This weekend, Fusion Dance Company is presenting its 25th anniversary show, which features dances with influences ranging from street art and Chinese public parks to female body image and "The O.C." The show opened Wednesday and will run through Sunday in Ashamu Dance Studio.
True to Fusion's multicultural and diverse character, the performance not only includes a wide variety of dance styles - flamenco, hip-hop, modern and jazz - but also blends them creatively to an eclectic mix of music. For those who have never seen flamenco danced to Queen or anything danced to Imogen Heap, this year's Fusion performance will be a first.
The show opens with the seductive, playful jazz number, "Don't Tell Mama," which was also performed last semester at the Fall Dance Concert. The piece, choreographed by Ashley Chung '08, creates the atmosphere of a dim cabaret club. Dancers lip-synch and gesture theatrically in "Don't Tell Mama," which draws from musical theater to create an amusing piece that seems to parody its sources.
Moving from the cabaret to the bedroom, "Antithesis," a darker piece choreographed by Owen David '08, explores the violent side of love with "questions of domination, control and ownership," according to the show's program. Wearing only underwear, the dancers move lustfully and aggressively to Nine-Inch Nails' "Just Like You Imagined," stopping to mime shouting or breathe heavily.
"I tend to make more think-y dances," David said. "Moving for the sake of moving is very beautiful, but I like to make dances a little more compelling - give audiences something to think about, make their skin crawl, turn them on in some way."
One of the most powerful pieces in the show, "Antithesis" fulfilled David's intentions. The dancers had to do a little more acting and bring in stories of past relationships to create the piece, David said.
Other pieces are less cerebral, like the upbeat hip-hop piece "Don't think ... just dance," choreographed by Annesley O'Neal '08 to a mix of music by artists like 50 Cent and Chris Brown.
The lights got brighter when dancers took the stage to perform "The Dearly Beloved," also choreographed by Chung and named after the second season finale of television show "The O.C." The performance uses a song from the show, Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek," and dancers moved gracefully to the heavily emphasized vocal harmonies. Chung created the dance because she really liked the song, she said. At first she thought it was just a series of pretty movements, but throughout the rehearsal process it became very personal and emotional, she said.
Melissa Martinez '08, who, according to the program, spent two months taking flamenco classes in Barcelona while she was abroad, choreographed the flamenco dance "Mad Beats and Skirt Swings." During the first part of the piece, a couple dances to the clapping of several other performers standing to one side of the stage. Eventually, Queen's "Innuendo" comes on and the clapping dancers join in, using their colorful skirts and imaginary castanets to accompany the rhythmic stomping.
Jake Ricciardi '09's "Jook n' Jive at the Crabbuckit" is an original blend of dance styles intended to examine the influence of swing-era jazz on 1980s break dancing and modern-day hip-hop, Ricciardi said. With suspender-clad performers combining movements from styles such as the Charleston and break dancing, the piece traces "the evolution of jazz-influenced social dances," according to the program. Like the jazz traditions and street styles it draws on, the dance effectively balances freestyle movement with the structure of group performance. The "upbeat and fun" piece is meant to show the performers "dancing hard, sweating hard and loving it the entire time," Ricciardi said.
This year's show is particularly meaningful, one of the dancers announced, not only for the graduating seniors, but for the entire company since it will be the last year they have the opportunity to use Ashamu.
Because the Department of Theater, Speech and Dance is trying to expand and offer more classes, student groups will not be allowed to rehearse in Ashamu starting next semester, Ricciardi said. Along with other student groups, Fusion is trying to rally support to "push for the Corporation to put performing arts on their agenda," Ricciardi said. The company is asking audience members to sign a petition during the show.
Performances are tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
