Aszure Barton: Concert Report

In Aszure Barton, the performers beautifully conveyed stories through music, lighting, costumes, props, scenery, and most importantly, dance. “‘Tarantella’ from August Bournonville’s Napoli”, “Consumed”, and “Closer to Closure” particular stuck out during the duration of the concert. The movements held the audience’s attention as they followed the suspenseful and striking storylines. In “‘Tarantella’ from August Bournonville’s Napoli” the graceful movements of the dancers portrayed the story of people courting their lovers. The dancers extended their legs with pointed toes, progressing forward with every step; they landed in a fast, fluid motion. The partners engaged in old fashioned partner dances, circling around each other. They separated,
only to find their each other, with pure delight. Their facial expressions of love filled eyes and satisfied smiles, conveyed how in love they were. Towards the end, the partners split up into two vertical lines, slowly and gracefully stepping toward each other again. The lighting in the piece was an overall white stage lighting; the backdrop was an azure blue. It contributed to the feeling of the piece by relating it to the happiness the dancers felt as they danced with their partners. During the piece, the women on stage wore scoop neck, short sleeve dresses, ending just below the knee. They were tight on top but, near the waist, it flared out into a bulbous skirt with tulle in pink and yellow layers. The rest of the dress was mostly white, with some yellow and pink embroidery. The men wore black tights, white socks, and loose white peasant shirts with dark green and blue colored vests. On the side of the stage were tables and chairs that the dancers sat on while they weren’t dancing. This detracted from the dance by distracting the audience from the main dancers in the middle. The costumes added to the story by placing the dancers in the past, showing the audience that they were commoners in love. The costuming related to the choreography by being short enough to see foot work, like the tendues. The accompaniment was an orchestra style, classical, baroque period piece. The music was set at an allegro tempo in a major key. Some of instruments played were tambourines, violins, and piano. The piece put the audience in a blissful, happy emotional state like dancers on stage were by seeing their lovers. The accompaniment added to the piece by transported the audience back in time, while relating to the choreography’s fast-paced movements. The piece “Consumed” was told the story of people who had been struggling their whole lives unsure if they could survive. The movements consisted of several leg and arm extensions that seemed to be reaching out for help. Throughout the piece, the dancers would slap their hands against their thighs in unison, a sign of frustration and helplessness. The men also dragged the women across the floor. During one part of the piece, the main dancer was leaped across the stage collapsing, unable to move on her own, needing a male dancer to help. The movements were sharp and forced, but quick. The facial expressions of the dancers contained frustration and hopelessness, which were seen in their eyes and in the tension in their face. The lighting was a dark blue overall stage light with a white spotlight on the main female dancer. The backdrop was, again, an azure blue. The dark blue in the overall stage light contributed to the melancholy and frustrated mood, especially portraying the feeling of so much struggle that they are almost consumed by it. The women were in loose violet dresses that had sweetheart necklines with thick straps ending a few inches above the ankles. Under the dresses were violet leggings. The men were wearing tight purple pants with tight vest-like bluish purple shirts. All the dancers were bare foot. The costuming added to the piece because with every force movement, the women’s dresses would get pulled along with them, intensifying the struggle they were going through. The accompaniment was an orchestral, classical piece. It had dissonant characteristics with Italian vocals that sounded struggled-filled. The music was set at an andante tempo. It made the audience really feel the struggle and despair of the dancers. The instruments used were violins, viola, cello, and other orchestral instruments. It added to the piece making the emotions of the dancers come alive, supporting the dancers’ movements. The music related to the choreography by having the beats emphasize the forced movements reinforcing the struggle. The piece I enjoyed the most was “Closer to Closure”.
The intense dance between the two leads was so heartbreaking yet beautiful. The piece told the story of a man and a women who cared deeply, supporting each other yet now being good enough. The man and the women had dragging movements, carrying and dropping each other showing that they couldn’t survive. At the end, there was a spotlight on the women as she collapsed to the floor with the man standing over her and others gathering around. The male lead sprinkled rose petals over her body, making the story so powerful. The piece I enjoyed the least was “‘Tarantella’ from August Bournonville’s Napoli”. I found it distracting how in the piece the dancers that weren’t dancing were standing on the side, still visible. They were still on the stage distracting me from the dancers in the center. It was distracting to have them still visible on stage and not behind the curtain, backstage. During this assignment I learned that stories could be told without the use of words. I was surprised how easily I could understand the stories in the pieces without any dialogue, but just through body language and movements. I didn’t know before how emotional and meaningful a ballet concert could be precisely because of the lack of
words. Aszure Barton was a beautiful, suspenseful, and emotional set of stories that were so elegantly portrayed through music, costuming, choreography and more. The pieces so eloquently expressed emotional stories through the art of ballet, leaving the audience speechless.