VIBE Celebrates Diverse Dance Styles and Trends

VIBE is fresh this semester, especially since it is composed largely of first-years, and not just first-years, but all females save one male. Like all good Oberlin students, the VIBE dancers strive for excellence, but it is their energy and enthusiasm that really make it exciting. The audience can tell the dancers are having fun on stage and loving every minute of it, even the curtain call.

The backdrop of the VIBE show was a large purple cloth, which reaches from one balcony to the other, giving the dancers a fairly large performance area. The company is composed of two divisions, jazz and tap, and members can be in one or the other or both. The 22 members of the company have varying levels of experience, and auditions take place every semester.

Hold your head up, hold your hand high: VIBE members flutter during their performance in Wilder Main. The shows continue tonight and Sat. night at 8 p.m. (photo by Andrea Kamins)

In each of the pieces the dancers always seem supportive of each other, which is their greatest strength. "There is definitely a sense of community, like there would be in any company," said junior choreographer Anne Willemssen. "We want people to know each other and talk to each other."

Even though the program contained eleven pieces, it still ran just over one hour with no intermission. Willemssen choreographed the first steamy piece, entitled "All Dressed Up." In the piece, the five dancers showed off their twisting navels under green-black velvet as they danced on folding chairs to the jazzy beat of Cream's "Born Under a Bad Sign." Although there was a variety of dances and dance styles throughout the show, this one set an appropriate mood that carried throughout. The next piece began in the dark with the voices of the dancers setting up the rhythm that they transfer to their feet and hands. Debut choreographer Ikuko Kurasawa, a professor of Japanese language, said the piece is about "communication between dancers." But not only is that what it is about, that is what the dance is, with the four dancers continuously conversing with their faces and bodies as well as their feet. "I hope members of the dance have fun, and the audience too," said Kurasawa.

This will be Kurasawa's third year in Oberlin, and her third semester in VIBE, although she has been studying tap for ten years. "I feel like I'm learning American culture through dancing," she said.

Kurasawa was also, "very impressed with the creativity and enthusiasm of the dancers in general...their attitude - it's wonderful."

First-year Sara Carnell performed slinky movements in the jazz style of Bob Fosse to Tori Amos' equally slinky "Leather." Carnell described this jazz as "a very sexy style. A lot of choreographers at this school try to stay away from being too sexy." "Leather" was an interesting dance to an interesting piece of music. At times the two melded very well, though at times the movements seemed perhaps a bit abrupt or aggressive for the subtle mood of the song. Carnell describes the Fosse style as "theatrical and cheesy, and that's what's fun about it."

In junior Gwyneth Hughes' jazz piece, "Untitled," which was set to Rob D's "Clubbed to Death," the six dancers were strewn about the stage like melted Hershey's kisses. They rose, bathed in red light, but the deceivingly delicate sound of a piano melody suddenly changed and threw itself into a hardcore dance beat. The audience probably won't feel clubbed to death exactly, but it might feel like dancing in the aisles.

In "Deep-Sixed," by first-year Asheley Smith, the four dancers tap out some serious beats to "Song for the Dumped" by Ben Folds Five. This dance used wooden chairs as props and stage pieces, and played well with the different levels. Perhaps the dance could have explored these levels even more, or found a more coherent focus on group and/or ensemble work, but the women were definitely involved in the feeling of the piece. And when Ben sings "give me my money back, you bitch," they respond by peeling off their black t-shirts.

But though VIBE members perform primarily tap and jazz numbers, they are not limited to these two disciplines as first-year Laura Daugherty proved with her eloquent ballet number. Daugherty stepped onstage in a stiff, silvered tutu and toe shoes and prepared to wow the crowd. Fluttering her fan and batting her eyes coyly, she pranced on her toes to "Kitri Variation, Don Quixote Act IV," a section from the ballet, with music by Leon Minkus.

Daugherty has studied ballet since she was eight, and has also studied modern, jazz and tap dance. Of working with the company, she said, "I really think it gives the people in it a chance to do whatever they want and not feel restricted by modern or whatever. It's really fun."

"Hup!" by senior Lauren Jacobs had the largest cast of any of the pieces. Jacobs worked with this "large group of varying focus and experience...working on improv. and ensemble work." For the most part, the dance had a follow-the-leader or call-and-answer format to it. The beginning dragged on a bit; perhaps it could have used less individual highlights and gone into the large ensemble work sooner because that is really the best part of the dance. It is apparent that the dancers are on varying levels of proficiency, but overall they hold together pretty well.

One disappointment of the show was the piece in which the lone male member of the company, first-year Daniel Huri, performed, and he was not even stationed in the front.

If one is looking for some sexy choreography, there's certainly a lot of that in first-year Laurie Pickard's jazz rendition of Ani DiFranco's song, "Deep Dish." One don't even have to be a fan of DiFranco to appreciate the way the dancers undulate, snap and strut to the music. "I really like that there's an outlet for jazz, since it's not offered as a department," said Pickard.

"Binary Ebullience" was a piece that actually came out of "Hup!" Junior Carrie Carter and first-year Cara Bucciarelli collaborated on this dance, without any additional performers. "We have totally different styles, so we had to figure out how to work together," Carter said.

As with the other tap pieces that the show presents, this one starts with a slow beat, and lazy rhythms, tossed back and forth between the dancers, gradually get faster and grow into more complex sequences. The piece was well done, with excellent synchronicity, though it did not deviate from the traditional aura of VIBE tap dance. However, it ended beautifully with both of them seeming to fall backwards into the blackout.

First-year Catherine Bodnar's "Low Place Like Home" was the only solo piece in the show. With her tattoo jewelry and black windpants buckled at the waist, Bodnar performs a dance filled with all kinds of hardcore funky angst to the music of the Sneaker Pimps. She clawed, arched and stretched herself across the stage with a subtle athleticism that turned all that angst into something beautiful.

The final piece of the show was an MTV-influenced piece by senior Nanette Lacuesta, which coincided well with this weekend's Hip-Hop conference, "6 Million Way to Speak." Lacuesta is a dance minor who had never studied dance formally prior to Oberlin. She says her dance, "That's the Kind of Girl I Am," set to TLC's "Hat 2 da Back," is her "first time choreographing, ever." This is also her first year with the company. "I'm so glad I did it!" she said.

"The only dance I knew before I got to Oberlin was what I'd seen," Lacuesta said. "I stole so much from MTV...But I believe that nothing is really created. You just pick and choose and fuse it all into something your own."

VIBE performs tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. in Wilder Main. Tickets are $3 and are available at the door.