24th Brown Bag delights SMU audiences again

The Meadows School of the Arts hosted its 24th season of the Brown Bag Dance Series this week in the foyer of the Owen Fine Arts Center. At noon, a crowd gathered on the marble floor to watch the student-choreographed performances.

It's important for art students to invest themselves in their respective field. This helps them acquire a more personal understanding of their artistic identities.

Putting words to dance is inconsistent with its service. The execution of the art form stems largely from an emotional basis, making the language both easy to understand and enjoy. Even the youngest audience member enjoyed the performance.

The students fully embraced their artistic individuality and styles to choreograph 11 different dances.

Emily Morrow's piece, "Here Today," included a clear-cut play on the woes of flirtation, adhering to physicality - reminiscent of miming.

Breanna Gribble's modern "ECDYSIS" focused on the power of the image, relying on a minimalist perspective of the balance of bodies in space.

Following the theme of modern dance, Nelle Osborne crafted the piece, "In Vain," solely against the musical backdrop of a heartbeat.

To affirm the preconceived notion of dance: yes, there was a pretty little ballerina that impressed the audience with her grace and fluidity during four or five pirouettes.

However, the preconceived notion of "proper" dance was shattered by the final piece. Students stormed the stage in jean shorts to step up for some hip-hop. Performers infused the audience with a desire to get up and dance with them. The name of the piece, to no surprise, was "Preconceived Notions" by Louis Acquisto and Calvin A. Rollins.

Walking down the boulevard, trying to avoid or return someone's eye contact only satisfies so much of our craving for contact with strangers. You know what I'm talking about. Being a very social kind of animal, it is a mutual experience and the recognition, thereof, makes man feel real good. Certainly, this type of contact is the goal of any show and ultimately the product of a good one. When I recall the magnetic silence that ruled over the audience, rising and dissipating with the flux of movement and sound, I admit Brown Bag was one such performance.

The performer delights and that pleasure is intensified by the multiplicity of the spectators; a natural phenomenon, which is the reason behind why it is more fun to watch a movie with your friends than by yourself.

All should take advantage of the Brown Bag performances. Not only because it's free, but because life is all too drab walking from building to building, ordering our omelet's, and swiping our little cards day in and day out to pass up the chance to witness an extremity in action by dance, theater or sound.

The last performance of Brown Bag is Friday at noon. For those with other obligations, the series will return in the spring.

The Show

Ad Intium

Choreography: Patrick Leahy

Melting Ice

Choreography: Michael Wright

Study In Blues

Choreography: Jason Coosner

Ecdysis

Choreography: Breanna Gribble

2,102,400

Choreography: Zachary Hammer, Morgan Palmer, Patrick Leahy, Emily Vallar

Raymonda Variation

Choreography: George Balanchine

In Vain

Choreography: Nelle Osborne

Here Today…

Choreography: Emily Morrow

Shade

Choreography: Zachary Hammer

To Those

Choreography: Alexandra Karigan, Morgan Palmer

Preconceived Notions

Choreography: Louis Acquisto, Calvin A. Rollins II