Christopher Nicklin

Ballroom Dance Tuesday

Cerca de la Luz

The piece Cerca de la Luz was one that really stood out to me. It was quite

innovative and the choreographers clearly put a lot of effort into this piece. The

beginning of the piece starts with the dancer in the wheelchair was rather convincing. He

made a lot of use of his arms for dancing, because he could not use his legs. Also he used

a great amount of the stage and did not stick to one area, which showed his journey. The

other people in this dance represented the people who support or hinder the man in the

wheelchair. They could have also represented the ideas of struggle in darkness and light.

It should be noted the colors the dancers were wearing. The girl who danced with the

man in the wheelchair helped him and tried to lift him up. She was wearing white in order

to signal light and good. In general her dancing was in harmony with his or helped

elevate his while the other dancers were dressed in red. Their choreography was not in

harmony with the man in the wheelchair. They threw him off his wheelchair. With their

choreography it was clear that they would try to do anything to distort his path. They kept

the girl in the white away from the man. It was exceptionally poetic to me. This made me

thing of the valleys in some peoples lives where it seems like there is no light. However,

it is just that it is far away and trying to get back.

The choreography matched up with the music very well in story and character. It

introduced the main character and his companion. Then trials come into his life and

everything seems hopeful. Then the upward climb until the climax comes until the

resolution where everything that culminated before is eventually set free. The music had
an ambient atmosphere. There was a lot of growth and decay in the music. In other words

in swelled like hills and valleys. It could be argued that this also represented the journey

of the man in the wheelchair, as life is not a straight path. The music had a plus but not a

strong beat. This helped the dancers as they were dancing in a modern style, which

incorporated a lot of fluidity. It was nice that they did not have a lot of sharp angles in

their dancing, as the music did not call for it. Even though they did line up with the

rhythm of the music that was not the man focus as it would be with a hip hop style. The

use of shape and smoothness seemed light the main focus. Also the use of space on the

stage became exceedingly important because the man in the wheelchair could not walk. If

one aspect of dance is taken away then other parts must come into the forefront and that

is what happened.

Overall the light, presentation, and innovative ideas of this made it an absolute

pleasure to watch. It would be my honor to witness something like that again. There are

moments in ones life where people can say I do not want that part back because it was

perfect. That was one of those parts.