Dance Review | ‘Refractions: voices of light and dark’

UC Santa Barbara Graduating Dance Majors Make Their Impressive Grand Entrance into the World of Professional Dance

A scene from 'Dream,' choreographed by Professor Christina McCarthy. Dancers: Milana Beck, Sarah Delima, Annalise Evans, Emma Hartley, Sophia McLoughlin, Megha Ramachandran, and Paige Young. | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

Refractions: voices of light and dark, the title of the program organized by Professor Delila Moseley for the graduating dance majors at UCSB, references the way a lens shapes and changes an image from its original form to the form experienced by a viewer. “The idea of bending, shifting, changing what we might think of as standard dance steps,” said Moseley, was the theme for this program. “Ballet may take steps in a straight way, but if you change it a bit, that’s refraction.”

Seven different choreographers created eight different pieces, each one expressing a unique viewpoint, which truly challenged these young pre-professionals to learn and perfect a technically challenging program in less than two quarters. Semesters may drag on, but quarters fly by, so to master these choreographies in less than two quarters, on top of taking daily technique classes as well as rigorous academic classes, is a herculean feat. Their performance was charming and lovely, graceful, focused, and flawless. One would never guess that many of them have double majors in demanding subjects such as psychology, biopsychology, environmental science, philosophy, and sociology, with minors in social justice, poverty, and education.

As Moseley explained, Refraction expresses the way movement ideas created by a choreographer are refracted, or bent, through the bodies, aesthetics, and emotions of the dancers. The process becomes collaborative instead of hierarchical, so that its beauty is enhanced. As she wrote in the program notes, “The choreographers and designers have each created embodiments of their own vision of light and dark; the dancers have responded with passion, with compassion, with effervescence, and elegance.” What emerged was a varied and interesting program, and the passion and highly professional cooperation among the dancers shone through.

‘Maenad,’ choreographed by Delila Moseley in collaboration with the dancers. Dancers in this photo: Corinne Dummel, Emma Hartley, Sarah Delima, Annalise Evans, Sophia McLoughlin, Milana Beck | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

The program began with an exploration of the Maenads, female followers of Dionysus from Greek mythology, choreographed by Moseley and her students. The three movements of the piece were intended to express the qualities of strength, succor, and frenzy; what emerged, in my observation, was a lyrical quality that reminded me of the work of Isadora Duncan (1877-1927), pioneer of American contemporary dance. As Moseley explained, the softer, lyrical quality of the movements and music spoke to the dancers more than the warrior type, so the powerful sense of the Maenads, which was intended, came out a bit softer, as the dancers enjoyed feeling the flow of the movements and music. But that was the whole point of the show, and why the credit for this piece was listed as Delila Moseley in collaboration with the dancers. How beautiful!

Scene from ‘what it takes to care,’ choreographed by Megha Ramachandran. Dancers: Sarah Delima, Jenna Turner, Sophia McLoughlin | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

The second piece, what it takes to care, choreographed by Megha Ramachandran, explored the ideas of internal conflict and resistance of the heart, mind, and body, against negative outside influences; ultimately, “resistance to do what it takes to care.” What a powerful message from such a young visionary. Ramachandran is also one of the graduating seniors, and danced in several of the other pieces. She comes from an extensive background in gymnastics (2015 State Champion) and dance, and is double-majoring, earning a BFA in Dance and a BS in Biopsychology.

‘ARENA,’ choreographed by Brandon Whited. Dancers: Sarah Delima, Annalise Evans, Emma Hartley, and Sophia McLoughlin. | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

ARENA, or 1 of 4 and 4 of 1, was choreographed by Professor and Chair of the Department of Theater and Dance, Brandon Whited. The dancers’ excellence shone in the way they captured the humor expressed by the choreography in this playful, witty, light-hearted “romp.”

Act I ended with Dream, choreographed by Professor Christina McCarthy, designer of the spectacular puppets used in State Street Ballet’s The Little Mermaid. McCarthy asked, “How do we navigate unexpected and fantastical experiences that visit us in our dreams and comprise our waking lives?” The dancers wore fantastic, surreal-looking costumes, except the ‘dreamer,’ in contrast, who wore simple white pajamas. The dancers manipulated a small puppet — a representation of the dreamer seeing herself in a dream, perhaps? This piece was one of the highlights of the program for its unusual and colorful costumes, surprising moments, and clever portrayal.

A scene from ‘Dream,’ choreographed by Professor Christina McCarthy. Dancers: Milana Beck, Sarah Delima, Annalise Evans, Emma Hartley, Sophia McLoughlin, Megha Ramachandran, and Paige Young. | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

A tender moment in ‘Lotus Land,’ choreographed by Jenna Turner. Dancers: Jenna Turner and Marcello Marca. | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

Act II featured two pas de deux. The first, Lotus Land, choreographed by Jenna Turner, was danced by the choreographer (also one of the graduating dance majors) and guest dancer Marcello Marca. A simple, yet elegant piece, the first in the program to be danced en pointe, Lotus Land gently explored the intricate balance between sexuality, romance, and human connection.

The program concluded with Luna, Luna and Curio, showcasing some of the fascinating, detailed work of choreographer Meredith Ventura. The director of the Selah Dance Collective, Ventura is also finishing her PhD at UCSB in Dance and Performance Studies. As I wrote in my review of her concert Palermo, Ventura’s pieces explore the historic exploitation of women and their bodies in poignant, painful, yet humorous ways.

The penultimate piece, Luna, Luna, a duet danced en pointe, by Sarah Delima and Jenna Turner, explores the tensions expressed in the sarcastic poem “In Dispraise of the Moo n,” by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge. As with all of Ventura’s works I’ve seen, she asks the audience to confront inherent biases and inconsistencies in contemporary western life. The Moon, usually thought of as female, portrayed as a pale derivative of the masculine Sun, is symbolic of the hegemonic representation of women throughout western history. Ventura wrote in the program notes, “At its core, the work is centered on how society compels women to view themselves and their creative potential as reflections of male brilliance, rather than sources of independent light.” As always, Ventura’s choice of music provides fascinating support for, and commentary on, the message of her choreography. For Luna, Luna, she chose a haunting synthesizer rendition of Debussy’s famous “Clair de Lune” by Isao Tomita.

‘Luna, Luna’ choreographed by Meredith Ventura. Dancers: Sarah Delima and Jenna Turner |Photo: Stephen Sherrill

In the final piece, Curio, Ventura interrogates the historical and ongoing violence against women’s bodies. In examining the symbols and cultural narratives inscribed on the female body, she reveals it as a “site of resilience against systemic oppression.” This most interesting choreography, with charming music, really showed off the capabilities of the dancers in a most excellent way. Besides directing Selah, Ventura is also the rehearsal captain for State Street Ballet’s professional trainees. Her precise style was reflected in the power and determination expressed by the dancers in this piece.

Again, Ventura’s choices of music were delightful and refreshingly recognizable. John Coltrane’s smooth jazz piece “Alabama” flowed into the foxtrot-like piece “I’ve Heard That Song Before” by Harry James and Helen Forrest, which melted into the dramatic orchestral piece “Fallout,” from Arcane, League of Legends by Ray Chen. The finale was a jazzy rendition of the traditional Russian folksong, “The Volga Boatmen,” by the Glen Miller Orchestra. What a clever, ingenious choice of music! This traditional Russian song, normally sung by an all-male chorus such as the Red Army Choir, expressing iconic masculine solidarity, was presented with a dissonant, big-band sound, almost mocking the original. In reflecting on the music after seeing the production, it was a perfect end to a piece that was meant to challenge traditional gender stereotypes. The maturity of the young dancers was evident in their passionate expression of Ventura’s challenging themes. Well done!

‘Curio,’ choreographed by Meredith Ventura. Dancers: Milana Beck, Sarah Delima, Corinne Dummel, Annalise Evans, Emma Hartley, Sophia McLoughlin, Jenna Turner, Megha Ramachandran, and Paige Young. | Photo: Stephen Sherrill
‘Curio,’ choreographed by Meredith Ventura. Dancers: Milana Beck, Sarah Delima, Corinne Dummel, Annalise Evans, Emma Hartley, Sophia McLoughlin, Jenna Turner, Megha Ramachandran, and Paige Young. | Photo: Stephen Sherrill

This program was a stunning finish to what must have been a joyful, rigorous, sometimes difficult, four years. Congratulations to the dancers; their professor, Delila Moseley; and all of the choreographers. The conclusion of their studies will be a tour to Europe in the spring quarter. This year the company will perform in Spain and Poland, as well as other western European countries. For the first time, by special invitation, they will also perform in Skopje and Sofia, the capital cities of the Balkan countries Macedonia and Bulgaria.

In this troubled world, and especially in these fearful times in our own country, these talented, thoughtful, creative, broad-minded young dancers, going out into the professional dance community, are a ray of hope.

For more about the Theater and Dance program at UCSB, see theaterdance.ucsb.edu.