The Tower Dancers: Dance Analysis

People use dance to convey and explore many things. From narratives to emotions to social critics, dance displays a wide range of human thought. The Tower Dancers, a dance group made of dancers attending Hillsdale college, staged a dance cabaret featuring a wide variety of numbers, including a piece titled “Picture This!”. “Picture This!” was choreographed by Holly Hobbs and danced by a nine different dancers, including Kathryn DuHadaway, Elizabeth Garner, Sophie Marie Gorecki, Micah Heinz, Sarah Kilgore, Colleen Prince, Stephen Rupp, Jessica Skoudis, and Rachel Watson. Many people find classic ballet and the baroque period it flourished in rather stiff, stuffy, and stuck up— “Picture This” captured all the frivolity and superfluousness of
Golden dresses with paisley filigree adorned the ballerinas. Under the corseted dresses the ballerinas wore bright blue, glimmering knickers. As the dancers twirled, their skirts would kick up and reveal the knickers even more. This is comical, as the baroque period was obsessed with modesty. The skirts kicked up and “revealed” bright, royal blue knickers, thus dirtying the dancers modesty. All the while, the ballerinas smile gayly, their eyes wide and their red lips parted in a forced smile. The mock modest costumes make the dance even more
The dancers danced in a rather classic form with straight lines and long, graceful arms. The baroque period is often criticized for being very stiff and very formal— this was true for “Picture This.” However, the dance also featured many frivolous, fluttering moves, showcasing the superfluous of Baroqueness. The fluttering made up the most of the dance. Stiff pitter-patter, one could say.The dancers leapt into the air and fluttered their feet back and forth, like gliding butterflies. Just as butterflies are easily blow back and forth by the wind, so were well-to-do Baroque aristocrates blown back and forth by the whims of societal standards.
Another frequent move performed by the ballerinas were lifts in the air featuring a lot of kicking. Several times the two male ballerinas would lift the female ballerinas by the waist, flip them upside down, and carry them off the stage. All the while the ballerinas kicked their feet and waved their arms, their wild smiles turned upside down as well. This somewhat awkward lift once again revealed the kickers of the female ballerinas and, providing even more criticism of the fake staunchness of Baroque