Culture
Culture Editor: Katelin Pompa – xzgw@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – tbfx@iup.edu
(IUP Lively Arts/Facebook)
The performances were held Friday and Sunday beginning at 7 p.m.
The Dance Theatre presents Poe on Friday the 13th HALEY BROWN
Lead Culture Writer
tbfx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
On Friday the IUP Dance Theatre presented “The Phantasmagoria of Edgar Allan Poe.” The show was both directed and choreographed by Holly Boda-Sutton, and the dancers in the show were all IUP students. The music was originally composed by David Martynuik, and the orchestra during the performance featured IUP music faculty members. The show was composed using some of Poe’s poems and short stories as inspiration for the music and choreography. It was meant to explore the life and unexplained demise of one of America’s greatest poets and writers. The dance theatre began the show with a few screens about information concerning Poe’s mysterious death and how it served as some of the main inspiration for this performance. The first dance began with Chris Singer who represented Poe. The backdrop changed according to each number and was a sketched scene to represent the setting of each story or poem.
Culture
(Wikimedia) The second number, titled “Cortege of the Grotesque and Arabesque, Overture of Characters,” began with the Poe character entering the performance space through a side door and flipping open a book. As he whipped out a feather pen and began to write in his book, the characters appeared onstage and flowed along with the music. As each dancer flitted on and off the stage, it became apparent that they would each have their number in Poe’s “life” on the stage as the show progressed. The dancers were all in dark costumes, and the music took on a mysterious and menacing tone as Poe continued to scribble. At the end
of the number, he set his writing book down and fled the stage. The number titled “Pas de Deux of Annabel Lee and Poe” came next with Poe dancing, Paige McLaughlin as Lee. During this number, Poe and Lee waltzed across the stage along with the music-box-like song, and at the end of the pas de deux, Poe laid Lee on the stage as if he was laying her to rest. The following number was titled “Tell-Tale Heart Tango” and featured a young man (the murderer), danced by Amanda Valinotti, an old man (the victim) danced by Bricelyn Webber, and two inspectors, danced by Gabriella Harley and Danielle McCormick. During the number the dancers acted out Poe’s famous story of the “Telltale Heart” through dance. When the inspectors entered the stage, the “killer” was tormented by guilt and driven to confession by the pressure, as the storyline goes. The inspector dancers were in sync with one another. The following number was titled “Bon-Bon” with the Bon-Bon character danced by Sierra Cramer, and the Devil character performed by Amy Kukula. During this number, inspired by Poe’s comedic
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short story of the same name, the checkered-vested Bon-Bon, believing himself to be a great philosopher, pranced about. Since this short story focused on the verbal exchanges between the Devil and Bon-Bon, but the dancers made it easy for the audience to comprehend. The next number was inspired by “Fall of the House of Usher.” The characters were a brother danced by Brianna Adkins, a sister danced by Danielle McCormick, and a traveler who was danced by Sierra Cramer. The lights came up on the characters of the traveler, and the brother stood while the sister laid onstage, and he soon began banging on what was presumably her coffin lid. They did not have a coffin for a prop on stage The following number was titled “Black Cat/Lenore/Sleeper Pastiche.” The characters involved were Black Cat #1 danced by Rachel Kovach, Husband danced by Charles Arterbury, and Wife danced by Brooke Ippolito. In this number, there were also dancers for Lenore who was portrayed by Madison Bauman, Black Cat #2 danced by McLaughlin, and Sleeper danced by Henshaw. “Nevermore Pas de Deux”
came next with Poe’s character once again portrayed by Singer, and the Raven character danced by Bauman. During this number, the Raven entered first wearing all black and a feathered mask as Poe approached from the other side of the stage. It appeared as if they were battling one another. They circled each other gracefully, facing off in front of a backdrop resembling a sketched scene of a cemetery. The next number was inspired by “Masque of the Red Death,” and had Singer, Death was danced by Gabriella Harley, and eight other dancers played characters called “Accusers” also shared the stage. The backdrop for this number was a mansion where the dancers participated in the festivities until Death showed up to crash the party, and the accusers were slowly killed by the plague character. The show was ended with a quote from Poe’s “The Raven,” and the final bow was taken by the company of dancers. After the final company bow, a slide show of the professors involved in the music ensemble scrolled on the screen along with a short biography about each of them.
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