“The show was a smash hit. We had a great audience. We had some technical difficulties, but the show went on,” Leslie Williams, Associate Professor and Director of Dance, said. With finals just ahead and the anticipation of seniors who will the graduate next week, the dance department was able to put on a flawless performance Portraits of Dance ,the last show of the semester. The show was unlike any other dance performance that WT has showcased.
“In the last three years I have seen the shows, this is one of the better ones,” Sandy Burrus, manager for the Fine Arts office, said. Most dance performances include a storyline or set theme. For this performance the dance department went in a different direction that came out beautifully. The show had eight different dances with two 10-minute intersessions. The first act was energetic, bold, and poetic. The second act was breathtaking and emotional. The closing act was soothing and artistic.
“The ballet in Canyon, Texas is very unique and different,” Raquel Reyes, Graduate Student, said.
The first dance started the show off with fast tap dancing to jazzy music.
The second performance was a solo performed by Johanna Seidel. The dance itself was, in a way, dark and depressing met poetic and illustrated what the dancer was feeling. The next performance demonstrated strength, power and the overall physical characteristics of men through the choreography, while the music gave it that smooth graceful touch.
“I like it a lot. I used to dance in high school,” Gabriela Orona, Freshman Biology major said. “I wanted to come and check it out and see what the dancing is like at WT. The technique that WT uses is insane.”
The two performances that had the audience on the edge of their seats was Invasion and the Eldgy for My Parents. The Eldgy for My Parents was a tear jerking showing that included a PowerPoint of pictures of a couple’s life together. This particular part of the show demonstrated a look into the lives of an older couple; when they met, their relationship before marriage and their wedding day. While two people were playing the younger version the older version, of the couple displayed how much they loved each other. This piece was used to convey Professor Edward Truitt’s parents at the end of their lives together with the medium of dance.
“I received a personal faculty invitation to come see the show” Burrus said.
The Awaken into Essence was danced in a form of a modern ballet and gave off the artistry hipster perspective due to the colorful leggings and the bright colored background. “I am enjoying a lot of things happening and the dancers are very good,” Burrus said.
The Variations on a Skip illustrated the inspiration of Leslie Williams daughter, Caroline Meek. Leslie choreographed the solo from her daughter’s movements from the video that was played during Leslie’s dance, which she used to her advantage to try and replicate her daughter.
The show ended with a dance that bears internal struggle over the life decision of marrying someone for the right reason. The performance was performed in a modern form with 11 dancers. All shows for the school year 2013-2014 produced by the Dance department were dedicated to Andrew Raymond Duncan, Senior, Accounting/ Dance Major, Clinton Scott Diaz, Junior Musical Theatre/ Dance Major, and Eric Alan Harrison, Senior Theatre Performance Major.
