This year's Spring Dance Concert offers a taste of everything: martial arts-inspired capoeira, onstage improvised choreography, and a tap solo to Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack."
Lecturer in Dance Performance and concert producer Paul Sarvis cited the variety and multiculturalism in this year's show, which also includes Bowdoin's Unity Step Team, jazz dance groups Obvious and VAGUE, Asian dance troupe Anohka, and pieces by the various dance classes.
Sarvis's own choreography class will perform real-time improvisational choreography, where a caller refers to each dancer onstage and directs their movements.
"They're painting the picture as it happens," Sarvis said. "It opens the choreography perspective to the audience and they play the game of the choreography in their minds. It's suspenseful and potentially playful."
In addition to the choreography class, Sarvis's advanced repertory class will perform "A Complete Illustrated History of the Roman Empire." The piece, which lasts 13 minutes, uses a "wide-ranging sound," according to Sarvis, by including a Stevie Smith poem and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."
Sammie Francis '09, who also tap-danced in last semester's dance concert, choreographed a tap solo to "SexyBack" for this spring. She has tap-danced to various artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Dave Matthews in the past, and said that the beat and liveliness of Timberlake's song inspired her to dance to it.
"It's also ironic that one would be tapping to a dance called 'SexyBack' just because one doesn't normally associate 'sexiness' with 'tap dancing,'" Francis said. "But it totally works and I'm proud of it."
Francis said that the technical staff at Pickard set up microphones on the floor so that the audience will be able to better hear her feet while she taps. But, even with the "patient and thoughtful" staff, Francis said, "It's been a challenge to get a proper balance working because the beat of the song is so loud and persistent."
This year is the first that the show will include capoeira, a type of Afro-Brazilian dance that incorporates martial arts, and defense manuevers that will be performed by Omar Aquino '10, Max Goldstein '07, and Dennis Lim '07.
Laura Budhai '07 and Naomi Strum '08 will perform "Against Interpretation," a duet that combines modern dance techniques and African dance steps. Sarvis described the duet as "an intimate story about their friendship."
Sarvis also called Dance 212's piece, "Foreign Exchange," an exercise in "European foreign language." Dance 112 will perform a piece called "Fast Asleep," which incorporates children's songs and even some Tom Waits. Both classes are taught by Lecturer in Dance Performance Gwyneth Jones.
"There are so many upbeat and lively dances, and they come in great variety and style," Francis said. "What makes it so exciting is that both the department dances and the student groups that perform are wonderful. I wish I could sit in the audience every night and watch instead of waiting backstage."
The Spring Dance Concert is today and Saturday at 8 p.m. in Pickard Theater. Admission is free and tickets are available at the Smith Union Information Desk.