Dance Company’s end–of-the -semester performance the weekend before Thanksgiving brought a diverse range of dancing styles as well as a large amount of talent to Wheaton’s Weber Theatre. The show, titled “Falling Awake” featured performances not only from Dance Company, but also from TRYBE, Voices United to Jam, and spoken word artist, Tyrek Greene ’15.
Based on the beauty of the pieces, it is clear that the dancers put a great deal of time and dedication into the performance. The show opened with a fun and energetic piece, titled ToDay, which featured the entire Dance Company and set an enthusiastic tone for the rest of the night.
“Perfectly Perfect”, the performance directly following intermission, was particularly well received by the audience, as it told an interesting story. The piece featured two songs from the band Elizabeth & The Catapult and was choreographed by guest choreographer and alumna, Trisha Carr. The dancers started out wearing pink dresses but in the middle of the dance, ripped off the pink dresses to reveal striking black dresses. The second half of the dance was especially eclectic and a symbolic pink dress was continually used as a prop. Carr writes that the dance is about “the face we sometimes show to the world to mask internal struggles.”
Another exciting moment was when TRYBE and Dance Company came together to perform a rendition of Nicki Minaj’s “Pills and Potions”. The dance was high energy and choreographed by Alyssa Lumbert, a captain of Dance Company and a member of TRYBE. This piece did a great job combining and capturing the talents of both groups.
The performance concluded with a beautiful piece titled “An Internal Tempo,” choreographed by alumna Rebecca Tate and inspired by the anatomy of the human heart. The costumes were red and vibrant and the dance itself alternated between fast paced movement and slow motion breaks. The combination of the deliberate movement by the dancers and thematic costumes created a mesmerizing dance that was a perfect end to a successful and inspiring ensemble performance.
At the close of the final show the audience applauded enthusiastically as Captains Allyssa Lumbert ’15 and Emily Riley ’15 presented flowers to Artistic Director Andrea Taylor-Blenis, and to Wheaton’s Director of Dance, Cheryl Mrozowski, providing the stellar guidance to an outstanding show.