Company:   Danielle McNeal Johnson / DMJ Dance Collective

Choreographer:   Danielle McNeal Johnson

Performers:   MaKenzie Halama, Meriah Hall, Taylan Hall, Abagayle Kimmins, Gracie Larson, Haylee Murray, Derrick Patten, Andie Jo Robinson, Anna Thompson, Jennie Vest

I’m not ashamed to admit that I so desperately want dance students to do well (or at least not be discouraged) that I purposely lower the bar for them and prepare to applaud on cue. However, I do feel a little sheepish when, with a program like Rat Race, I catch myself really enjoying the performance and have to pretend I had high expectations all along.

Rat Race has a playful opening with a single dancer chasing a balloon that seems to serve no particular purpose other than to indicate we’re going to have fun. And fun it is. This is a large ensemble piece with ten dancers. The soundtrack is an energetic, exotic piece of music with maybe some Middle Eastern flavors. It sets a fast tempo and the ensemble hits the stage in high gear. For the most part, dancers are placed symmetrically and perform identical movements which seem to derive from some synthesis of street, modern and jazz. Who knows? They’re all in the pocket and they’re hitting it hard.

Usually, a dance program with a large student ensemble is problematic because the choreographer can’t be very selective – you need everybody on stage. This is where the star students stand out and the second string students stick out. I consciously look for that to see where my attention can be most productively focused. That didn’t work here as everyone was performing at a uniformly high level. Coordinated movements were crisp, the timing was accurate, and very quickly I quit expecting mistakes (What – no dancer looking around to make sure she’s in the right place?) and was able to just watch them have fun. And they were having fun. It registered on their expressions and the delight they took in the several little sideshows that were going on – like a horizontal dancer being carried across the stage from wing to wing in the background with no explanation other than it looked weird and cool and they did it because they could. The balloon motif appeared a couple more times, including at the end as part of a final tableau. It was symbolic of nothing except a place to begin and end. Everything in between was all about this tight young ensemble getting down.

This group was fresh, energetic, and well-rehearsed. It was entertaining precisely because, even though they were students, they had obviously put in the work and took having fun very seriously. I got to applaud like I meant it.

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