Feature Photo: Spring Back

Vida Weisblum, Arts Editor

Dancers Leah Newman, College sophomore, Alana Reibstein, College junior, and Jesse Wiener, College senior, slide across Warner Main’s beloved wooden floor while emitting tired sighs in a stunning dance choreographed by College senior Ellen Askonas. Her piece, a bright highlight of the program, appeared in Spring Back, the spring companion to the Fall Forward show.

The performances took place last Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Spring Back featured a sound selection of contemporary dance choreography by Oberlin dance students, with a handful of standouts that made the show a memorable one. “Grape Juice City” propelled the show into action with caffeinated energy. Co-choreographers and College seniors Christopher McLauchlan, Wiener and Julia Sheppard, and College juniors Rachel Nesnevich and Caitrin Hughes played with funky and energetic yet structured movement that conjured a vibrant atmosphere.

Amid more lyrical pieces like College senior Nick Schrier’s duet with College first-year Frances Purcell titled “Just as I Thought,” impressive performances from Oberlin’s sword dancing group, Rust Belt Rappers, and a dance trapeze solo by College first-year Teddy

Ment offered exciting bursts of surprise. To end the evening with a bang, Reibstein starred alongside Schrier in her humorous piece “Blowing It.” Bridging elements of dance and performance art, “Blowing It” — a nod to her Fall Forward number “Don’t Blow It” — involved unusual props like a microwave filled with foam packaging peanuts and packaged hot dogs on plastic plates.