Barnard/Columbia Dances At Miller Theatre Makes A Mighty In-Person Comeback

Upper West Side NY

25 November, 2021

12:44 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY DANIELA MIRANDA NOVEMBER 23, 2021 "I said this to the students as well: 'You won't necessarily be prepared for how you might feel when you're actually back on stage, under lights, with an audience.' I think the same holds true for the audience as well," Paul Scolieri, chair and professor of dance at Barnard, said. After two years of virtual performances, the Barnard dance department made a mighty in-person comeback this past weekend with an exceptional performance from students who were able to grasp, and, in some cases, inspire new choreography. Barnard/Columbia Dances at Miller Theatre premiered three remarkable new works by choreographers Christopher Rudd, Shannon Gillen, Jason Cianciulli, and Candace Brown, as well as Gerald Arpino's jubilant ballet "Birthday Variations," restaged by Nicole Duffy. "The performance was programmed in a way to show something of the range of courses we have, and the range of excellence that there is at Barnard and Columbia," Scolieri said. The concert featured two contemporary pieces, one classical ballet piece, and one hip-hop piece—the first in the department's concert history. Still, the production process did not come without an onset of challenges due to COVID-19. "I did not think we would be at a point where we'd be able to perform with our masks off, and I wasn't even sure we would have general audiences allowed," Scolieri said. The department planned to livestream the concert, assuming it would not have an in-person audience, and, up until the Thursday before the performance, dancers were performing with masks. The department was able to work with the Barnard Pandemic Response Team and Columbia's Office of the President to make a maskless, in-person performance safe and viable for all involved. Regardless, the department maintained a livestream option in order to extend the performance to an audience unable to be present in New York City or at the theater. The first piece, "To Get Her," choreographed by Christopher Rudd, was one of three original pieces premiered at the concert. The opportunity for students to collaborate with renowned choreographers is one of the dance department's distinguishing features, allowing students to experience the creative process firsthand by performing pieces suited to their interests, strengths, and curiosities, Scolieri pointed out. "To Get Her" featured dancers in white linen long sleeves, multicolored corsets, and black pants designed by costume designer Barbara Erin Delo, moving to thunderous music by composer Jóhan Jóhannsson. The piece began powerfully, with a domino effect of movement in a circle surrounding a leading dancer. Mesmerizing moments included an instance where partners were lifted and twirled upside down, as well as another in which a member was lifted by half of the group, while the other half of the cluster fell to the floor, mimicking the movement of a wave. The piece played with spatial orientation, intimacy, and interconnectedness, as the dancers seemed to both mimic and react to one another, oftentimes audibly. The concert's second piece, "Birthday Variations," featured a small cast, allowing the ballet to demonstrate each of the dancer's strengths during a solo. The female dancers wore long tulle skirts with beaded bodices colored blue, yellow, pink, green, or orange, with their hair in buns lined with ribbons and flowers. The piece featured seamless partner work, including one instance where a dancer was lifted from her lower back into a perfectly extended right leg three consecutive times, which made her appear as if she were gliding through the air. The most notable aspect of the performance was the ease and delight emitted by the dancers' facial expressions throughout the entirety of the performance, despite the technically rigorous choreography. The concert's third piece and second contemporary piece, "Hold up the Sky for Eternity" by VIM VIGOR choreographers Shannon Gillen and Jason Cianciulli in collaboration with Dava Huesca and Jessica Smith, brought an innovative edge to the concert. The use of fog, helicopter sounds, loose and mismatched black costumes, and eerie lighting, all contributed to the piece's dystopian atmosphere, which brought an exciting intensity to the performance. The choreography played with levels, pushing and pulling, and harsh and soft deliveries of movement, so that the dancers themselves seemed dangerous and, yet, simultaneously afraid. The dance's unpredictable nature, such as moments in which a lift turned into a shove and a catch turned into a yank, kept the audience on its toes until the very end, where soft purple lighting accompanied dancers as they began to sink to the ground before a blackout. "Sweat," a hip-hop piece by Candace Brown was the last piece and a complete showstopper. The piece featured a diverse cast, with a variety of hair textures and body types dressed in neutral cargo pants and colorful geometric shirts dancing joyfully to a mashup of music from Jarreau Vandal, Alewya, Rayana Jay, Cookie Kawaii, and Janet Jackson. The piece was constantly transforming, from a sensual trio, to a symmetrical duo, to explosive group numbers. Notable moments include a high-energy dance circle, and a section where individual dancers added new sequences to the choreography, giving the impression that dancers were vibing and feeding off of each others' effervescent energy. The piece—groovy, victorious, and impressive—managed to achieve a sense of authenticity and expression which visibly uplifted the dancers and audience alike. Audience members cheered performers on in their movement and, at that moment, the atmosphere in the theater felt like a celebration of dance. The inclusion of a hip-hop piece in the concert was a decision the dance department made as a response to a campus-wide interest in hip-hop courses and student groups as well as a desire to showcase the talent of students who are hip-hop dancers. The piece not only attracted new members to the dance department but also gave existing students in the program, including five dance majors in the piece, the opportunity to showcase their range. "Dancers who don't typically audition for the department concert did come out this time. But I think it's also interesting that it attracted some of the dancers who perform in ballet, and dancers who perform in contemporary works were also eager to perform hip-hop. It not only invited new dancers to the department, it invited new ways of dancing within it," Scolieri said. Still, students went into the process of rehearsals with some concern about their ability to perform after not having been able to maintain a high level of training over the pandemic. Many approached Scolieri, concerned that so much time had transpired since their last performance and that the concert would require a high level of performance. "I think the thing that's been so heartening and so inspiring was to see that this cast came back with the hunger to perform and a desire to be back into the studio, and a hunger to be part of the creative process. There is, I would say, something that I perceive, an intensity, a quality, and an investment in performing, and in their dancing that is inspiring to me. To see how resilient they were to come back to something that they love doing and are excellent at." Staff writer Daniela Miranda can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.