Thursday, June 26, 2014

THE SPIRIT OF SPIRITO by Nicole Moscou

I had to admit, the posters intrigued me. Spirito looked like something I would love to see. I own a small ballet school, and I often feel the need to see dance performances to keep my own inspiration going. Still, I made excuses. I was tired. I’d never heard of 127th Street Dance. It was going to be late. My weekends had been busy. But all of these excuses were thrown out the window when my sister (also my student) called to tell me that she’d auditioned and had been invited to join the company dancers in the performance. I bought my tickets immediately, and I’m so glad I did.
The eclectic collection of pieces had me enraptured from the start. I kept forgetting to breathe. The choreography was brilliant, and the dancers themselves were so committed to what they were doing. The level of expression and passion in their dancing were amazing, and I have to say, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. 

The choreography was original and unconventional. Often, I feel that the trend is to fit as much as possible into a short piece of music. This is impressive, but it all happens so fast, it’s hard to appreciate it. Some of the best moments in Spirito were the ones where the dancers stopped moving, or just breathed in the moment, or continued a progression long enough for the audience to appreciate the intricacies of the movement. 
The emotional energy throughout the pieces was also amazing. One piece would make the audience laugh, the next struck them silent. In some, I found my leg muscles moving right along with the gravity-defying leaps; in others, I nearly slipped into a meditative state. Several times, the tears fell freely onto the program I was clutching. For me, it awakened something inside of me that had been set aside for all the paperwork, the class progressions, the business of ballet. It awakened my dance spirit, and allowed me into a world where I speak the language. It was a beautiful moment that I never wanted to end. (And in case you were wondering, my sister was beautiful in the performance, and I’m ever grateful to 127th Street Dance for giving her that opportunity.)

If Spirito comes anywhere near you, it’s not something you want to miss. Dancer or not, you’ll leave with a dancer spirit.

~ Nicole Moscou


*Tickets for SPIRITO available at http://www.kpcenter.org/performances/spirito

Performances at Kirkland Performance Center
July 18 & 19, 8PM



3 comments:

  1. I can absolutely relate to the feelings that this blogger is expressing. As someone with no dance training or graceful movement, it is so awe-inspiring to watch as the amazing pieces by 127th st Dance come to life! Just as you said, they evoke so many emotions that you leave the show feeling a sense of calm, enlightenment and hope. There are only a handful of times that I've felt this level of movement and energy in my life, and every 127th St. Dance performance is certainly on that list! Bravo!

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