Fall dance theater performance

By Owen Tran, entertainment editor
Thursday, December 6, 2007

As I sat amongst the audience, my eyes were glued to the stage. The dancers' fluid and synchronized movements accompanied with the appropriate music selection put the entire audience into a trance. I attended the Fall Dance Theatre production at CAL State Fullerton with my sister who takes dance at the college. My sister needed someone to tag along, so I agreed to help her out and take notes about the performance.

In the beginning of the performance, three male dancers in referee costumes were prancing around the stage and twirling their arms around, all of which was to be considered dancing. Although their movements seemed complex, the three dancers were not synchronized and the dance seemed unorganized. I could not have been more confused about the storyline and the meaning of their spoken words and movements. I remember thinking to myself, "This is art?"

Despite the disappointing opening act, the next three dances were absolutely astounding. Each of the dances had a clear storyline such as war tearing a poor family apart or playful love between a young couple of schoolchildren. In the dance with the separated family, the father and mother were in a corner arguing and expressing their agony and with sharp movements. Three children were playing in their own corner, but when told that their father was leaving for war, all of the dancers on the stage displayed their emotions with technical dance moves and graceful movements. The setting for this dance was comprised of a simple stone wall with arrows sticking out of it and a simple lighted backdrop. The setting was usually simple to allow space for the dancers. The music selections did not distract the audience, but instead they added to the storyline. In the case of the family separated by war, the music was slow and melancholy. The music, mood, dancing, and dimmed lights all worked together to create a moving experience.

After an hour and a half of stellar performances, I walked out of the theatre with a newfound respect for dancing. It may not seem like a teenager's first choice of entertainment on the weekends, but instead of going to the movies I wouldn't mind seeing another great theatre performance.