A picture is worth a thousand words. A dance performance is worth at least that ; dance is one of the most influential forms of art in expressing a theme. Through dramatic body movements and animated facial expressions, dancers manage to reveal the truth of society with a whole new perspective. Most of the IASAS participant schools’ dance productions this year addressed a special view point on various current events and social issues.
“For Sale”, the TAS dance production, was based on abuse, human trafficking, and the desire for freedom, which were all encompassed in an overall theme of modern-day slavery. Despite the fact that slavery is often thought of as an atrocity that was long since abolished from the world we live in, the TAS dancers successfully showed that this perspective is nothing but a lie. “Even though we only had three rehearsals, we are able to put this together collaboratively and we all are definitely happy with it; not only were we united with the same artistic values but also the message conveyed in the performance meant a lot to us” Jennifer M. and Angeline J. said.
ISKL’s dance production, “Africa,” showed a telling performance about the misconceptions of the African culture. The introductory video clip of African films drew audience’s attention, and the variety of choreography and the animal figures amazed the audience. There was a definite achievement of creativity. Maddy B. and Hannah M. said, “It took us about two months to get the choreography done, we had to work really hard as a team but it was defiantly worth it. We all love to be on stage and just dance, the energy you get on stage is just incredible,”
Based on the themes of Japanese animation, the ISM dance team performed “Kaihou (Liberation)” portraying the real life version of six different animations. The performance began with a video clip from the screen; the special visual effects and the dazzling costumes created an “anima-zing” effect. ISM’s dance production characterized all aspects of Japanese animation, from a thrilling action scene to an average school girl with dynamic and high-spirited dance moves. “The performance definitely met [our expectations] and went beyond the expectations of everyone in our team. One thing I learned during IASAS in particular was how to expand my creative horizons and think outside the box when I’m dancing, ”said Chloe A.
The ISB dance team presented the story of a murder case, unfolding the truth of the incident like a compressed version of a thriller movie with “Tuesday’ child has far to go”. The dance began with a flash-back where a girl was wounded, covered with blood from a gun shot. Each dancer eventually performed a piece depicting different characters. The high quality and the variety of the choreography amazed the audience, luring their attention until the end. The brilliant completion of the performance and the enthusiastic response of the audience satisfied both the dancers and the audience. Alex D. said, “We are really happy with our performance and that we achieved our goal. We [our team] are a family; we are really closely-bonded and we’re glad that we were able to go through this new experience together as a whole.”
“Where are you…Alice”, performed by the JIS dance team, revealed the story of Alice and her adventure in wonderland with a twist. Their performance started with a video clip of Alice sitting around in her classroom and coming across this mysterious bunny running through the hallway. She then followed it and her curiosity brought her to Wonderland. The stage light all of a sudden turned red, “bunnies” sneaked up on stage, each one wearing a creatively made costume and face painting, as if they came straight out of a story book. As the bunnies danced in unison, Alice tried to keep up with them. The music, the lighting effects and animated facial expression on each dancer’s face created a mysterious and almost magical atmosphere that made this production come to life. “We learned many things from this IASAS event. We learned how to creatively express our themes and, also, the importance of improvising on the stage even if there is an error,” said Georgina D.
SAS performed a dance piece entitled “If I Can’t Hear,” based on the lives of deaf people. Body movements and facial expressions can often translate to thousands of words. Dancers on stage each wearing costumes with a vibrant color, leaped, jumped and tumbled across the stage. Through dramatic body movements, they brought a message to all of us, Deaf people can’t hear, but it is who they are and they’ve learned to appreciate silence. Accept who you are and love who you are. Through out their performance, the music stopped and the dancers used sign language to communicate with each other. Using various hand gestures and facial expressions, they were able to “talk” like normal people do. It was a performance that moved everyone.
ISKL Dance Team
-Hanna, Kira
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