The Brown Bag -Dance Series

The students in the dance department at the Meadows School of Arts performed this fall’s second-to-last show of the 23rd annual Brown Bag Dance Series Thursday in the lobby of the Owen Art Center. The lunchtime performances have been going on all week and are free and open to the public.

The show included 12 short original ballet, modern, jazz and tap works.

The first dance, “Accentual Compulsion,” was choreographed by Jenny Roseanne Gillan and featured three dancers. The second performance, “Fits,” featured music by Imogen Heap and was presented by six female dancers using three exercise balls as props.

Hara Shin, one of the performers in “Fits,” choreographed the third performance, titled “Flower Leaf.” The number had an oriental flavor supplemented by the dancers’ ethereal white costumes and the wooden sticks they pounded to the floor in sync to the beat.

The next performance featured six female dancers in brightly colored spandex costumes. The music by Bill Conti was an upbeat piano instrumental.

Following was a number to an edited version of The Eagles’ “Hotel California,” which, judging by the deafening applause, was definitely an audience favorite. The presentation featured a mixed-gender group of nine students and was described by freshman Lacey Brutchy as similar in appearance to a “synchronized swimming” routine.

Unlike most of the performances, which usually included multiple dancers, “Them” was performed by a couple and featured a violin instrumental by Brahms. This dance was characterized by a high degree of fluidity and was choreographed by its performers, Zac Hammer and Lydia Polhemus.

The next performance, “Life is My Medium,” contained seven dancers and featured music by Steve Reich, Robert Miles and Sigur Rös. It was included an individual sub-dance by the two male dancers of the group, Philip John Orsano and Travis Waldschmidt, who also choreographed it.

The intense tap number that followed was choreographed by Megan Crichton, who was also one of its three performers. The audience favorite was appropriately titled “Quiet, Please!” and conveyed a cheerful attitude. The dancers never missed a beat.

The last performance, “Release of the Looking Glass,” was choreographed by Rachel Kaminskas and featured music by Zero 7. The costumes of the six dancers looked somewhat futuristic.

This fall marks the 23rd season of the Brown Bag Series that occurs twice a year. The next series of shows is in the spring of 2006. The last show of this fall’s performance is this Thursday.

The Brown Bag -Dance Series

The Brown Bag -Dance Series