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ODC dark, somber, never slow

Students, teachers and professionals collaborated

by Ariana Souzis

A good dance piece requires only two simple criteria: good music and good dancing. For the most part, the Oberlin Dance Company concert, which ran last weekend, fulfilled both.

Unlike the more informal Warner studio concerts, the ODC performance consisted of student, teacher and professional guest dancer's pieces. The result was a sophisticated, well prepared concert that, while not as experimental or off the wall as the student dance shows tend to be, was still quite entertaining.

The mood for the night was dark and somber at times, but rarely slow. The first piece, "Take My Hand, Suite" set the stage for the rest of the show. Choreographed and performed by Oberlin Dance Professor Nusha Martynuk and visiting dancer Adam Battelstein, the piece progressed through a variety of different dance styles.

In the first section, Martynuk and Battelstein incorporated ballet moves against the background of soothing classical music. After a slight pause, they began dancing to a tango beat, switching into a comedic mode by facing the audience with clear and exaggerated expressions on their faces. A third pause sent them into a writhing, flailing fury as a beat heavy ambient music pulsed loudly around them. While no one theme was clear within the piece other than a basic run through of historical dance styles, moving from ballet to ballroom to modern, it was nevertheless enjoyable. Battelstein proved himself to be highly skilled in his smooth, precise movements, and Martynuk, while at times slightly sloppy in her footwork, also showed her stuff.

The second piece, "Nuance," was an ethereal delight. Against the background of Gregorian chants, six student dancers from ODC, all dressed in white flowing dresses and flowing pants, began walking somnolently across the stage, occasionally breaking into sweeping movement. Choreographed by guest performer Lynn Heron Deering, the dance was breathtakingly graceful to watch, but the repetition of the walking and dancing grew a little tiring. Nevertheless the piece was quite haunting.

Following the footsteps of such a trance-inducing piece came the erratic and whimsical "Wayward Gallery (Pygmalia)." By far the most performance art-like of the dances, this dance featured Martynuk and fellow dance professor and husband Carter McAdams in what appeared to be a sort of domestic drama. For the first half of the piece McAdams and Martynuk enact a comedic fight over who gets to read the paper (flatteringly enough, a copy of the Review) but as the music abruptly switched from first classical to hard rock to Enya they suddenly switched into very different dance styles. While humorous at parts, particularly in the choreographed dance argument, overall the dance was too confusing to make sense of.

But even weaker than "Wayward Gallery" was the first piece after intermission, entitled "Simmering From Dusk To Moon." Choreographed and performed by McAdams and visiting dancer Susan Van Pelt, "Simmering" bore a strong resemblance to "Wayward Gallery" in its use of two dancers acting out a domestic scene, but by far was too long and chaotic.

The dancers come out and, in between their frenetic dancing to the chorus of angry violins, go through a series of clothing changes: taking off their shoes and jackets, then donning aprons, then removing the aprons, their shirts and their pants, ending up in their underwear. Again, the changes were so sudden that they were confusing. Van Pelt also seemed a bit uncomfortable in her movements throughout the piece, which did not help the already shaky choreography.

In contrast, Battelstein's "Figure Stick" was clearly the best in the concert. The title explains it all: a figure dancing with a six foot long stick. In this very physically demanding dance Battelstein (who choreographed it as well) proves his prowess in dancing as he gracefully spun, swept around, and whirled with the stick all in effortless movements that kept in rhythm with the swelling classical music in the background. It was amazing to witness his ease dancing with the stick, since it is clearly difficult for even the most skilled dancer to manage. But Battelstein never hesitated or missed a beat once.

The final piece of all dance concerts tend to be the longest and most memorable. "The Great Lalula" was no exception. Choreographed by Martynuk and performed by student members of the ODC and guest dancer Deborah Vogel, "The Great Lalula" was by far the most energetic and enervating piece of the night. Set to the experimental music of clashing drums, bells and an high pitched female voice which was performed by the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, the dance invoked a sense of menace, threat and high anxiety.

The dancers ran, spun, flipped and swayed across the stage, pausing occasionally to hold up their fingers in the air to indicate a number. While it was never clear what these were supposed to signify, the movements were still quite skillfully arresting to watch. However, the repetition soon got a little tiresome. But the piece certainly demonstrated the stamina and skill of the student dancers, and was nevertheless quite stimulating.

Overall, the ODC concert was both aesthetically pleasing and thought provoking; a testament to the skill of Oberlin dance students, professors and guest professional dancers.


Oberlin

Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 24; May 9, 1997

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