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Lena Laurila

Banks-Smith, Cheryl
Modern Dance I
4-28-14

Dance Critique: Authentic Kinetic

Saturday evening I attended Pasadena City Colleges Authentic Kinetic concert in
Saxon Auditorium. The dancers exuded professionalism, although they were still able to crack a
smile every once in a while. All the dancers knew the choreography and presented it with
confidence. I was blown away by the pieces I saw and immediately wanted to get back into the
studio to work on my own choreography. I was inspired, wanting to challenge myself with
movements I have not yet tried. Quite a few of the pieces made important social commentary
such as animal preservation seen in Roberta Shaws Interference choreography and female
oppression in Alicia Moseleys Mariposas dance. A variety of modern dance vocabulary was
integrated to create complex phrases. The collaboration between Jessica Figueroa and Jesus
Mora on The Unfortunate Battle was absolutely incredible. I found the piece to be heavily
emotionally charged as a childs loss of innocence was depicted. The dancers started out in all
white dresses as a girl cuddled her childhood teddy bear, in a flash the dresses and other
dancers garments were stained with blood relating to the impurity that befell them. The musical
accompaniment revealed tension, it was dark as dancers fought against each other. I was fully
enraptured the entire performance, watching athletic jumps and falls to the floor. Throughout the
performances there was much floor work. Dancers exploded with energy, passion, facial
expressions. Each dancer connected to one another and they worked well in sync together.
There were some duets throughout performance, solos, and most prevalent; larger groups.
They pushed their way through space, flexing their feet and traveled across the floor frequently.
They were placed in complex formations at times. In watching the performances I saw
movements or phrases being repeated throughout a piece as well as timing of movements
provided a domino effect. The movements created in these pieces, especially the floor work
showcased the strength of the dancers cores and how important total body strength is in dance.
Many of the dances used movement of the spine, adding curvature, contracting as well as hand
gestures were heavily prevalent. The choreography allowed the dancers to work with gravity
and they moved in all directions, pointing on the diagonal, facing downstage, and upstage.
My Reverie a solo piece choreographed by Ashley Acuna, showcased light and airy
movement. As she leaped across the floor and jumped through the air she always landed softly
on her feet. Her turns were gracefully as she wore a black leotard with a pink tutu like skirt. For
her music, Ashley chose an instrumental cello and piano piece that worked well with her
choreography.
As I sat viewing the performances I thought to myself I want to dance like those on the stage, I
wanted to express myself, get involved and I wanted to know how I could find myself performing
alongside them.

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