The house lights above the Ragan Theater slowly dimmed, and the audience gently inhaled as the music began to play. The sapphire lights steadily illuminated the stage, and the lifeless dancers, who for a moment appeared to be statues, shot to life.
On April 8, UVU’s contemporary dance company, Synergy, dazzled an audience of eager onlookers during their spring concert, that was available one night only.
The dancers gracefully bounded across the stage, drawing the audience into their alluring art form. Of the many styles of dance, contemporary seems to have a more abstract feel to it.
The story within the dance went a little deeper, and it required the viewers to sift through the complexities to understand the story unfolding before them. Yet at the same time, it seemed to allow the spectators the room to interpret it as they willed.
Some entered the theater as blank canvases, allowing the dancers to draw out the colors and feelings deep within.
With most art forms, a patron might ask themselves, “What is the artist trying to say?” However, with contemporary I often find myself asking this question instead, “What feeling is the artist drawing out of me?”
As with any art, a patron may connect with one particular piece over another. A piece that appealed to many in attendance was “77 Eclipse.”
The piece began with harpsichord like music playing, as the dancers entered, donned in earth toned costumes. They ran in a large circle, that condensed with each rotation. Two dancers remained in the center of the circle as it finally closed tightly around them. The two stood nose to nose for what seemed to be hours, yet lasted only several seconds.
The intimate moment and connection between the two in the center made the audience feel like intruders, causing many to look away as the two dancers stood, heaving chests, gazing into each other’s eyes.
The raw emotion wrenched from this piece caused the patrons to hastily suck in their breath the moment the dancers broke their stare.
This and many other pieces were executed with perfection. Two pieces that were similar in purpose, “One:Male” and “One:Female” sought to express the essence of each gender, through the powerful and carefully steady movements of their bodies.
The evening was filled with many moving pieces put together by talented choreographers and, performed by brilliant dancers as they displayed a semester’s worth of hard work, for all to see, feel and experience.
