NAOMI LYNCH
Staff Writer
Fredonia’s student-run dance company, Orchesis, presented “Synergy,” the company’s annual spring showcase on April 17, 2015. This year, the company held its showcase at Fredonia High School, a more spacious dwelling than Fredonia’s Multipurpose Room, where Orchesis has been held in past semesters.
All the dance pieces were choreographed and performed by the students.
“We’ve been working on the show all semester,” said Nicole Crisalli, childhood inclusive education major and vice treasurer of Orchesis. “There weren’t any venues on campus for us to have the show, so we ended up looking at Fredonia High School. We worked with the administration, [and] Josh Hutchinson [a Fredonia alum] and his staff were our stage crew. They were fantastic.”
Lauren Orlowski, senior public relations major and vice president of Orchesis, added, “I believe we have built a great, long-lasting relationship with the high school, and my hope is that future Orchesis Eboards have the opportunity to use the high school for future productions.”
Synergy, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “the increased effectiveness that results when two or more people or businesses work together.” While all of the pieces in the show demonstrated that definition, the performance that most exemplified the meaning was Chelsi Campbell’s “Let You Go.” The characters were two army couples, set to the backdrop of Sara Bareilles’ “Gravity.”
The song is about a lover leaving another, and the weight of the song goes along with the feeling that these couples usually feel while one part of the couple is deployed and the other half is left at home, waiting to hear from their loved one. You could have heard a pin drop in the audience as the emotion of the dancers really permeated through the auditorium.
“We held auditions [at the beginning of the semester]. Anyone can audition, no matter what your dance experience,” Crisalli said.
Another crowd favorite was Jamichael Frazier’s “Crazy In Love.” Frazier was accompanied by eight dancers, who performed to Olafur Arnalds’ “Haust” and Sofia Kalberg’s cover of Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love.”
“I felt that the piece really portrayed societal constructions of our culture’s acceptable portrayals of race,” said spectator Riley Straw, a junior English major. “The idea that Jamichael was dancing in solidarity for a large majority of this specific performance seemed like how we view our society’s integrated manner of segregation.”
“No two dances were alike this year at all,” Crisalli said. “There were a combination of different styles, which ranged from contemporary, jazz, tap, hip-hop, et cetera.”
One performance that was unique from the rest was Chris Victor’s “2 Cool 4 Skool,” in which six performers tap danced to Blink-182’s “Anthem Part 2.” The sextet played a cast of rebellious school kids who were sent to detention. One of the kids placed a “KICK ME” sign on the back of the teacher’s shirt while she caught her fall, which brought a murmur of laughter from the audience.
During intermission, Fredonia’s hip-hop powerhouse, Envied Xpression, performed a mash-up that included Beyonce, Sage the Gemini and Nicki Minaj. Kento Kanzaki, who also performed in the final piece, “Madness is the Jail We Could All End Up In,” showed off his skills with Envied Xpression.
In addition to being an extremely enjoyable experience for the audience, many of the student dancers are seniors, and this was their last performance — a bittersweet experience.
“I can remember getting ready to step foot on the stage one final time, and I was overcome with emotion because I knew that I had made my mark on the company,” said Orlowski. “I am confident that Orchesis’ legacy will live on, and the talented students involved in this organization will continue to share their passion with the Fredonia campus and community.”
“Overall, I think that it was an amazing show,” said Crisalli. “Everyone worked so hard and put so much time and effort into this show that it was fantastic. It was definitely a performance that you didn’t want to miss.”