Dance Review | Santa Barbara Dance Arts ‘Configuration’ is a High Energy Showcase for Young Dancers
Impressive Level of Precision and Synchronicity Accompanies a Joyful Journey of Acceptance and Positivity
Fittingly held on the same weekend as International Women’s Day, Configuration’s opening weekend showcased some of Santa Barbara’s most promising youth dancers, all passionately promoting this year’s theme of radical self-love. Center Stage Theater was filled to the brim on March 8 and 9 as each sold-out crowd was taken on a journey of acceptance, positivity, and love for the women and girls that make the world go ‘round.
Presented by Santa Barbara Dance Arts, each group number, however large or small, had a level of precision and synchronicity that is seldom seen in youth productions. With some extremely complicated choreography that required each body part to move in every which way at every which speed, I was impressed by how the groups moved in such smooth unison.
I’m sure the excitement of some of the music helped the dancers hit each beat, as was shown in my personal favorite number, a hip-hop mashup of Bruno Mars’s greatest hits. Not to fret — of course the dancers wore matching Bruno Mars silk sets, like the star himself did on the 24k Magic album cover. Frankly, I’ve never been the biggest Bruno Mars fan, but I’m starting to think I should be after catching myself smiling and bopping my head during that number. Radical self-love and radical Bruno-love — so many lessons to be learned!
A huge part of what made the dancers so fun to watch were their electrifying facial expressions. Whether it was a more serious contemporary number or an upbeat jazz dance, everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives. As one of the dancers told Configuration director and choreographer Alana Tillim, “This is the best week of my life.” It showed.
And what would a show be without a nod to this year’s book-turned-musical-turned-movie hit? The five-song finale featured only the best Wicked numbers, seamlessly weaving the movie’s popular choreography in with Configuration’s contagious energy and acrobatic tricks. The group transitioned from “Loathing” to “Popular” with the whip of a ponytail and the swoosh of a pink dress, then to “Dancing through Life” with some bouncy, high-energy moves. “One Short Day” included all the dancers in a huge mish-mash of ages and styles, each playing a critical role in setting the Emerald City scene.
And when I say one of the dancers was defying gravity, I mean she was seriously defying gravity. But you’ll just have to see it for yourself. Configuration will do its thing again at Center Stage Theater on March 14 at 7 p.m. and March 15 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Click here for more info.
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