A Night at the Museum

February 22, 2019

Cate’s recent Dance Convocation was a dazzling display of creativity from the conception of the performance as “A Night at the Museum” through the choreography to the wide variety of dances performed by solo dancers and ensembles. The first curtain opened with a projection of the well-known Andy Warhol painting “Queen Elizabeth II 336.” With flowing satin skirts that reflected the bright pink Warhol background, Cate’s dance ensemble swooped and darted across the stage to the music of Vivaldi and Billie Eilish. This major ensemble piece was followed by a solo choreographed and danced by Alice Qin. Her graceful ribbon dance reflected a painting by Daquian Zhang. Just as Zhang is known for using traditional Eastern techniques to explore Western expressionist modes, so Alice’s contemporary dance reflected both the traditional and the new.

The evening unfolded with one delight after another. Projected art ranged across the spectrum: there were paintings from van Gogh to Munch and street art from Banksy and Bollee Patino. The music reached as widely, as did the character of the dances. Student choreographers included Rae Fox, Kalia Lopez, Georgina Omaboe, Alice Qin, Avery Ransom, Josh Shields, and Athena von Bothmer. Cate alum Jamie Jared ’15 choreographed a piece. Dance teacher Brooke Melton created several of the numbers, along with outside professionals like aerial specialist Katelyn Carano. The audience was drawn into intensely emotional solos like Kalia Lopez’ “Rose” and entranced by the stunning ensemble piece “Flower Thrower,” that had Cate dancers twisting in silk ropes hanging from the ceiling and spinning on suspended aerial hoops. Bold, creative, and highly accomplished, “A Night at the Museum” was a bravura performance.