Last weekend, Falk Theatre and Plant Hall’s Veranda was filled with music, flavor and style. The University of Tampa’s Fall Dance Happening began on Wednesday, Oct. 26 and ended Saturday, Oct. 29. Preparations for these performances began as soon as the fall semester started.
Before the show started, family and friends shouted the names of their loved ones. Jordan Maltese’s piece, Distortion, broke the ice. A large group of female dancers stepped onstage with colorful tutus and gave an amazing display of turns and jumps, impressing the audience. The upbeat music from David Guetta pumped up the audience members for the future dances of the show.
Distortion was followed by When You Say, a piece meant to explain the connection between two bodies. The soft music established a calm atmosphere. Dancers Alec Leddy and Jordan Maltese left their hearts on the stage. The spark between the dancers truly heightened the message choreographer Patrick Justin meant to portray.
Afterwards, a sassy piece entitled What’s Your Booty Doin’? showcased female dancers strutting their stuff. Imitating a more retro style, the dancers wore either white or black shirts.
My Dear Old Friend was choreographed by Lindsey Goldaper. The piece conveyed the strength of friendship and a sense of unity. The dancers wore white dresses and held black flowers. As they danced, they formed a line and passed the flowers to each other. At the
end, each took their own flower and sat around the stage’s border looking down.
The next piece, The Journey, was choreographed by Prestong Burris. The dancers wore loose, flowy dresses, which went well with the water sounds in the music. The red-orange background helped the audience members appreciate the aqua-blue colored dresses.
This was followed by Anisa Dijkhoffz’s The Reason I Smile. The lights flickered during the introduction to the song. Each dancer wore a loose, red, one shoulder shirt. The dancers’ graceful moves matched the theme depicted by the song.
Untitled was choreographed by Alicia Cahill. Unlike the previous performances, the song used for this dance was instrumental. Each dancer wore a black outfit. The background colors changed as the performance progressed. Towards the finale, the performers danced in a circle and when the song slowly came to an end, all fell to the ground as the music ended with a final boom.
Nicole Mason choreographed the next piece, Settle Down. The female dancers wore white dresses and veils, conveying the image of a bride. The male dancers wore black outfits with cuffs. This was a playful piece, combining the ideas of playing hard to get and settling down.
The next piece, Swing, Swing, Swing, was choreographed by Rhiannon Crawford and inspired by the ‘20s. This fun piece featured the female dancers wearing extravagant, sparkling sequined dresses in either red, green or blue and the male dancers wearing black outfits with sequined suspenders. They incorporated tapping in their performance, which made it both different and entertaining.
After this performance, we changed locations from the Falk Theatre to the Plant Hall East Verandah. The remainder of the program was showcased here, featuring some
of the most talked about pieces.
The UT Spanish Dance Team offered flavor and spiciness to the program with their piece Tu Deseo. Sensual, fast paced and provocative, this piece was among the favorites of the audience members. Their wardrobe consisted of black pants and red shirts. Without the distraction of flamboyant clothing, the audience members truly focused on and enjoyed the piece.
Sasha Kershbaum then presented Quantum Memory. This piece is dedicated to her father, whom she hopes to meet either in this life or the next, and it portrayed the emotional bonds human beings share. The dancers wore white, blue, green and orange t-shirts and short, black pants.
Following this piece was Sophie Erber’s Love’s Crazy Beat. Immediately top ranked by the audience, this piece conveys love’s rollercoaster of emotions in a fun, hip way. To the groove of “Mr. Saxobeat,” the dancers presented a sexy and structured performance. Female dancers wore red shirts while male dancers wore white shirts with a red heart.
The Spartan Scarlets presented their choreography to the rhythm of Adele’s “Rumors”. This piece portrayed the girls’ sass, attitude and style. Each wore simple, black dresses and danced beautifully.
Ashley Sooklal provided a variety of songs and style with her piece Fierceness! The dance featured one male dancer and portrayed independent, fierce women.
Amid the sexy and fast paced dances, Amanda Sieradzki soothed the audience with her piece Just the Beginning. Five female dancers, wearing yellow headbands and flowy, fuschia skirts danced gracefully. The music selection combined two songs and provided a twist to the pop hit E.T. by Katy Perry.
Shaniqua Rogers revived the heat on the verandah with We Run This World. Performers danced to the beat of Beyonce’s “Run This World (Girls)” and earned the audience’s cheers and ovation. The dancers wore army ensemble, which contributed to the tough-love portrayal of women’s control over men.
Last but not least, UT alumni Meagan Nagy returned to the stage once more and presented Leather and Lace. Dancing to the rhythm of “This Is What Rock and Roll Looks Like,” performers wore dark clothing with touches of metallic. Both bold and energetic, the piece managed to close the show by providing the audience with a sense of fascination.
For those of you interested in participating, rest assured, you don’t need to be a dance major or minor. “At auditions, we look for something special. You don’t need to be a technical dancer, just have that special thing that pops out,” explained Angelique Ramirez, choreographer for the UT Spanish Dance Team.
It’s amazing to see how these students have bonded with each other and dance with such passion. Personally, I believe there was a variety between the traditional and modern, providing a little bit of everything to please everyone. Fun, independence, connections and flavor were balanced out with soft and graceful performances.
To those who missed out on this experience, I encourage you to mark your calendars for the next time! These performances set the bar high for the next time, and inspired the audience members to dance like nobody’s watching.
Xelmarie Medina can be reached at xelmymedia@yahoo.com.