Kicked off on Thursday, May 1 at 8:00pm in the Hollins Theater, the annual Hollins Spring Dance concert wowed its audience, including the ever-supportive President Gray. The doors opened at 7:45, allowing plenty of time for the attendees to select their free seats and settle in for the show. After the lights dimmed, Thursday’s performance began with a piece titled “Sublimination,” a video piece which is described as “a collaborative rotoscope animation, composed of 570 unique ink paintings on Mylar by Elise Schweitzer, based on an original dance choreographed and performed by Lisa Kusanagi and Jasmine Powell, with music composed by Maxwell Transue” in the program. Like many of the performances, this work has reached audiences beyond Hollins, including a presentation at the Marginal Arts Festival.
Next was “It Makes Sound,” a piece choreographed by Lianna King. King pulled in dancers Brittany Marie Aarons, Elizabeth Hedrick, Chanice Holmes, and Caitlyn Lewis, as well as first-year violinist Kate Lydon, who played live. Lydon’s musical showcase was not static. Instead, all four dancers interacted with Lydon, including creating illusions of manipulating Lydon’s elbow in order to influence the music she played.
“their GAZE my LUNGS.. Black face” was a piece performed and choreographed by senior Terrakah Harold to Emeli Sande’s “Clown.” The emotional piece began with Harold miming movements in a mirror, imitating a young woman who examined her face at the end of a long day.
Set to popular songs “Born to Die” by Lana Del Rey” and “As If by Magic” by La Roux, Mary-Carmen Webb’s coreography featured herself, Caitlyn Lewis, and Molly McCambridge. As a piece titled “I met you in a kitchen.” the moving dance intrigued much of the audience, as was evident in the atmospheric shift in the theatre.
“Never Stop Blooming,” a piece coregraphed and performed by Judy Yiu Kit Ki brought natural elements into the perfromance. Sophomore Sarah Pillow pointed out that the branches which hung above the stage were the branches from which Judy Yiu Kit Ki had taken leaves for her Fall Dance performance. In addition to the branches, the performance also featured a relaxing soundtrack of natural sounds including chirping birds and a stream, along with a second part composed and performed live by Vladimir Espinosa.
Following the intermission, Brittany Marie Aarons’ piece “Layb. Her. (labor, work woman)” came onto the stage. Set to “Motherless Child” by Sweet Honey in the Rock, the piece was performed by the coreographer, Lianna King, Caitlyn Lewis, and Jasmine Powell. The performers wore lovely flowing floral dresses or overalls, supporting a Depression-Era aesthetic.
Bringing together three senior dancers was “Kova,” a dance coreographed by Yvonne Meier. Terrakah Harold, Molly McCambridge, and Gaby Soto-Lemus impressed the audience with their emotionally-charged performance. One part of the act included a voiceover suggesting adjectives, some serious and some less serious, for the dancers to interpret in their movements.
The night ended with “Ethical Goodbyes (unread)” coreographed with He Jin Jang. As a mixed media piece, the dance featured the projection of a Word document actively typing. The music in the piece came in four parts with a sound score designed by He Jin Jang, “River of Dreams” by Hayley Westenra, a live performance by Charlie Grosholz of her own song “riverbed,” and Radiohead’s “Give up the Ghost.” One of the most unique performances, “Ethical Goodbyes (unread)” worked props into its presentation, including a bucket of ice, a lighter, and a pair of scissors, which dancer Chanice Holmes used to snip off a lock of hair. Other performers in this work were Elizabeth Hedrick, Mary-Howard Higgins, Lianna King, Samantha Patterson, and Mary-Carmen Webb, all of whom make up Jang’s Repertory Group.
Congratulations to all of the amazing performers! The final act will happen tonight (Saturday, 5/3) in the Hollins Theatre at 8:00. Admission is free.