Monica Colby Ballet Critique 5-14-2011 Wind Dancers Wind Dancers On 5-14-2011 at 7pm at American River College I viewed

a performance called Wind Dancers that was choreographed by many prestigious choreographers including American River Colleges own dance instructor Sunny Smith. In addition the college also had Joseph Candelaria, Ashley Ramsey, Sandra Hill, Dahveeb Alvarado, Roland Philip Brooks, Olivia Evans, Candace Baker, Ymani Davis, Kristina Lang, Felina Bradley, Jo Macon, Deatra Shields, Rosie Maupin, Antione Miller, Jalen Padilla, Kayla Camper, Lisa Rie, Riley James, and Ana Frenes choreograph the show. In the ballet Wind Dancers at the American River College there was a showcase of some of Sacramentos best dancers. In this performance they showcased several dances to music. However, most importantly: they worked well together and they put on a great show with many theatrical elements. First, I believed everyone worked very well together. When one of the dancers would misstep or accidentally mistake and change the dance the other dancers would instantly make it look okay and make it look as if the were meant to go in that way. For instance, in one part of one of the dance numbers a girl took a wrong step and almost fell and instantly the other people on the staged tailored the choreography to where she had just misstepped. Therefore, it looked like it was just meant to happen and that it was actually choreographed that way. I think this is important because when you are in an ensemble everyone must work very well together. This is because when you or someone in your ensemble has a problem the rest of the people in the well-working ensemble will take over and make it all work with the choreography. For instance, in one of the parts of the performance when they were supposed to be

getting into their spots one girl tripped over another. She froze for a moment on the ground then a couple of the other dancers asked if she was okay. She then quickly got up and went on to her place for the next dance and the whole ensemble went on with their dance and put on a wonderful performance as if nothing had gone wrong. Next, the performance was very good because of the collaboration of music, sets, costumes, and lighting. These theatrical elements enhanced the performance choreography because the story would not make sense without them. For instance, in one of the first dances a man was dancing with a girl then she was lead away from him. However, she wanted to stay with the other man. Moments later the audience saw the man go off stage then come back with other dancers all dressed in hospital gowns. When he returned in a hospital gown as well it began to be very clear what the story was about. Finally, when he laid himself down on the on the stage and the girl came back with flowers to lay on him it was clear to the audience that the story was how he was dying and his subsequent death. However, without the hospital gowns and flowers there is a great possibility I would not have understood the story till the last 5 seconds when they ended the scene with his eyes closed. However, the story works much better with the thematic elements. I believe this because when you are watching a show it really helps to have support to the stories. For instance, in one scene the dance was about under the ocean. When the lights came on there was a mix of blue and green lights on the stage and a number of the dancers ran across the stage with teal and turquoise pieces of fabric to simulate waves. To me this appeared to be just like the sea. However, this could not have been so apparent to the audience without the fabric and lights. In addition, in the beginning, to get the idea of comedy in the story to the audience they had different pieces of props that a number of the dancers in the scene were fighting over dramatically. In this way it showed the comedy of the light hearted dancers fighting over different things. Some of the things they fought over were different

clothes and an exercise ball. The dancers ran across the stage chasing their taken possessions to start the show. However, without the added theatrical props the story in that part of the show would not have made sense they just would have looked like they were running across for no clearly determined reason to the audience. In addition, the clothes also helped to show the thematic elements in their stories to make it the great show it turned out to be. This is true because, to give the feeling in one of the dances they would have a certain color scheme. For instance, in one of the dances in the show the dancers came out from the curtains and on to the stage in sparkles and with things that lit up on their fingers and in their hair. This was my favorite dance because of this element. It illuminated the whole dance and left a very inspired feeling in the audience long after that dance was over. So in conclusion, on 5-14-2011 I viewed a dance show entitled Wind Dancers I believe the dance show was done exquisitely. I believe this because, all of the dancers worked very efficiently together as an ensemble. For instance, when one of the dancers would misstep the other dancers would come in and make it look as if nothing went wrong to the best of their abilities. In addition, I believe the show was very entertaining and effective because of all of the thematic elements in the dance. For instance, this production of Wind Dancers used many different lights and props to help the dancers to better tell their stories through their dancing. With these elements I believe American River College put on a beautiful show.