“Retrospectives”

A hush fell over the audience, packed from corner to corner of the auditorium, as the lights in the Dorothy Hess Baker Theatre slowly dimmed. The curtain rose, revealing an ensemble of dancers. Expressions of passion and dread sold the intricate story behind this piece, and all of the rest to follow, as an evening of emotional, moving avant-garde choreography took hold of an already captivated audience.

“Retrospectives,” a series of performances presented by the Muhlenberg Dance Association (MDA) premiered on Friday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. There were three total showings, with another on Saturday evening 8 p.m., a matinee show on Sunday at 2 p.m., and a dress rehearsal on Thursday evening.

“I took the theme and what immediate movement concepts came to me and the dancers I got, and just started creating a very loose storyline, and just let the work become what it did by itself.”

-Isabella Pansera ”23

The entire production was made up solely of original, student-produced work, including that of both student choreographers and student dancers. Furthermore, “Retrospectives” featured choreography from MDA members Emily Bassett ‘22, Erika Dubin ‘23, Anya Epstein ‘22, Charis Hall ‘23, Nicole Lamprinos ‘24, Isabella Pansera ‘23 and Hannah Warren ‘23.

The production team behind “Retrospectives” was compact and full of strikingly talented and incredibly detail-oriented artists. The show’s artistic directors were MDA co-presidents Kate McCowan ‘22 and Allison Goldman ‘22, who were joined by stage manager Carlie Nieman ‘23 and faculty advisor Natalie Gotter, visiting assistant professor of dance.

“I had the idea of walking on eggshells being the theme for a piece bouncing around my head since ‘Ephemerality’ last semester,” said Pansera, referencing a dance showcase performed in April 2021. “When ‘Retrospectives’ was announced, my idea for that theme fit. They had changed the requirements to choreograph, and I was ready to go immediately. I took the theme and what immediate movement concepts came to me and the dancers I got, and just started creating a very loose storyline, and just let the work become what it did by itself.”

“the pieces were really dynamic and exciting to watch and the dancers were unbelievably strong and grounded.”

-Amanda Berkson ’23

Pansera’s “Eggshells,” which was set to the rooted, driving piano melody of Dirk Maassen’s “La Mer,” developed into something complex, electric and uptempo as the piece progressed into Mac Miller’s “Come Back to Earth.” Like “Eggshells,” many of the pieces showcased were far from abstract in texture, and consisted largely of clearly-defined plotlines with dynamic, flowing character arcs.

Hall’s piece, “Then,” was inspired by Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” and featured instrumental music by Òlafur Arnalds, as dancers Grace Bennett ‘23, Samantha Miley ‘24 and Sarah O’Sullivan ‘22 embodied a powerful sense of longing and metaphysical disconnect. Understudy Madeline de la Parra ‘23 performed in the piece at Thursday’s dress rehearsal. This piece established a striking sense of characterization, as the sequence of movements made it very easy to identify the desires and challenges of each character from the beginning.

Between each of the student performances, the curtain fell, and the lights went up, allowing for a brief cleansing of the palate and even more brief moments of conversation while the backstage team set the stage for the next act. In some cases, the setup was simple, and required very few props and set pieces. For the final piece of the show, however, the team was responsible for setting up a supplementary wooden floor onstage, that way the dancers’ tap shoes wouldn’t cause damage to the floorboards.

“I went to see the dress rehearsal for ‘Retrospectives’ to watch my roommate Gianna Carnevalino [‘23],” said Amanda Berkson ‘23. “Overall, the pieces were really dynamic and exciting to watch and the dancers were unbelievably strong and grounded.”