This past weekend, the Alice Austin Theatre hosted "Beyond the Studio Mirror," a show by Geneseo's student dance group Orchesis. Members choreographed and performed a wide variety of songs, from show tunes to pop hits to R&B, incorporating an array of dance styles and moods.
Anticipating the certainty of an entertaining experience, the audience was packed with students, staff and community members all three nights, and Orchesis never failed to disappoint.
The opening number featured the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Queen) choreographed by sophomores Lauren Crispino and Sylvia Nelson, and saw a group of dancers dressed in stylish red flapper dresses and another group dressed as their desperate male suitors. The song was very upbeat and lively, as was the dancing, and was a great way to get the audience excited about what was to come in the rest of the show.
Another unforgettable number was "Popular," from the hit Broadway musical Wicked (choreographed by juniors Caitlyn Redmond, Andrea Colasanto and Marisa Garber). "Popular" proved to be one of the night's most amusing segments. A group of girls awkwardly entered dressed as "social misfits" in shorts and tank tops, wearing thick-rimmed glasses. Likewise, another group representing the "popular" girls came onto the stage in outfits of white and pink, smiling and moving in exaggerated, upbeat fashions. The audience laughed as the popular girls executed perfect dance moves, while the misfit girls tried to copy their techniques only to "fail" miserably.
Another equally amusing segment was a hip-hop style dance to a medley of pop songs from the hit '90s band the Spice Girls, choreographed by the Orchesis executive board. Each of the dancers was dressed to resemble a Spice Girl, including one unique Orchesis member who, in the middle of the dance, suddenly ran out onto the stage wearing a bathrobe and a grey wig with a sign saying "Old Spice" on her back. Overall, the Spice Girls medley was a fun and nostalgic experience for all audience members.
The night ended with a blow-out medley of songs which found all of the members of Orchesis on the stage in varying costumes from the numbers they had performed to that evening. Eventually, all of Orchesis' underclassmen ran out into the audience, cheering and shouting, leaving the graduating members on stage where they energetically finished the show with the end theme from the classic movie Grease, "We'll Always Be Together."
Overall, "Beyond the Studio Mirror" was a very well-crafted and well-performed production that thoroughly entertained its audience. More information about Orchesis can be found at geneseo.edu/~sota