Informal dance shows department’s character

Continually exceeding expectations, VCU’s Dance Department injected fun and flavor into an art form that is often considered prim and proper. The Spring Informal Saturday allowed dancers to express their creativity on their own terms.

Anita Randolph opened the show with “How I Made It Over.” Portraying a wash-woman, Randolph began by sullenly scrubbing the floor. After a gospel song played for a bit, she started mouthing the words. She stood up and began to dance and clap, her beaming smile was contagious. Randolph’s command of the stage was also remarkable. The bucket and ironing board, which Randolph used with her dance, added to the authenticity of the situation she was creating.

“No More Than Only,” which was performed by Nicolle Wasserman, was a heavier, more depressing piece. Wasserman was undoubtedly an amazing dancer, specifically the way she flipped into a standing position with poise and grace was remarkable. The way she danced and crawled on the floor made this dance harder to watch than the rest.

Tere O’ Connor, who choreographed and performed for the VCU Dance Department earlier in semester, made a great impression on VCU students. “Samba Scientifique,” which was choreographed and danced by Drew Kaiser and Ligia Lewis, showed some of O’ Connor’s influence but not the students’ attempt at copying him. This dance was, in my opinion, more entertaining than other O’ Connor pieces I have seen. It reflected an interesting relationship. One part that was notable was when the two rapidly patted each other on the back. Their movements were distorted, particularly when Kaiser kept grabbing at Lewis while she threw his hands off her. He then picked her up into a spin, which delighted the audience

“Remember When …” was another audience favorite. Five talented dancers reverted to the days of kickball and jumprope while “Take Me There” by Mya and Blackstreet played in the background. They danced together with hip-hop style movements in between playing around the stage. They played patty-cake, leap-frog and cartwheels. The audience really picked up on the amount of fun they were having on stage, which made this performance a stand-out. An eye-popping moment was when one of the male dancers leaped over another, extremely tall, male dancer while he was standing upright.

Andrew de Fiesta began “Speak #3” dancing alone with spoken word playing that concerned growing old in the 9-to-5 world that we live in. Then, five bright-eyed girls (ranging from ages 5 to eight) flew out on stage. Watching the girls imitate deFiesta was beautiful. He played with each of the girls, tossing one up in the air and flying another on his back. They all played stop-and-go together. However, the best part was when he sat down and watched, in admiration, the girls dance by themselves.

“Acapella” was less sentimental, but the troupe of women tap-dancing still looked marvelous. These tireless performers put on bright smiles throughout the strenuous dance. They were never a step out of place – even when they were doing complicated moves like touching the floor while tapping and dancing backwards.

After the high-energy tap dance, Ivy Smith took the stage with her simple and beautiful “Peace.” Her skirt moved gracefully as she spun around the stage using the space to her advantage. Smith really opened herself up to the audience with her wide arm motions.

“Untitled,” which closed the show and the other “Untitled” toward the beginning were a bit hard to follow. They were still entertaining and appealing to the eye, but they also seemed to have a deeper meaning that I didn’t fully grasp.

Each piece had a different tone and feel to it, which showed the individual interests and talents of the dancers. It is obvious that the VCU Dance Department thrives on variety and the Spring Informal showcased it better than any previous performance.