Black Arts Company’s got the ‘Power’

Before I saw it, I expected the title of the fall show for Black Arts Company: Dance, “Power,” to function the way other dance show titles do — the group picks a relatively broad theme so it can dance to whatever it wants. I have certainly danced in my fair share of generically named showcases: “Evolution,” “Balance,” “Exploration,” take your pick. But I was ecstatic to find that this was not the case for this BAC performance. With dancers who dominate the stage and dances that both satisfy and surprise, “Power” is anything but a generic show.

Without a doubt, BAC has the hip-hop side of things covered. Pop and lock, check. Sexy body rolls, check. Hair whippin’ back and forth, check. “Takin’ the Power,” choreographed by Carlo Frem ’12, sets the tone for strong hip-hop in the first half. Sporting sunglasses and oozing with attitude, seven dancers stand diagonally across the stage. Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle the strobe lights or the dancers’ badass stares any longer, they break out into dynamic, percussive movement. Frem, in particular, hits his counts with incredible precision.

“Takin’ It Back,” the show’s second-to-last piece that is choreographed by Alexis Morgan ’10, proves that BAC has old-school hip-hop covered as well. If you wish that you could still sport blazers with shoulder pads (and who doesn’t?), then keep an eye out for this Janet Jackson-inspired number.

But the show’s most successful hip-hop pieces are the ones that tell the most compelling stories. Full disclosure: I’m an English major. And I’m a sucker for a good narrative — which is exactly what piece “Powerless,” choreographed by Seung Nam ’12, offers in one of the show’s clear standouts. Nicknamed the “rags piece,” this number choreographed to “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna, presents the audience with the classic “love to hate you and hate to love you” storyline in dance form. Girls stand in torn black shirts, boys in ragged white tees. Suddenly the “rags” reference begins to make sense. Nam brings lyrics to life on stage with his literal choreography. The best moment comes midway through the piece when all nine dancers sit at the edge of the stage and act out the lyrics. The moment is potent and expressive.

And BAC shines just as much outside its comfort zone. In “Powerplay,” a surprisingly sensitive and vulnerable piece choreographed by Kadeem Gill ’11, dancers expose themselves both physically and emotionally as they tackle ideas about power struggles within intimate relationships. Gill’s lyrical choreography to Ani DiFranco’s “Parameters” is refreshing amid the show’s prevailing hip-hop style.

That said, the show isn’t perfect. Occasionally dancers fall out of sync, lighting cues are not aligned correctly, and one gets tired of seeing seven to nine dancers on stage in almost every number. But given that I watched the first full dress rehearsal of “Power,” many of these shortcomings are easily forgivable and quickly forgotten.

While maintaining its lively repertoire of hard-hitting hip-hop moves, BAC has managed to step outside generic conceptions of hip-hop choreography and put together a powerful show. BAC successfully continues to brand itself as the hip-hop dance company to watch on campus.

4 Paws