Audience members were captured by dance group Pilobolus’ performance at Popejoy Hall Friday night.
As the lights went down, the group opened by greeting the audience. In a more comical, light-hearted introduction, they leaped over and on each other shouting, “Hey.” Once audience members were acquainted to the group, they were completely captivated by Pilobolus’ next dance.
Lights over three partially nude dancers defined each extension of their bodies, and the performers gave a wonderful and touching performance.
Audience member Rebecca Shedan, who originated from Albuquerque and is a professor of cinema and television arts at California State University, said, “I think it’s sort of an interdisciplinary performance, sort of intermedial performance. It is interesting that it is not narrative at all, but it has narrative threads, and when intermission came I was like, ‘Already I want to see this all day.’”
The success of this performance came from the collaboration of lights, music, props and dance technique flowing together harmoniously.
Another audience member Christina Hoberg, who is also the University of New Mexico Lobo Gardens coordinator, said, “The music is like time. It is very repetitive, and it’s the repetition of that keeps coming back around, kind of is how we obsent our lives and things keep coming back, and we keep reliving them, so that’s kind of the constant there.”
Every aspect of the show was very purposeful and thought out. Nothing looked or felt like it didn’t belong in the show. The dancers created an experience from performance to performance that grabbed emotion out of the viewer.
Audience member Craig Asplund said the dynamic of the dancers’ performance from set to set is engaging and interesting.
The performance was well received by the audience and was overall spectacular. The skill level of the dance group proved superior in the way the dances flowed together.
Not just one dancer created the experience. Rather the dancers together performed in a new light. In one scene, they cast shadows over each other with lights on their heads to create a whole different dance on a black background, while presenting a dance in front of it.
This complexity and inventiveness was executed perfectly by the performers. They told a story through the shadows they cast while still being able to dance in front of the shadows with expression.
Pilobolus danced its way into audience members’ hearts and minds, continuing to impress attendees with every move.
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Amy Byres is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She primarily writes profiles on DACA recipients. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @amybyres12.
