Online Only: Rice Dance Theatre's Retrospection a visual treat
This weekend, Rice Dance Theatre will be commemorating 30 years of dance at Rice with its spring performance, Retrospection. The show offers a little something for everyone, with dances that range from traditional to contemporary.The show features three guest choreographers: Jennifer Wood, a local Houston choreographer who is the Artistic Director for Suchu Dance; Leslie Scates, RDT Director and Assistant Director for Dance Programs at the Rice Recreation Center; and Chris Lidvall, the RDT Coordinator and staff member of the Rice Recreation Center's Dance Program. All contributed a dance each to the show, but without a program to describe which is which, they are nearly indistinguishable from the dances that have been choreographed by the students themselves, which just goes to show the high caliber of the performances that take the stage.
The only dance shows I had ever seen before were the ones put on by our drill team in high school, so the diverse choreography of each of the dances came as a surprise at first. I was used to just seeing people link arms and see how high they could kick their feet while grinning huge, fake smiles and/or shaking some pom-poms.
Retrospection is more of a pure dance experience, with the complex choreography focusing on colors, emotion and exploration of space. The costumes are relatively simple but match the color scheme of each routine and aren't obtrusive to where they detract from the individual performances.
The dancers make creative use of each other and both the entire stage and the side curtains. There is a physicality present in several of the numbers that works effectively with the music and lighting to help create certain emotions and really pull the audience in.
Lighting Coordinator Matt Schlief and his team of lighting designers have done a great job making the entire show come to life, using a scrim in the back that changes color with the music and ultraviolet lights to set the mood, ranging lighthearted to angsty, during each of the pieces.
If you're looking for a great way to let off steam and relax after a busy week of school and before the studying hits, definitely give Retrospection a shot. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. is the final performance in Hamman Hall, with student and RDT alumni tickets running a mere $5 and general admission $8.
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