Photo by Skye Schmidt. Taken from Bare Bones Dance Theater Facebook page.
UC Irvine’s Bare Bones Dance Theater held their annual event Feb. 26. “Visual Vocabulary” included 15 choreographed pieces produced entirely by undergraduate students at UCI. The program worked towards showcasing the talents of students in both performing and choreographing – the show wasn’t just for the eyes to see but also the ears to hear.
The night of Feb. 26 was the final performance of the year for Bare Bones, with an audience that packed the venue that seats nearly 300. A small sloped seminar room, nicknamed “The Little Theatre,” is home to the yearly performance inside room 161 of UC Irvine’s Humanities Hall.
The show illuminates the student’s creative minds, assisting future dancers, choreographers, and producers in gaining valuable lessons for the future. Performances were centered on the lives of youth in society, portraying the joys and struggles of students in everyday life according to second-year student and Bare Bones committee member Cayla Bauer.
The audience of students, parents, and various spectators seemed to be awaiting a great spectacle. The performers took the sold-out show to be a good sign. UC Irvine dance student Julianna Cressman, who did not participate in this year’s show, was able to give insight on seeing the performance as a dancer herself. After the show, she said, “It’s a great experience for students to run their own show. What I noticed is that it’s kind of like that the dancer’s showcase pieces that are specific to our age group. It’s interesting to see what’s trending from their point of view in our society.”
Every piece had its own personality, some more up-beat and positive, matching the dancers’ smiling faces, while others were more seriously reflective with solemn music, grim faces, and dramatic movements. The portrayal of a typical youth’s experiences in life was effective: The audience offered loud “woos” and hollers along with roaring applause after almost every piece.
Following the performance, Bauer’s father, Ron Bauer, said that “It’s good to see the first steps of some choreographers.” He has been to countless of his daughter’s performances and explained how great he believes having a student-run production can be for future performers.
Participants must audition in order to be able to showcase their pieces as well as audition to be a part of a choreographer’s piece. Every year, the process takes months to complete and rehearsals are held at all hours of the day, numerous times a week according to student dancer and choreographer, Emily Guerard.
Founded in 1987, Bare Bones Dance Theater is an undergraduate-student run, non-profit organization. Celebrating their 28th year, the performance clung to the slogan “15 new works for 2015!”
In order to keep Bare Bones up and running students look to the Orange County community for support. Tickets for the show generally stay at $11 dollars, both online and at the door. The brochure handed out to all audience members highlighted the various sponsors who help to keep the non-profit on its feet.
After the performance, a Gala event was held in a nearby room, Studio 4, for all audience members to attend. Drinks and refreshments were served while live music played along with co-mingling. Tank tops were sold to the public for $20 dollars, sweatpants for $25 dollars, and raffle tickets were sold for a dollar a piece. Donated items such as gift baskets and apparel were raffled off to help support the organization.
Flowers flooded the arms of the participants as audience members had a chance to conclude the night by speaking with the various producers, dancers, and choreographers in order to get the chance to find out more about details behind the work put into the performance.