Last week, Spring Back began its performances for this year’s showcase, “We Made Our Own,” which explores queerness, belonging, and community. The selection of dances ranged from serious to silly, boasting the myriad talents of Oberlin students.
The show opened with Assistant Professor of Dance and Comparative American Studies Al Evangelista’s piece, “make sure we’re here.” Six dancers lined up on stage in different monochrome outfits. I did a double take when I realized they weren’t all students; half were residents of Kendal at Oberlin. They danced in a call-and-response format, with each dancer introducing a movement and the rest of the group repeating it. They relayed the message that dance is for everyone, regardless of age, even inviting some audience members up on stage to dance with them. The piece worked well to set the community-oriented tone of the show. Although, I might have preferred that the show ended with it as a heartwarming final note.
After “make sure we’re here,” College fourth-years Annalise Curl and Elizabeth Brame danced onto the stage for “Despite the Weather.” Curl began her piece tap dancing, brightening the stage with swift movements and luminous orange pants. Meanwhile, Brame danced by her side in billowing blue fabrics, moving with the grace of water. The dance was an intimate dialogue between two people dancing in different forms. When Curl’s tap shoes came off, the absence of their clicking noise left me wondering what it means to pursue a craft without its necessary instruments.
Curl and Brame exited the stage. In the dark, stagehands set up College second-year James Prelletz’s aerial dance equipment. His piece “With You, I’m Floating” featured careful movements and impressive delicacy for someone performing feats of great strength and balance. Four dancers dressed in clown attire surrounded Prelletz, always just barely touching him. The clowns introduced a new angle to aerial performance, an art form that often impresses without going much further. The clowns made me question what it means to be grounded and how we achieve lightness without sacrificing our earthly attachments.
Then, “Via the False Thing” stole the show. Choreographed by College fourth-year Olive Raymond, the piece made use of slow, deliberate movements, a kind of pace common in Oberlin dance shows but particularly effective in Raymond’s work. Four dancers dressed in black and red prowled across the stage, playing carefully with empty space. They bent their bodies in ways that made me forget how bodies typically move.
The following dances exhibited varying degrees of talent, but I wasn’t incredibly engaged until double-degree second-year Kyra Lopez’s piece “Slumber Party.” Suddenly, I was overcome with pinkness and fun. The piece opened with a dancer scribbling in a diary with a fuzzy pink pen. Dressed in brightly colored pajamas, dancers bounced and shook their hips to the music of Caroline Polacheck. The audience visibly brightened. Although the piece did not demonstrate much that was technically outstanding, I was a big fan of its levity.
One dance later, “Waldo and Norman Have Reached Their Limit” re-stole the show. College second-year Cleo Martel and College third-year Olivia Tourangeau appeared on stage slouched on opposite ends of a table, wearing button-down shirts and loosely attached ties. A bottle of wine sat on the table. The piece demonstrated similar lightheartedness as “Slumber Party” with a more masculine affect. Tourangeau had especially expressive body movement, slouching and skulking in ways that made me giddy. The two dancers made the wine bottle the focal point of their dance, with it acting as a third character and as a balancing point. At some point, Martel took a large swig and spilled the red wine down her white shirt. Later, Tourangeau threw the bottle onto the balcony. Every movement felt loose and free.
AndWhat?! ended the performance with a blast of energy in “Lethal Poise.” The large group of dancers were well-coordinated but also shone as individuals. Each person had a moment in the spotlight, stepping up front to show off their moves. Wearing tutus and covered in sparkling glitter, the dancers were full of energy. It was a breath of fresh air to watch their hip-hop dance style after a bunch of back-to-back contemporary pieces.
Considering the performance as a whole, I noticed similar dance vocabulary throughout the works. While these similarities added a certain cohesion, I would have loved to see a greater variety of movements. I also wished that the pieces varied more in length. The similar durations made them blend together a little too much.
Overall, this semester’s Spring Back presented a strong compilation of works. Although I did not discuss every performance, every piece wowed and left me with a positive impression of my last Spring Back before I graduate.
