Dance showcase shrouded in mystery
Dance Company performed a tribute to Katherine Dunham during “Illusions.”
November 17, 2021
Four dancers, wearing black and red cloaks, jumped off the stage into a pit.
The stunt was part of a dance number called, “Black Roses,” which consisted of nine dancers whose cloaks came together to form an illusion of roses, and at times, make the dancers disappear.
“The whole point of the piece was to play with the audience’s eyes,” said Mrs. Danyale Williams, the dance teacher who choreographed the number.
The performance was part of “Illusions: A Night of Enchantment,” a dance showcase with two acts and nine numbers. The performances were choreographed by dance teachers Mrs. Danyale Williams, Mrs. Mary Cable and Mr. Aaron Girlinghouse. Guest artist Dwayne Cook, who was in residence on campus in August, choreographed one piece for the show.
“Illusions” was supposed to have “mysteriousness,” Mrs. Williams said.
“The audience should expect for their imagination to be carried away and their visual senses to be set ablaze,” she said before the show was staged on Nov. 13 and 14.
The names of some of the numbers included “Spell,” “Some Magic,” and “Do You See What I See?” to express the theme of the show.
Mrs. Williams said the dance company rehearsed since before the start of school during preseason classes. That is almost 14 weeks of rehearsing and practicing for the show.
This was Mrs. Cable’s first choreographed performance at Kinkaid.
“At first, I had some reservations because I didn’t know the students well and I find that my best work comes when I have a connection to the dancers/artists,” she said.
The cast for this show included the dance company and the men’s, intermediate and advanced dance classes.
