Often the first sentences of my dance reviews are descriptive of the first few moments of the performance - the moments right after the curtain rises and lights go up. Similar to a job interview or simply meeting someone for the first time, the beginning moments of a dance performance create an instant impression on an audience member. It sets the tone of what we are about to witness, sometimes welcoming us, intriguing us, perhaps even shocking us. It's an opportunity for the choreographer to grab our attention somehow. It's comparable also to writing - entering the piece creatively to get the reader's attention right away, which is something I've only recently noticed I do when writing about dance - a way to parallel my experience viewing the performance, I suppose.
This idea of making a "first impression" certainly speaks to the prevalence of short attention spans in our society, but knowing this also gives the choreographer (in regards to dance) a challenge and chance to make the impression they wish that, hopefully, the audience will take away with them as it is expanded or toyed with throughout the rest of the dance.
Nicely done by choreographer and co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dwight Rhoden in the opening scene created in Moon Over Jupiter (2001) at the Joyce Theater this past weekend...
"Beginning with female dancers upstage, their weight pouring onto their pointe shoe tip as they sit in a deep lunge, the male dancers in front balance on their hands, crouched with legs bent and open, their arms winding behind their knees. The abstract image of the shapes of their chiseled bodies is slowly illuminated, igniting the wonderfully off-kilter, quirky ballet."
To check out the complete review of this performance please visit EYE ON THE ARTS.
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