At the Zellerbach Playhouse in the University of California, Berkeley the students of the dance department organized the Berkeley Dance Project of 2013. They titled this terms project Aperture. Although it is directed by the students, the choreography itself is by Bay Area Artists. Similar to the USF PASJ Department, choreographers are invited to work with a group of students for the term and create a piece together. This term the students worked with Katie Faulkner, Chia-Yi Seetoo, Scott Wells, and Lisa Wymore. They had a lot of talented and familiar choreographers which made the show very appealing. In general I was very impressed with how the space was used including props but was disappointed when it came to the depth behind the movement and the origins of the piece.

Each piece was very different from one to the next. There were five to ten minute pauses between each piece which left ample time to discuss and read into the coming piece. I sat surrounded by Chloe, Paige, Melissa, and Kelsey which created more than enough conversation. As the show continued on we began to recognize the dancers, as many of them were in more than one piece. The whole show was very technically strong; the surge of power in each movement was very decisive and well placed. Even movements that were small and delicate were deliberately placed. The relationship between the dancers on stage seemed to be very comfortable and trusting, I think this helped pull a thread through the variety of pieces we saw.

The piece Punt.um Lucida choreographed by Chia-Yi Seetoo opened with the dancers strewn about on the floor under a scattering of microphones. The microphones were lowered from the ceiling and dangled above the dancers as they spoke into them. The words were illegible as the music that played in the background was too loud. It became clear as the piece continued that the purpose was to highlight each individual dancer, giving them a segment to voice a time when they were uncomfortable and how they later found comfort. The movement that accompanied their stories was often theatrical, mimicking the words of their stories. One woman described her emotions when she would return to India when she was younger. While she felt out of place there she always found comfort in her grandmother. Her grandmother would make sweet treats for her and tell her, “When you put sweets in your mouth, sweetness comes out”. The women explained that this phrase had taken many forms ranging from quite literal to more poetic and through this phase she had found her approach to life.

Many of the stories told by the women and men of the cast focused on similar tales. Although the messages were inspirational, the movement, that so closely mirrored the words, became mundane and predictable. As an audience member I didn’t find appreciation in the repetitive format. The lighting and music cues were the same for each individuals set up for their monologue. The movement did not elaborate further and felt basic. The overall piece ended up feeling far too theatrical, which only seemed to skim the surface.

The last piece choreographed by Scott Wells, Fiat Luv, was about the progression of and characteristics of a relationship. I would have been very impressed with this piece if I hadn’t worked with Scott last semester. The outline of the piece was surprisingly similar to what Scott created with us. The piece opened the same, pairing the dancers off into animal “mates” who each wandered onto the stage with their unique mating call looking for their beloved. Scott had chosen the same duck pair to struggle to find one another and used, I believe, the same monologue he had me speak last semester. As I watched the rest of the piece Chloe and I, who I was sitting directly next to, found large chunks of movement quite familiar. The dancers were very daring with their partners. In the segment that followed the mating call the dancers moved like tigers as they bound towards each other moving swiftly through upside down partnerings.

The significant difference between Fiat Luv and Duck Soup was the use of instruments to emphasize the relationship between the “mates”. Mid piece the dancers appeared upstage facing upstage, the slighting created a silhouette masking their identities. Drifts of light harmonicas sounded out as the dancers began to move, the lighting changed as the dancers became more athletic. The harmonica riffs deepened and became more consistent, when finally the lighting revealed that the dancers actually had the harmonicas in their mouths. The harmonica sounds tricked out as dancers paused and released the harmonica to ground, allowing it to clunk. Their “mates” then retrieved each other’s harmonicas and parted off the stage. Left on stage was a cellist who sat upon a student made bench which had earlier been puzzled together; the pieces starting out separated between up and down stage. The cellist played with her bow as her mate mimicked her, she then lightly took the bow herself and they began to play together. While their duet continued a man came from the wings and actually took the bow leaving the two to pluck the cello more like a base. The romance between the two echoed the noise coming from the cello and when the cello was finally taken away so did the two dancers.

I found the ending fascinating; the dancers were all on stage as the introduction music returned. Gradually their movement got more demanding and suddenly the “mates” were undressing down to their underwear as they fully attacked each other. It ended in grunts as they threw themselves at one another.

In all, the show was beautiful it showcased the bay area as well as the talents of the dancers. I was disappointed at the depth of movement in Punt.um Lucida and impressed with the athleticism of Fiat Luv. I was impressed and jealous of the utilities available to the students in the dance department at Berkeley. The props, art, and use of the ceiling made the pieces feel much more alive. Each piece collaborated with a student artist who designs something specific for the piece which highlighted the artistic element of the school. The use of the ceiling was so well used at some point even releasing a T.V. pendulum. I hope to somehow find these characteristics in the dance department at USF.