The title of this year’s Orchesis winter concert was “Vitality;” and again and again throughout the night, the dancers defined the word “vitality” through their movement.
Orchesis is Cal Poly’s concert dance program; an arts organization which has been going strong for 44 years. One thing that keeps Orchesis strong is that students of all backgrounds can audition. The corps is composed of students with majors ranging from architecture engineering to agricultural business to liberal studies, though all are united through their love of performing dance. The winter concert has been a tradition for as long as the program has been alive, and besides being an all-around excellent show, many of the dances are choreographed by talented Cal Poly students.
Though the concert had been running since the previous week and I attended the second to last show, the house was nearly full and the audience was completely engaged. The house lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as red stage lights pulsated over the performers. Most of the dances performed were modern, a style which incorporates everything from sharp angles, counterbalance, and varying tempos.
Props such as chairs, music stands, and other accessories were used to drive home themes. “Tickled” was set to a live Steve Martin performance and involved a dancer wearing bunny ears and oversized glasses. A dance entitled “Untied” began with the dancers’ hands bound with black links and ended with the dancers throwing the last link to the ground.
A few dances were performed in styles other than modern. Enormous flowing banners decorated the background of “The Healer” as dancers performed Bollywood-influenced choreography in Bollywood attire. A beautiful ballet piece, “Dead of Night,” featured ballerinas rising from the dead to dance en pointe and returning to their graves at sunrise.
I am lucky enough to know one of the talented dancers who performed in “Dead of Night.” Animal science junior Elise Willcox, an avid dancer since childhood, explained her preparation for the dance.
“I think we started choreography in week 3 or 4 of fall quarter,” Elise said. “Everyone’s en pointe in the piece, so that took quite a bit of time and strength training to get back into shape after the summer.”
The highlight of the night, in my opinion, was a piece called ‘”Adagio 2014.” “Adagio” is a dance which has traveled from company to company, transforming through improvisation each place it is performed. Creative interpretation from the performers and breaking the fourth wall are the two main themes of “Adagio.” In the piece, dancers continually ran close to the edge of the stage, only to have their fellows draw them back in a protective embrace. But towards the end of the performance, one dancer leapt off the stage into the house. At first I assumed it was part of the performance, but as the onstage dancers called for the audience to help him up, I became very worried. I was about to run to help the man when the corps of dancers pulled him back onstage, holding him over their heads, and gently laid him down. He began to dance again without so much as a pause. I wanted to cry, partly from the shock of being ‘tricked’ by the breaking of the fourth wall and partly because the sense of compassion and community that emanated from the dancers.
I left the concert feeling cathartic from the experience and wanting more. Seeing performances put on by Cal Poly students makes me appreciate the artistic talent within our school. It might not seem apparent at first, but this talent is everywhere. The girl who sits next you in O Chem may be lacing up pointe shoes after class and the guy you stood behind in line at SandFac just might be a viola virtuoso. Next time you have the opportunity to attend a student performance like Orchesis: Vitality, do it! You’re sure to be impressed.