and at least one woman who watched as her daughter became the third generation to sing Messiah. Though watching and listening was pleasant, one could fully appreciate the story of the concert by understanding the context. Part One is the Christmas section of the oratorio and Part Two is the Easter
section and both combine to tell the story of Jesus Christ. Students and Granville residents made up the two choirs that sang that night. They eloquently blended music and song for a harmonious concert. Sophomore Courtney Lynn, a biochemistry major from Washington as well as the the third soloist, sang her aria in an opera-like fashion. Not to diminish the importance of the rest of the orchestra, especially the cello as conductor Kevin Wines noted their importance to Baroque, but several pieces featured strong violin sections, notably Movement 12: “For unto us a child is born.” The instrumental shifted between soothing and powerful with graceful singing for soloists and animation from the musicians and singers. Junior Mary Libertini impressively held several long and continuous
notes during her solo, but also sang her runs with eloquence. Firstyear Marc Weaver of Keller, Texas, who later described the concert an “epic night of biblical proportions,” named Libertini and junior Megan McCormick as one of his favorite parts of the performance. After a very brief stretch and tuning, the Easter section opened with an unfolding of the instrumentals and singers and Swasey was suddenly filled with vigor. To be expected, some songs are difficult to discern; in movement 24: “Surely he hath borne our griefs,” I felt the words overpowered each other save “surely.” Luckily that was not the norm. During sophomore Theodore Jones’ solo, there was a noticeable shift in the music, but a look at the program notes explained the meaning behind the change in the overall
story arch. Many of the students deserve personal recognition but all should be proud of how well they performed at Messiah. Kevin Wines readied the audience for the closing song Hallelujah: “Two things. Merry Christmas and keep up.”
A Service of Lessons and Carols Denison University Chamber Singers Sunday Dec. 15, 2013 7:00 p.m. Swasey Chapel