Imagine a dancer, connected to climbing cables, suspended center and stage dancing in mid-air. This is “Boxed Set.”
The style used in this compilation is called vertical dance, a form as unique as it is difficult. Climbing and dancing equipment is attached to the rafters above the stage. From there, dancers perform suspended on ropes, hanging from a climbing wall or perched on set pieces.
“Vertical dance is a unique aspect of the dance at UW. We have had the opportunity to present vertical dance outside at Vedauwoo in the summer and to integrate it into faculty concerts indoors,” Margret Wilson co-conceiver and director of “Boxed Set” said in a UW Press Release. “But this is the first time we have designed a full concert with vertical dance on campus.”
The UW Theater and Dance Department put its best dancing foot forward with this show.
Without exception, the 22-member ensemble of “Boxed Set” managed a breathtaking opening performance last night. If any errors arose, it was not noticeable.
Watching the show reminded me of watching the talented acrobats on the tightrope at the circus when I was a child. Amazing spins, jumps, contortions and more were made, while the dancers were completely suspended. At times the movements were so complex, I had to hold my breath. Would the rope stop in time? Should they really descend so fast? Yet, with each move completed, the breath returned with relief and astonishment.
And unlike the circus performers in my youth, these performers used no net.
Though the dance floor was limited, the cast and crew’s imaginations were not. Dances took place on the ceiling, in the air, off the walls and on the floor.
The show consists of 15 dance pieces, ranging from ensemble pieces to solo performances. The three solo dancers Katherine Adams, Alysia Klein and Emily Brumbaugh deserve special recognition. Each woman demanded presence on stage.
With her body like a paintbrush, Adams swept along the floor, mimicking the poetic strokes of a calligrapher. Klein’s lively and electrified movements awoke the air around her. Brumbaugh created a world where the tallest of creations can add the slightest of movement to enhance an intricate dance.
The talent of the two male dancers featured in “Boxed Set” helped shape the show. Corey Klements and Thomas Dirks worked mainly with female partners, but when featured together, brought a humorous nature to the competitive dance that followed.
Under the direction of dance faculty member Margaret Wilson and geology Professor Neil Humphrey “Boxed Set” is a success. If the performance does not speak for itself, full seats do. Two shows are already sold out and few empty seats were seen during opening night.
Lighting design by Adam Mendelson and technical director Shaun Sorenson were seamlessly combined. The soft waves of blues and purples rippled across the stage and blended with the music effortlessly. Costumes designed by Lee Hodgson created the effect of silver doves dancing in mid-air among the most heartfelt, humorous or heated moments of the show.
“Boxed Set” will be perform at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $14 for general admission, $11 for senior citizens and $7 for students. For tickets and information call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/FINEARTS/.
The Studio Theater offers an up-close look at the performance due to its small size, which also limits the number of seats available.
“Boxed Set” takes vertical dance to a new level, in both physical and artistic aspects and is worth racing to the box office to buy a ticket to the spectacle.
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