Posted by Carly Stokes
The college's Dance Department showcased the Class of 2011 Senior Capstones at 8 p.m. on April 8, and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on April 9. All showings were held in the Dance Theater, where the capstones are usually held annually to display the works of the seniors' yearlong projects.
The seniors featured in this year's event included Anna Long, Daniel Chenoweth, Danny Weinstein, Emily Craver, Hartley Parish, Jazmyn Jaymi Young, Nicole Kadar, Rebecca Greenbaum and Zoe Prengaman.
The opening performance, "Fusion," included a tap and modern number choreographed by Weinstein. Tap dancer, Steven Anton ‘12, displayed impressive footwork, which was emphasized by an echo and the beautiful, dramatic lightning by Jaime Martinez-Rivera ‘11.
Sydney Magruder ‘14 and Courtenay Thorne ‘12 successfully portrayed a great partnership.
Greenbaum '11 who choreographed, "The Way That I Am," conveyed a personal piece that had a lot of movement and brought out fluidity from dancers Angela Cascone ‘12, Alison DeFranco ‘13, Molly Kimmel ‘11, Emily Pacilio ‘12 and Tory Stoker ‘14.
Greenbaum's choice of music by Max Richter added to the personality of the piece.
Acclaimed choreographer, Robert Battle, was chosen as Young's yearlong study. Young performed "Damn" (1996) in an exciting and passionate performance staged by Erika Pujic.
True to Battle form, Young's intense movements kept the audience captivated.
Senior Long performed "paisley Boteh Jegheh" by Kraig Patterson. The simplistically beautiful costume by Kraig Patterson and Parish incorporated a nude body suit with a knee length navy tulle skirt. The choreography captured the electronica-digitialized nature of the music by Paul Lansky.
Parish showcased her great talent with "Fledgling." Her piece featured Andrew Magazine ‘13 who led a pack of animalistic dancers that included Ivy Rose Cardillo ‘14, Corry Ethridge ‘14, Kelly Jackson ‘12, Sabrina Lumbert ‘12, Kelly Martinet ‘13, Lauren Parra ‘13 and Courtenay Thorne ‘12.
The movements, music and mentality enraptured the audience in a raw performance of tribe versus tribe.
After the intermission, Chenoweth used a plethora of mediums to present his piece, "Body of Work."
From the tangled pencils that hung from his coat to the books and paper that fell from the ceiling, Chenoweth's avant-garde choreography kept the audience constantly wondering about was going to happen next, and if it was going to inflict any pain.
The audience gasped as not-so-light books dropped onto Chenoweth. The choreography and videography by Melecio Estrella that played during the dance portrayed the life of a tortured student.
Senior choreographer Prengaman created an army-themed piece "Lock N' Load."
Dancers Julia Clancy ‘14, Sabrina Lumbert ‘12, Nicole Sartor ‘11, Tory Stroker and Tess Wendel ‘11 donned serious expressions, which added to the army-element, as did the great music compilation by Carl Landa featuring Phoenix.
Prengaman also integrated ballet, which provided subtle feminine aspects to this overall masculine piece.
Kadar gave an enchanting performance in "Across the Meadow," by Camille A. Brown. The music by George Gershwin and the backdrop of a night sky with a subtle moon shadow, gave Nadar's performance a dream-like essence.
The final performance choreographed by Craver, "immortal fishes," had fluid, fre-flowing qualities in the movements performed by Angela Canscone, Jacob Goodhart ‘12, Emily Pacilio ‘12, Martha Snow ‘14 and Sam Szabo ‘11. "immortal fishes" brought humor with the expressions of some of the dancers, and was the perfect closing act for this year's show.
The 2011 academic year produced awe-inspiring senior Capstones, which showcased all the hard work that was put in both on and off the stage.
The lighting crew and stage work impressively and effortlessly helped to effectively convey the creative products that the school's dance department had to offer.