Older audience members sat on the few couches left in the lobby directly in front of the stage. Younger attendees sat on the black and brown patterned floor eagerly awaiting the show to start. A student dressed in all black crossed the stage with a placard reading “Meadows Dance: Brown Bag Series.”
The show was about to begin.
Search the SMU Archives and you will find a program, bulletin or notice for the Meadows Dance: Brown Bag Series dating back to 1983. The week-long lunchtime dance series showcases student choreography and dance set to the styles of ballet, modern and jazz.
“Dance as a whole, along with music, can portray so many diverse emotions and feelings that when put together properly can be very powerful,” sophomore Justin Morales said. “Brown Bag encompasses all of that.
Sophomore Aubry Neal’s opening piece, “Ponchiellei’s Fantasia No. 3,” set the bar high as six dancers dressed in bright pink leotards and skirts romantically completed pirouette after pirouette. The sharp hip-hop moves of sophomore Shauna Davis’ “You,” set to music by rapper Biz Markie, offered a great contrast to the show. This season’s Brown Bag utilizes a variety of music to engage its audience.
The series ends on a high note with “How to Make Dubstep” by sophomore Hattie Haggard. The dance takes audience members through a range of emotion. “Inevitability” by Caitlin Heflin literally goes through the ups and downs of a relationship on the verge of breaking up and “Genesis” follows an internal battle for a new beginning.
“Every brown bag is different, not only because of the different performances, but because of the emotions and feelings they evoke in the audience,” Morales said. “I enjoyed it because I could follow the “story” of the choreography and also…. felt the energy and excitement from each dancer as they performed.”
Dancers performing strong kick plies and glides to a special rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing” impressed Perkins graduate student Jermaine Mulley. After hearing about the Meadows performance from peers, he decided to “not to miss another year of supporting Meadows.”
“I have always been enamored by the art of dance,” Mulley said. “This experience really validated how essential it is for me to perpetually be open to [new events.] Unless you take the time to experience it, you will not witness something fresh.”
Students, faculty and community guests are invited to pack their lunch and head over to the Bob Hope Theatre lobby for performances Thursday at 12:30 p.m. and Friday at noon. For more information visit the Meadows event calendar online.
