Synapse on the Dance Floor

From the dropping of the
opening curtain to the
last dance performance,
excitement exploded on the
scene on the Broad Stage last Friday.

The audience came to a sold out show
put on by SMC's Contemporary Dance
Ensemble. The performance offered
a wide spectrum of different dances
ranging from martial arts, to ballet which
seemed to greatly amuse the audience.

Linda Gold was the artistic director
for the performance. Gold began
preparations for the dance concert only
two and half months ago. "I was so
excited to see all the dancers performing
at such a high level after hours of
preparing, it was a long preparation and
they rose to the occasion," Gold said.
Along with the vast number of different
dance styles and influences, there were
also a wide range of music genres that
were explored. The music choices were
unexpected, but added perfectly to the
mood and setting of each dance.

The themes of each performance
were a wide range of different dances
and different moods that the dancers
wanted to express to the audience. Some
expressed love, drama and tragedy.
While other dancers simply wanted to
express the beauty and some comedy of
life. The second performance was really
a striking dance because it displayed the
deep emotional balances and battles that
lovers must always hold between one
another. At first the man is pleading for
the affection of a women, and she rejects
him, but then she loves him.

The performers in each sequence
moved elegantly through every dance
that they performed in.At times the
dancers defied the possible with
impossible feats. But the most popular
dance with the most performers was the
hip-hop performance. In the hip-hop
performance almost all of the dancers
participated and took the stage for this
very lively act. The consensus seemed
to be that the hip-hop performance was
"both modern and changeling."
The Broad Stage was proved to be the
perfect venue for the Synapse Dance.

Audience members could hear all the
sounds on the stage clearly. In addition
the venue gave the performances that
extra edge because of the technical
abilities of the theater. If held at any
other venue, the performance probably
would not have been as fantastic. The
Broad Stage lighting changes could
easily be maneuvered to change or create
backgrounds on the stage.

At the end of the final performance
the audience cheered and applauded
the ensemble. Audience members
seemed very happy and impressed with
the entire performance. One of those
members was a mother of the performers
Devi-Ann Bennett. Ms. Bennett said:
"Overall all the performances where
really good and we had some really
creative choreography." Her daughter
Deje said: I was so excite, it was fun
experience."

On their way out of the theater a few
performers gave their reactions. "I was
suprised and excited because when I
talked to the stage manager the show
was sold out," said Talia Schulz.
"It always makes me feel better when
the audience is cheering. It makes you
want to perform all the more," Brielle
Deruise added.