Tonight I volunteered for Company C Ballet. I think there are few things that make me feel as alive as a "spectator" as dance. I feel the range of emotions....deep passionate love, leaping out of your skin joy, a sadness that the body expresses that extends far beyond words could EVER begin to evoke, just to name a few. There is something that is magical and captivating about this particular company. They are fresh, different, new, dance fusion of ballet, contemporary, modern and jazz. Their choreographer is brilliant and he demands a tremendous amount of physical endurance as well as artistry from his dancers.
My favorite work of the night was "Akimbo," which is an adjective meaning with hand on hip and elbow bent outward: to stand with arms akimbo.They did that, but oh so much more. The piece was lyrical and rhythmic, all at the same time. One of the other things that struck me was that this program had more duets and solos. I think dance solos are difficult, but the solos this night were magnificent.
I am always trying to come up with more and new ways to describe this company: raw, fesh, exciting, youthful, mesmerizing, real. When I say real, I mean that while they are superb dancers, they aren't "perfect" in that stiff, artificial, "hold your breath because if someone makes a misstep it's going to be disastrous" sort of way. With all the distress in the economy, the disasters and wars and famine throughout the world, and a general decline in appreciation for the arts, I fear that someday we will lose the ballet. But with all that is turned upside down in our world, isn't that even more reason we need to keep it?
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