With a glowing orb, flashing televisions, peace protests, and wild animals dancing around the stage the Walpole High School Dance Company’s sixth annual performance proved to be even more bizarre and outlandish than any other year thus far. Composed of 38 girls, ranging from freshmen to seniors, and artistic director Richard Kim, the Dance Company worked from November to April to create a modern dance show that was visually interesting and filled with hidden meanings. The show has always been known for strange concepts as well as a high caliber of performance quality, and this year was no different.
The performance started out with a classical rendition of the christian Christmas song “Silent Night” with overlapping voice-overs of George W. Bush, news reporters, and soldiers. Along with the song, the girls danced around a beaming sphere that gave off a mysterious and intense aura. In the next song, “Serenade”, the dancers donned animal masks and danced about the stage. The contrast between the appalling animal masks and the graceful dancing suggested that inner beauty, not outer appearances, is the thing that counts.
Because the third song “Sleeping Giant” had no words and the dance had no scenery, the audience was forced to focus primarily on the dancing and the passionate emotions that the lead dancer, senior captain Julia Caron, created in her face. The stage went dark and the girls prepared for the next number, preparing the set, switching costumes, and changing their mood into one that is full of mourning and yearning. In the fourth song, the dancers performed a number about breast cancer and the struggles that come with having this rampant illness to the song “Kissing You.” The girls used ropes as a prop to create physical representation of the strife involving breast cancer.
When the emotional song finished, the girls quickly changed their pace and performed an upbeat mashup of songs from the 1960’s. The dancers ran out into the audience, handed out anti-war pins, and waved around posters to protest the Vietnam War. This piece in particular took the audience through a journey of protest, war, and peace. Senior Amanda Reagan said, “I really liked the hippie dance. It was probably my favorite out of all of them because of the fun costumes and energy.”
After a brief intermission the show resumed with the sixth dance of the night, “Belissima,” which started with happy, graceful, ballet-like dancing, and quickly turned into angry, intense emotions, music, and dance moves. The seventh number, “With or Without You” was a melancholy piece that centered on sophomore Caitlin Conlon. The song mainly focused on a scrapbook of mixed emotions. “At times the girl in the song wants to go back to these moments, and at other times she wants to forget all about them,” said Mr. Kim.
After a brief interlude, the dancers took on “Annunciation,” a turbulent song that was lightly based on the Annunciation from the Bible and an out-of-body spiritual experience that is extremely overwhelming. After the lights went off the girls did a 180 in their faces and emotions for their second to last dance. The ninth dance, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” relates to everyone’s inner child and shows that even though people grow up, they can still have a fun and innocent side. The night of modern dance closed with a company number called “De-code.” This piece is a summary of the show concept, “Beyond the Rainbow” and comments on our constant necessity to understand and make sense of things. Mr. Kim said, “This piece is extremely experimental, with a small reference to Black Box Theatre. A lot of strange imagery will reference certain moments of learning and understanding, with quick transitions to abstract thoughts. Just when the audience thinks they are ‘getting it’, a new idea will be presented.”
The Walpole High School Dance Company concluded their sixth annual show, “Beyond the Rainbow”, on March 31 and April 1. Senior captain Julia Caron said, “I am very proud of all the hard work the company has done this year. All 38 girls really worked well together and created a fantastic show.” Even though glowing orbs and animal masks may have amazed and confused the audience, the dancers’ goal, as well as Mr. Kim’s, is to stretch the minds of the audience members and make them really think about what concept each dance is based upon. Six years later, the dance company is still keeping up their tradition: to bewilder and astonish audiences with their over the top moves, emotions, and props.
