An Observation of The Dance Concert Performance by Clarion University

On Sunday, April 22nd, 2018, I attended Dance Concert hosted by Clarion University. This performance took place at 2 p.m. and lasted numerous hours. Unlike most performances, this one included many pieces within. For example, audiences had the pleasure of watching: Along Came Bialy, Break the Cycle, How Deep the Father’s Love, Welcome to Wonderland, Hip Hop Team, and many more. Throughout watching these live performances, several ideas surfaced in my mind. At the top was the talent and determination these performers endured to create such beautiful art of dance. The two primary dances I would like to examine would be “Break the Cycle”, “Hip Hop Team” and “Along Came Bialy”. These two selections embodied ideas of timeless classical more so than other pieces in my opinion. The choreography, performance, and lighting design made the overall production a success and impressionable experience for audience members.

Within the pamphlet, under the “Break the Cycle” section, there was much history of a cause. Each year Clarion University aims to donate to a charitable cause. This year, the school aimed to bring forth awareness to Foster Care. This cause is highly needed in the Clarion area as proclaimed. The title of this is certainly relevant to the cause in which it is affiliated with. Breaking the cycle of having children without homes is most likely what it represented. Whether or not this is true, this dance and the information about it offers a great effort in bringing awareness to such issues.

Along Came Bialy also had paragraphs of information regarding it in the pamphlet audiences received. The composer of this piece was Mel Brooks. He had always wanted to reconstruct his vision of a personal encounter he had. He once had a producer who use to seduce older women in efforts to achieve funding for his productions. This is where the idea for along came Bialy came from. Originally, the author of this selection had tried to write a book about such idea, however, it deemed too long, and decided to simply base a play on it. This was referred to as a timeless piece. Hip Hop team was the other selection I have chosen for analysis. This selection was done by our very own Clarion Hip Hop Team. The piece “step in time” was actually out of Mary Poppins, which I found to be intriguing. Mary Poppins gained popularization from Wal Disney becoming interested in it. There were two conditions that author set forth for her book to become a musical. The first was that all members had to be English. The second being that no one who worked on the movie could work on stage production. Both of which were fulfilled.

The choreography in both mentioned selections was done wonderfully. This relies on the fact that the messages the directors wanted to reach audiences were successful in their efforts. In the piece Break the Cycle the song unsteady was played X Ambassadors. The mood of this song is somewhat sad, which relates to the message. One of the lines claims “this house doesn’t feel like home” which really relates to the cause of foster care. The dancers in this piece are very beautiful and elegant with their movements. The choreographer of this selection is Janet Amoroso. In my second choice “Along Came Bialy” the choreography was also brilliantly done. In the performance, the story is based on real situations. The larger picture in this selection represents the older women who were being seduced. The characters have walkers, and dance to the beat of the background music. Although, unidentifiable, the music has increased volumes at certain parts, to which the dancing is aligned with. The Choreographer in this piece was the same as the previous selection Janet Amoroso. In Hip Hop Team, the chorographer was done by Clarion’s team. Which in my opinion, was done quite well. The mood was somewhat different than the others being discussed because it was a much more positive and happy tone. The music chosen was House of Pain’s Jump Around. This made audiences moods lighten from such a drastic difference. The characters movement make up a larger photograph of precision and passion.

The performance aspect of Break the Cycle was impeccable. Here we find five major characters, four women and one man. Three women are dancing their chorography from the stage floor, and one woman and only man are upright swinging and dancing around. Three of the women are dressed in traditional pink ballerina uniforms, and the other woman in black. As we can also see, the costume of the only man is in black as well. In Along came Biliary the choreography came to life. All characters were exact with their movements to the music playing Each of the nine women are not separate of their walkers. Colors of black, purple, and white. The mood is successfully set for the background of the play. Moments of suspense include heightened volumes as well as characters swaying and lifting their walkers to make a noise during these intervals. In Hip Hop Team the performance was increasingly special because it was done by students within my university. Each were dressed in black t-shirts with shirts tied around their wastes.

The lighting of Break the cycle was quite unique. It was very effective in setting the mood as well, if I do say so myself. The lighting designer of this piece was Zachary Rupp, who did an exceptional job. The stage is lightly dimmed for this performance, setting a somewhat sad but hopeful element. Which we know is true regarding the message Clarion is trying to portray regarding the cause of foster care. Music intensifies during different intervals of this selection as well. Overall, the mood is accurately descriptive of the cause being discusses, as well as the song playing in the background. The lighting designer for Along came Bialy was In Along Came Bialy, the lighting is very similar to Break the Cycle. It is rather dim, with a single light centralized overlooking the characters. We can tell that this may be a significant and positive time for the producer as well as the older women. However, after realizations of this case, it will not be so bright. Robert Reiser was responsible for the lighting design of this piece. The lighting designer in this selection was Dakohta Hall. Although the mood of this piece was much happier compared to the others, it was also much darker. Nonetheless, it was extremely interesting and one of my favorites. The music added to its intensity.

In conclusion, each of these three pieces are timeless classics. The choreography, performance, and lighting made this possible. People of all ages can enjoy the numerous dances performed at Clarion’s performance. Overall, these dances will be in my memory for the rest of my life. This experience was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Amongst these performances, my favorite was Hip Hop Team, because members of our own school made it as well as chorography.