Fantastic Form and Fusion

What a terrific night we had last night! After school the girls had to go to Photos by Jonathan to have their portraits taken for their upcoming dance recital (through Academy of Dance). When Susan and they returned home, we got ready and went out for supper at King Buffet. Then we attended a dance show by Form and Fusion, the dance company of Dickinson State University (whose dance minor makes it the only ND university with a degreed program in the discipline).

It was phenomenal. Form and Fusion is a company of about 30 members, divided pretty equally between lithe, graceful, rythmic women and muscular, gymnastic, athletic men (wrestlers, football and basketball players, track stars, theatre majors, etc.). They did a super job with a variety of dance styles and so impressed the audience that several dances prompted shouts of "Whoo-hoo!" and "Yes!" from the crowd. Some of the numbers were elegant and slow-tempoed; some were energetic and fast-paced. Some featured the women, some the men. All of them reflected time spent honing the craft and polishing the routines.

Some of the numbers seemed classical and featured pretty ballet. Others were funkier and included hip-hop moves, street elements in the costuming, and lots of attitude. Some were modern and interpretive and featured slow, deliberate movements requiring strength and balance with the men often lifting and balancing the women but other times lifting and balancing one another. In fact, one very Cirque de Soleil-like number had the men forming towers and diagonals made possible only by the careful grasping of hands or feet and balancing of one person's weight against another's atop the strength of another man serving as the base. One number was a Latin duo that reminded us all of the high-energy ballroom dances we've been seeing on Dancing with the Stars.

Also impressive is the fact that all but one of the 15 numbers were choreographed by the students themselves--and they looked professional, were inventive, capitalized on the dancers' strengths, matched well the music selected for each, covered a range of styles, and captured the audience's attention. I liked, too, seeing on stage a variety of people whom I've seen on campus before but whom I would never have guessed to be dancers. I like having my eyes opened to others' otherwise hidden talents. Our whole family was quite entertained, and the auditorium was packed, so obviously word has gotten around that this is an event not to be missed.

P.S. DSU's arts events have the most impressive posters and program art that I've ever seen. Are the staff of University Relations the ones to praise?

P.P.S. When we got home and tucked the girls into bed, Susan and I watched Spider-Man 2, which I DVRed from FX. Susan hadn't seen it and wanted to before we go to see Spider-Man 3. Even though I had seen it before, and even though we were watching it on a TV and not a gigantic movie screen, I was still drawn in by the suspenseful action sequences and taken by surprise more than once. Has anyone out there seen the new movie yet?