BY ELISA TURNER
I went to the opening night of Chelonia on Thursday, February 27, in the Hendricks Center. The show ran a bit over an hour, and I must say I was enthralled for every moment of it. It was a lovely display of personhood in performance, with dynamic use of lighting and masterful costume design. Personally, I’m not a musical intellectual, and I’m not the best at deciphering themes from dance and music, so do cut me some slack if I try to read the themes and miss the mark entirely.
That being said, even as someone who isn’t the sharpest surrounding musical motifs and choreographic symbolism, I can confidently say that this show was enjoyable for any and all audiences, regardless of musical inclinations. Here are just a few of my personal favorites from the show.
“I am, we are,” choreographed by Vivian Kopka’27, was performed just before intermission, concluding the first act. The performance was a fugue of dance throughout the eras. It utilized the fluid movement of more modern interpretive dance intermingled with music typical of ballet, tied together with costuming reminiscent of both demonstrated eras.
“Dance is Dead. Long Live Dance,” choreographed by Gina T’ai was the comical number just after intermission featuring a bikini body t-shirt (you know, the ones you get in Florida gift shops) and kazoos. It was lighthearted and lively in its portrayal of themes surrounding monotonous routine and colorfully breaking free from it.
Of course, this article would be incomplete without mentioning “Night Out,” the video dance number. You might have seen stills from this performance, choreographed by Ariel Juarez, on the posters for Chelonia, but I gotta say that those frames don’t do the number justice. Between bold videography and lively movement, “Night Out” was the vibrant climax of Chelonia, yielding oohs and aahs from the crowd.
And the final number, “Duel Duel Revolution,” was one of the longer numbers. It starts out with athletic costuming and displays of strength through dance in tension-building choreography by Zoë Koenig’18, before transitioning into the energetic dance more typical of EDM. It was a perfect closer to an outstanding show.
Though there were several other performances that I absolutely adored, I’ve only included the most notable ones for brevity’s sake. When I went on opening night, there were hardly any empty seats as far as I could see, and the audience was noticeably enthralled from start to finish. You can see the care and passion in every dancer’s movement — there’s a fine line between energetic, high-quality performance and high-quality performance with little soul left behind as a result of overexertion in the name of perfection.
Chelonia has been the former — a delight to watch with passion bursting at the seams, wrapped neatly in a dynamic use of lighting and effective costume design. 10/10, would Chelonia again.
Featured image: Chelonia performers; Elisa Turner’27
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