The Graduate Dance Group of the CSULB Dance Department hosted “Fallen,” a five-performance concert in the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater, from Oct. 10 through the 13th. With lighting design and technical direction by Andrew Milhan, costume design by Liz Pelster and musical direction by Eric Ruskin, “Fallen” featured the innovative choreography of four talented graduate students.
Each of the five pieces represented a theme or concept that was transformed into movement by the dancers onstage.
The first piece, “Hour of Lead,” was choreographed by Stevan Novakovich, whose dance career began at the tender age of six with the Yugoslavian National Folk Company. Inspired by the works of American poet Emily Dickinson, the piece combined movement and poetry in an eclectic tribute to her artistic vision.
In the center of the stage, there was a thick, white wall on which the dancers focused their motions, pressing, twisting and supporting their bodies against its surface. Functioning as the verbal or musical backdrop, the voice of an older woman reciting lines of poetry in which Dickinson explores the nature of pain was projected into the audience.
Viewers were invited to draw interpretive parallels as the dancers translated the words into shapes, positions and scenes with their bodies. Performed by two females and one male, the piece hinted perhaps at the pains of relationships, jealousy and even betrayal.
Erin Longhofer, who has been a teacher and principal dancer for the Anaheim Ballet, presented her piece “Soulprint.” Investigating the ways in which we influence one another, she combined ballet and modern dance in a lyrical ensemble of movement and human interaction. The four female dancers wore flowing skirts that drew from the intense reds of the sunset in the background. Rhythmic and carnal, the Spanish-inspired music afforded the piece an almost earthy dimension.
In contrast, Longhofer delighted the audience with another piece titled “The next 2 minutes,” a comedic look at the trials and tribulations of speed-dating. Featuring one male and three females, the audience was shown their humorous interactions as the proverbial single guy moved from one girl to another. Their relationships were represented by different nuances in music and costume, each ending after two minutes with the sound of a kitchen timer.
“Dreams of Flying, Laughing, Crying,” choreographed by Rebekah Davidson, explored the realm of the subconscious and its fantastical rejection of the waking world. Having performed and choreographed throughout San Francisco, Austin, New York City and Los Angeles, Davidson relied on her knowledge of the craft to create a liberating piece that transcended the confine between reality and imagination.
The five female performers, dressed in silk pajamas, jumped and lifted one another, catapulting their bodies in moments of physical and spiritual release. The lighting used casted beds onto the stage on which the dancers lie, sleep and dream.
In the final piece, choreographer Erin Scheiwe presented “Back Porch,” a knee-slapping hoe-down with a lyrical twist. Originally from Steamboat Springs, Colo., Scheiwe danced with Ballet Northwest and took from her roots a bit of old-fashioned country style to entertain her Californian audience.
With 12 female dancers, she created a feeling of community onstage. The set was equipped with a back porch, picket fence and even a fully functioning tire swing. The piece told a story of a young girl who, after being rejected by her lover Anthony, finds solace in the company of her girlfriends. It started slowly with interludes of ballet before Scheiwe quickened the pace, emphatically ending the show with a toe-tapping, heel-clicking finale.
