Dance Critique

Dance Critique: Jubilation Dance 2012 In Fall 2012 there was a production called Jubilation taken place in El Camino College in the Campus Theatre. The Dance consist of many different styles of dancing from African dance by Nichole “Nittche” Thompson Spirit Within, to Tango as demonstrated in La Revancha Del Tango, choreographed by Imara Quinonez. One of the most common and best performed dances that was presented in the production were The Gift and Broadway Bound, choreographed by Bernice Boseman. Broadway Bound consisted of twelve dancers, and performed as a single group of girls, a single group of guys, and girls and guys dancing together. However, in the performance of The gift there was just one guy that performed his solo. As the famous song of “The Little Drummer Boy” started, the lights appear on stage focusing on a boy who was sitting on a rock with his drum. He was wearing a white loose shirt with shorts and a red belt around him. The stage also had a white bright light in the back area of the stage. As the song started seven different characters came in one by one with different color of long dresses and had their heads wrap around with long cloths. As each dancer came in walking slowly step by step towards the bright back stage light, they raised the gift up high and continue walking slowly but this time out the stage. After everyone had exit the stage the drummer boy got up from the rock and went to the bright light and raise his drum up high. Then he begin to dance around to the beat of the drums around stage. At the beginning of the song the first seven dancers who entered walking had a repeatedly step walking in a line. As they approach the stage they moved across the stage using all the space from it. As they exit the drummer boy started dancing. He was doing a solo dance moving across the stage but mainly staying tin the middle area. The boy was doing different type of jazz movements while holding the gift in his hand for the whole remaining time. The work demonstrated by the boy was flowing smooth throughout the music and his dance. Bernice Boseman was trying to point out the cultural part of this dance which she added a visual scenario for us to understand the dance in a different way. By Bernice Boseman adding the gift carriers at the beginning of the performance her intent is to make us see that the gift carriers were rich people with a more expensive gift trying to give them to god. This was represented by the big bright light in back of the stage as god looking down on them. On the contrary, the drummer boy was not as “good looking” as the rich gift carriers and all he had to offer god was just a drummer with his music. The drummer boy dance to the song expressing his feelings out for giving the gift to god. He would move up and down stretching his harms up and the bringing them down like if he was having a thought for giving the gift to him. He felt like if his gift wasn’t as valuable as like the others. At the end of the performance he kneeled down and raised his drum to god as a gift. For the most part, The Gift was a great performance that made the audience knew the authors intent . The meaning of the song with the dance was very clear and the drummer boy was very focused in showing us the way he felt. In overall, the organization was very successfully and were all committed to the dance.