Jaw-Dropping dance group graces Roberts Theatre

January 31st, 2013 | By Lily Jamaludin | Section: Article

   

On Wednesday evening, Roberts Theater was honored with a performance from critically acclaimed modern dance company, Michael Mao Dance.
The performance lasted over an hour, interspersed with commentary from choreographer Michael Mao and followed by a question and answer session.


The five pieces demonstrated Mao’s original choreography and exhibited the dancers’ ability to move their bodies with strength, power, skill and enormous dexterity.


Mao’s dance company is widely known for including multicultural and international influences in its performances. The works themselves included international influences from Spain, Cuba, Italy and China.

The dancers’ physical and athletic skills were perhaps best demonstrated in “Weaving,” in which the dancers moved—or weaved—between various pairs of other dancers. They jumped and spun to heavy Kodo drumbeats and ended the piece theatrically stacked on top of each other.


Staying true to the dance company’s global outlook, “Day of Anger” utilized the music of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi’s requiem. The piece highlighted the dramatic movements of Kristin Draucker and Antonio Fini, evoking the tragedy, melancholy and beauty of death. Dancer Antonio Fini described it as one of his favorite pieces to perform. “It is very good for my soul,” Fini said, smiling.     


Multicultural sensitivity was also highlighted in “China Moves Phase 3,” a collaborative effort between Mao, composer Huang Ruo, and visuals by Shawn Duan. The piece began with a sense of a slow awakening and moved towards a pace of frantic tension.  It exhibited both Mao’s knowledge of dance and his cultural heritage. Interestingly, and perhaps appropriately, the singing in the piece was not an actual language.

Photos by John M. Brady

Many of the dancers come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds in the United States and abroad. They hail from Atlanta, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Utah, as well as Japan and Italy.They are all united by their love for dance. The performance inspired and moved audience members.

At a time when the United States is struggling to understand its multifaceted, multicultural identity, Michael Mao Dance demonstrates the beauty and power of the diverse bodies we own, and the need to utilize them to recognize the humanity that unites all of our identities.

Within the Grinnell community, it is hard not to connect the performance to current events at the College. Michael Mao Dance serves as a reminder that all of our bodies are beautiful, strong and powerful and demand respect and empowerment.