The Wake

From a front corner of the balcony, I watched three men in black tube-top dresses and red stilettos walk across the stage. The women on stage were dressed in the same attire, but naturally, the men in women’s clothing caught my eye.

A dancer since the age of 5, I have learned that modern dance choreographers always have a feeling to express, a narrative to tell or a point to make when creating a dance piece. Unfortunately, the purpose isn’t always easily understood by the audience. After 15 minutes of the University Dance Theater’s (UDT) Dance Revolutions (post guys-in-heels), I thought that it was going to be one of those shows where I continuously say, “I don’t get it,” which ultimately makes it less enjoyable. To be honest, I really had no idea what the hell it all meant.

But it was enjoyable and I came to the conclusion that the dancers themselves are what made the show so fascinating. You could tell with every step, every movement of the arm that every muscle in each of their bodies was working. Energy was running through every inch of them and releasing through their eyes, coming out their fingertips. Every movement came from within, from their core. The whole body was involved. As dancers tend to do, they made everything look effortless—like it was something anyone could do … when in reality, that is most definitely not the case.

Now in its 20th year, UDT presents Dance Revolutions annually, featuring dance majors at the University. Dance artists from around the globe are brought in to choreograph and teach modern dance pieces to perform in the show. Jeremy Bensussan, a junior student majoring in dance, was one of the 20 plus dancers who performed in Dance Revolutions, which was held at the Rarig Center over the first weekend in February.

Bensussan agrees that the pieces in the show may be difficult for an audience to comprehend on their own and some people might not have understood the purpose behind the different pieces. “You have to stand back and think, ‘What should I be getting out of this,’” he says. “It takes work and willingness to interpret something like this.”

The dress-and-stilettos piece, titled Faith, was done by Pat Graney, a Seattle-based choreographer. Bensussan, one of the three men who danced in the piece, was able to clarify the meaning of Faith, or what he acquired from working with Graney. Bensussan explains that the piece is a statement on sexuality. In our society, there is so much emphasis on looking sexy and being attractive to other people, he says. He adds, “There are women who do this everyday. They don’t eat anything, but God knows what’s in their hair and tan themselves until they get cancer. All for what?”

So what about the guys? “As a society, we cannot separate the high heels and black dresses from sexuality,” Bensussan says. He goes on to say that when a girl wears that kind of clothing, it is sexual but it’s more expected of them. However, a man wearing such an outfit is a sexual statement.

Happy, a piece choreographed by resident artist Uri Sands was my personal favorite. The individuals danced for nearly eight minutes on stage, with no sign of dwindling energy. Their smiles never left their faces. Bensussan calls it the “most embracing” of the pieces. Based upon the audience’s enormous applause and cries, I would say it was well received.

Khonj, or Search, was the third piece performed and required the dancers to learn classical Indian dance technique. This involved learning all new vocabulary and different positions of the body, which proved to be difficult, Bensussan says. “The technique asked us to show power in sensuality,” he adds.

The last piece performed at Dance Revolutions is titled Rooms, originally choreographed by Anna Sokolow, an extremely well known choreographer in the modern dance world. Lorry May, the artist who came to UDT this year to teach Rooms, carries on Sokolow’s work and keeps her career alive. Bensussan danced in Alone and Desire, pieces within Rooms.

Working with May was about the emotion first and foremost, and then the actual movement, Bensussan says. He adds that this concept forced them to learn a whole different way of moving, which was difficult and frustrating at times. “We would say, ‘we have been training all our damn lives and we are having trouble walking?’”

Profoundly affected by May, Bensussan calls her a “remarkable woman” and says she taught him about what being a dancer means. He says he now has a better understanding of himself as an artist. “The act of dancing makes you more human than any other activity,” he says. “We are doing silly shit like jumping in the air or spinning on the ground but in that process it’s yourself and yourself.”

Combining amazing choreographers and exceptional dancers, UDT produced a wonderful presentation of this year’s Dance Revolutions. Although some audience members may have struggled grasping the meaning of it all, the performance was fantastic.

“We rehearsed 18 hours every week. That is what it took for us to put on this show,” Bensussan says. “But we were devoted. We did it.”