By Caroline Connick | Staff Writer
Salve Regina University’s Extensions Dance Company performed their annual spring concert at the Casino Theatre on Thursday, February 25th.
This was not the kind of dancing that you’ll typically see in a competition or recital setting. This concert dance is a showcase of dance in its most artistic form. You’ll seldom see the dancers whip out back flips or a dozen turns. The goal of concert dance is to tell a story and express the dancers’ passion.
Like abstract art paintings, concert dance typically features dances (or “pieces”) composed of movement that gets the audience to think deeply in order to find meaning. The meaning of a concert dance piece can be different to different people.
This year’s concert was a little shorter than last year’s with a grand total of eleven pieces, but I personally felt that this made it easier to appreciate and decipher the meaning of each piece. A couple of dances that stood out to me in particular were Tock and The Infinite Between.
Tock was the first piece of the concert, and it was choreographed by Jackie Nowicki and performed by Haley Andrews, Jenna-Lyn Geysen, Olivia Gormley, Allison Lavoie, Alysia Sjoberg, and Lexie Stewart. The music was by Alexander Kostruba and Max Richter, and “Halloween FX Productions-250 tracks of terrifying and spooky sounds.”
The dancers wore black shorts and long red shirts, which moved beautifully with the dancers. The lighting of the stage played a vital role during this piece, going dim to show silhouettes of the dancers at certain points. This made the audience focus on the look of the piece itself, instead of each of the individual dancers. The middle of the dance was mostly brightly lit, allowing the audience to see the dancers individually. It was impressive to see how quickly and sharply the dancers had to move at times, paying sentiment to their athleticism, while still remaining true to the artistic value of the piece.
The Infinite Between was the seventh piece of the concert, choreographed by Lindsay Guarino and performed by Haley Andrews, Emmaline Concordia, Olivia Gormley, Allison Lavoie, Jacquelyn Stevens, and Ally Storch. The music was a medley of songs by Ellie Goulding, Mychael Danna, and Mychael Danna & DeVotchka. The costumes were simple, yet eye-catching, with each dancer wearing a different colored long-sleeved turtleneck T-shirt and brown shorts. The piece was composed of fun, playful movements and showcased a solo performed by Allison Lavoie.
Extensions Dance Company’s sister company, Extensions II, also performed a piece in the concert called Insistence of Truth. This was choreographed by Andrea Dawn Shelley and performed by Taylor Becchetti, Cassidy Blouin, Marissa Geurard, Tessa Kolaczenko, Nicole Landry, and Samantha Parks. The music was “Glass: Songs from the Trilogy” by Robert McFarland and Douglas Perry, which was a dramatic song of classical music characteristics. The dancers’ elegant movements and long purple and black costumes complemented the song perfectly.
If you are interested in viewing more Salve Regina University dance performances, be on the lookout for events hosted by the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance on the Salve Events Calendar.
