Western Courier

Issue date: 9/16/05 Section: The Edge

Media Credit: Art Self III Dancers display their flexiblity during an entertaining performance in Western Hall.

Media Credit: Art Self III Members of the River North Dance Company perform on of their many interesting routines during a stop in Macomb on Wednesday.

Courtesy of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Western Illinois University students, Macomb residents and patrons from surrounding areas assembled to substantially fill Western Hall and submerge themselves in the sights and sounds of the Chicago-based River North Dance Company.

The expansive stage was flanked and shrouded with jet-black curtains at either ends of the performance area stood a nest of speakers, which amply provided the musical accompaniments to the dancers. The background was stretched taut at the rear of the stage and remained white until the performances began. The lights fell and the room was cast into darkness allowing the foggy stage lights to set the scene. Six pairs of dancers moved intermittently - leaving and returning to stage - to a cool blue background, with the male dancers seeming to show off the females. With dresses fluttering in rapid movements, the entire first segment, titled "Love Will Follow," rightfully ended with an embrace and a kiss.

The next installment "Beat" began with a lone, scantily clad male dancer moving rhythmically to a rapid succession of beats molding together fora native African aesthetic. Even without the thumping music, the beat kept by the dancer was keenly apparent. With a slight pause for a probable wardrobe change, "In the Oasis" came sauntering into the dance arena with a markedly Arabian sentiment. A single female dancer spun in rapid succession barefoot under a dully-lit overhead light. As three more dancers sidled in as though mummified, the female dancer departed. The background turned a vibrant red and the dancers awoke from their desert-induced trance, perhaps realizing they've made it to the oasis. The performers sprung to life while demonstrating intricate lift sequences and multifaceted coordination.

The fourth dance "A Mi Manera" kicked into gear with a distinctly Spanish flair; beginning slowly at first, then building to a flourishing finish. The two lead dancers seemed to have coaxed the third dancer, who laid idly on a lit box in the middle of the stage, into action by showing her the energy of the dance.

In the last performance before the intermission, "Take a Seat," a stream of black ribbons rained from the top of the background giving the stage the look of a jail cell. The ground became scattered with windowpane shadows as the bevy of male dancers slid in on folding chairs. The film noir-esque ambience matched with a slow French styled music allowing the dancers to demonstrate movements of gymnastic merit, yet still managing to do so gracefully. The lights went out, but the segment continued with the dancers coming back out "wearing" the chairs, and with their rapid twirling they created mesmerizing light effects bouncing offthe metallic chairs.

So, how does someone go about becoming a professional dancer?

"It really helps to have a relationship with the company before you get a job with the company," said Sara Bibek, River North's assistant to the artistic director.

Forming a relationship would entail repeatedly auditioning, attempting to get an apprenticeship and simply making your face known to the people a dancer would like to work with. Much like any artistic venture, dancing requires a stoic dedication to a person's passion, and the performance put on by River North was exemplary of the satisfying results of intensive labor.

Intermission ended abruptly with the blackening of the house lights and the dancers were ready to take the audience on a sensual rollercoaster. "Temporal Trance" opened on a sultry, forest green lit scene in which two pairs of female and male dancers intertwined their limber bodies giving the sense of a budding flower.

Their movements were slow but showed tremendous grace and balance. The synchronization of the pairs was astounding, and as the season moved from summer to winter, a bleaker white scenario took control. The dancing began to appear more akin to ballet, but with a shift into a spring-like atmosphere the dancers burst into more energetic, modern dance numbers.

With the big band music echoing in Western Hall, the woman dressed in purple and the stone cold man in black danced their roles in "The Man That Got Away." The fits of passion and desperation, which the woman expresses with elegance all across the stage, are met with a man who's more a mannequin than flesh and blood. His only and finalizing movement is to drag the desperate woman off-stage.

If the entire show could be culminated into one segment, it would have been the five-part "Five Easy Lessons." The music runs the gamut of Spanish dances, showing off the tango, cha-cha, flamenco, calypso and mambo rhythms. The entire enterprise is very theatrical with very humanistic and humorous elements.

To sum up the evening, Ray Krey, Macomb resident, happily said, "I enjoyed it 100 percent."

The company gave the audience something that is unique to the dancing community and anyone who has the chance to see them perform will surely not regret nor forget the show.

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