My initial response to the dance event is mixed. I greatly
enjoyed the moments of actual performance, but was quickly irritated by some of
the managerial conventions of the form. The intervals between dances were
inconsistent in length and in lighting, which boggled my mind. Why, after one
dance, should we have what seemed to be an interminable intermission in full
light (which, I could imagine, might signal the conclusion of the entire event)
and after another a incredibly quick one in half light (which might suggest
that the two pieces on either end of the break were actually from the same
piece.) I suspect that my confusion about the intervals stems from my
unfamiliarity with performances of dance. There may be legitimate reasons,
probably involving the dancers’ need for rest, for bizarre interval patterns,
but I could not understand their logistics.
Additionally, as this was a celebratory program for the 85th
anniversary of the dance program, it was understandable that various
functionaries had been designated certain speeches before some of the dances.
However, their appearance and length of speech was similarly inconsistent and
provoked a comparable level of irritation. The presence of the functionaries
divided the audience into insiders and outsiders, those who attended the gala
for celebratory purposes and those who simply came to view a performance. After
the exercise of recognizing the dance alums and current students of dance in
the audience, I clearly felt my position in the audience as one of interloper.
Even though the audience was of such a significant size that I doubt all of the
people gathered there were associated with the dance program, so many of the
viewers immediately surrounding my seat stood for recognition when prompted
that I felt lost in the sea of expert dance spectators. After that point, their
incredibly enthusiastic hoots and applause made me wonder if I had missed
something. Was their appreciation, like mine, given for the beauty of
choreography and the astounding skill of the performers, or were these dances
somehow transcendent in a way I was unequipped to realize? Might these have
been merely adequate performances that were overly celebrated by the audience
for nostalgic and sentimental purposes, or had I missed the introduction of the
next dance star of the western world? While I thoroughly enjoyed all four of
the dances performed that evening (Esplanade!!), I left the auditorium
questioning my response and therefore did not fill out a survey.
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