With crowd-pleasing hip-hop numbers and tragic modern pieces, Fusion Dance Company's 29th annual spring show keeps the audience on its toes for its entire two-hour duration.
The show, running through Sunday, includes pieces in a variety of different styles, all choreographed by students. "Whatever someone wants to choreograph is put in," said Julia Cabral '12, the group's publicity manager.
"Hopefully, for the audience, they get a little taste of different things throughout the show," said Fusion Company Manager Natalie Inoue '12.
The diversity of pieces is furthered with a wide range of musical choices. From Billie Holiday's "They Can't Take That Away From Me" to "Howl" by Florence and the Machine to a medley of Top 40 hits, the songs matched the mood of the movements in each piece, whether somber, joyful or violent.
Student choreographers worked with other members of the 23-person group to realize their creations. "I liked seeing my movement done by other people and having it come together and actually being proud of myself," said Jenny Sevy '14. Sevy danced in many of the pieces and choreographed a poignant contemporary modern piece featuring four female dancers in the second act.
Choreographing peers is inspiring, Inoue said. "Each person kind of has their own style and with that, at least for me, I definitely wanted to try and bring that out in every dancer," he said.
The dancers in the group have a wide range of experience.
"We just look for people with good performance quality, if they have some type of spark when they're performing, no matter where they come from," said Artistic Director Alyssa Thelemaque '12.
Though some pieces are more tightly put together than others, the show as a whole showcases the impressive choreographing and dance talent of the group. The variation of styles and mood are paired with interesting use of costumes and lights, like the fun use of silhouettes — harkening back to mid-2000s iTunes commercials — in a flirty piece called "Loving…So Deeply," set to a medley of hip-hop songs. The dancers are emotive in their movements, particularly in more somber pieces such as "At the Dance," set to a Billie Holiday song, and "Watch" to "All Alright" by Sigur Ros.
From the first number to the finale, the dancers reflect a genuine joy in their performance. "We just want to put on a good show, and we're here to give the audience something that's worth their money, especially for college students," Thelemaque said.
