The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Nevada, Reno produced their annual Spring Dance Concert during the last weekend of April in collaboration with a featured guest: CALI & CO Dance.
The show highlighted dance numbers choreographed by several faculty members at UNR: Cari Cunningham, Eve Allen Garza, Nate Hodges, Rosie Trump and guest artists Christine Cali and Sierra Taylor Cline.
Throughout the program, several themes and motifs were explored and portrayed with different choreography styles, music choices and costumes. Each element was selected with the intention to connect the message to the art medium.
The seven dance performances incorporated various stylistic choices to reflect the individuality within each piece. The dancers expressed strength and fluidity as they moved across the stage, speaking with their body language rather than words.
One piece in particular, “an arrangement,” was choreographed by Cari Cunningham, an associate professor of dance at UNR and one of the show’s coordinators. The performance highlighted a film created at the Nevada Museum of Art exhibitions “Falling Fruit: Monument to Sharing” and “Fallen Fruit: Power of the Pollinators (And Other Living Things).”
Cunningham described her experience and inspiration behind incorporating a film into a live conversation with dancers. The piece displayed the film about flower farmers while utilizing living flowers and pieces of nature.
“This idea of the tangible and the intangible, and I wanted people to have that live experience of trying to put something so alive and theatrical and put it into a two dimensional form. I just thought, if I ever get the opportunity to have a live, ephemeral experience with this work, I need to seize it,” Cunningham said.
Though she recognized the effort she and other choreographers and directors put into the show, Cunningham reiterated that the praise should be focused on the dancers and students involved in the production.
One of the dance numbers was a total of 25 minutes of movement that centered around perfectionism and how impactful it is on the human body. “Perfect. Response.” began with the “perfect” conversation and acknowledging its heavy hand on society, and the standards and behaviors it forces through a collective group of people.
The dancers shifted the conversation in the “Response” part of the number. The second half focused on what would happen if people broke free from the strains of perfection and allowed themselves to breathe and exist as they are.
After the intermission, the show continued to prompt interesting and sometimes difficult conversations. In a number titled “Flowers That Pick Themselves,” themes of self-harm were displayed in a way that brought attention to the experience, but refrained from glamorizing or “fixing” it.
The Nevada Museum of Art made a second appearance in the piece “Line Continued,” choreographed by Rosie Trump and featuring a solo performance by Giselle Soto. The main piece of art portrayed in the film and dance accompaniment was “Untitled” by Carmen Herrera, produced in 1952.
Following shortly after, “Noise” commented on the modern technology landscape and how overwhelming the Information Age can become. This conversation is increasingly relevant as discussion of artificial intelligence and technological advances reach new heights. The dance reflected the anxiety such weight and demand for attention can cause to the average person, and by default, the collective.
Closing the show, a large group of dancers performed “On Display: Authenticity,” an upbeat ending to a soundtrack of different hit hip-hop artists like Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, SZA and more. This dynamic ending tied a show of intense conversations with varying themes in an engaging and exciting way.
The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the finale, expressing their appreciation and praise with thunderous applause as the dancers and crew came out for their last bows. The performance consisted of many interesting artistic elements and was put together by individuals that reflected the energy carried throughout the show.
