Spring Back to center: Dance Department’s spring concert shows dynamic and introspective sides of dance.

Set your watches and get ready to Spring Back. This weekend the annual Spring Back concert will be performed in the Warner Center Main Space, featuring group and solo works by faculty and student choreographers.

Although this year’s performance showcases a wide variety of talent amongst its dancers, at Thursday night’s performance there seemed to be a surplus of elements overshadowing the dancing. Not only did the majority of the works seem disjointed, where the music and the movement had little to no rapport, the overly frequent use of narration devalued the movement. When one needs words to accompany the movement, one may want to question the piece itself. The essence of dance is that no words are needed to evoke emotion; one speaks through the choreography.

The program opens with “Table of Discontents,” choreographed by Holly Handman, visiting artist, in collaboration with the performers. This piece has a good beginning; the choreography is fresh and succinct, but these attributes quickly dwindle. The second half of the piece lacks the qualities of the first. The choreography, once innovative, becomes repetitive and lacks creativity.

“La Palomilla,” choreographed by Christopher Jordan, Karla Victum and Frankie Martinez from Abakua Dance Company of New York, features a paradoxical performance of mimes and Cuban music. Both Jordan and Victum demonstrated a solid understanding of salsa dancing and move well together. They obviously enjoy performing together, which was conveyed to the audience by their compatibility.

The distinction between choreographer and performer is lost in junior Carter Love’s “Two Brothers.” Set to Samuel Barber’s Agnus Dei, Op.1l, one would hope that the choreography would attempt to rise to the caliber of the music. Instead the choreography was monotonous and anticlimactic. However, Love’s choreography is in no way a reflection of his talent as a dancer. It’s truly refreshing to see someone with apparent ballet training and there’s no doubt that Love is a natural born mover.

Fourth on the program is senior Nic Trovato’s “Sogno Nello Zenzero/I Dream In Ginger,” featuring senior Kala Hildenbrand, senior Bacilio Mendez II, and first-year Elise Sipos. This piece leaves little up to the audience’s imagination; the use of voice-over hinders choreographic creativity, and the narration is directly emulated on stage, leaving no room for interpretation.

“Inside Out,” choreographed and danced by juniors Abigail Wallace and Jessie Male, may be the best piece on the program. These two performers had no need for any elaborate additions. It was the closest representation of traditional modern dance. Because of the clear start and
finish, the improvised music, it was easy to appreciate the simplicity of this piece.

The last piece, “River Revelations,” was choreographed by sophomore Sherece Kaidan Donalds and performed by Donalds, sophomore Sprinavasa Bell, sophomore Jamila Clark, first-year Desiree Cleveland, junior Chinara Lucas, senior Amber Peterson-Harding, Dazlynn Pinkston and first-years Rakia Seaborn and Beatrice Sullivan.

Although the movement conveys the lyrics to the song, it is not redundant. It explores new ways to express what is being said in the music. Instead of being separate entities, the music and the choreography work together, creating a firm fusion between the two art forms. The movement looks like it feels good, like it feels right. The final pose is absolutely stunning and a wonderful close to this year’s Spring Back.