Dance Review (Whitney): Dystopian Narratives

In this review of IU Dance Theatre’s Anniversary Celebration Gala, I would like to focus on the second piece, “Rite of Summer.” As a starting point, this piece seemed to fit uncomfortably in the evening’s program and perhaps some of my initial attraction to it comes from its misfit status. Additionally, some strongly negative responses from my peers to this piece have shaped my thoughts for this review around the question of why I had such a positive reaction to it. Sure, during the first piece of the evening, “Esplanade” I noticed my feet bouncing to the music. Similarly, I found the final piece, “Nascimento Novo” palpably energetic to watch. But “Rite of Summer” was the only piece that really prompted a deep and disturbing physical response. My ultimate conclusion is that I preferred this piece because of the (in)tense relationship between the narrative and the dance itself. Looking past the slightly over-the-top costuming (glittery white, calf-length dresses) and props (red rose petals), this piece laid out a narrative more effectively than the others. Through movement, music, costuming, and a small blurb in the program, there was a very clear (almost too clear) story being conveyed for the audience. The first musical track provided the perfect framing for the narrative of “Rite of Summer” – hauntingly beautiful. Even once the music sadly lapsed into quasi-smooth jazz toward the end, the movement of the dancers made up for the lapse. The patterns of movement imitation between the shadow brides and the young virgin felt eerie and dystopic. The dancers displayed extraordinary control over their bodies through muscle isolations and staccato movements that countered a narrative of complete absence of control. There were several other, collective moments of grotesque movement that worked against the general gracefulness of these women’s bodies. At one point, the dancers crawled along the ground on their elbows en masse – dragging both their temporarily paralyzed bodies and their white dresses over the black floor, a moment that actually prompted a grimace. Overall, while the message was glaring at times and the presentation perhaps a bit too overt, this performance had a strong narrative arc that seemed to work both in conversation with and against the movements of the dancers. The varying levels of tension between the narrative and the dance ultimately produced a hauntingly beautiful performance that seemed out of place with the energy of the other three pieces.