Last week, on Saturday, May 24, the Mlée Dance Troupe put on their annual spring recital. The show, entitled, “Dance the Dream,” sometimes beautiful, sometimes quirky, was especially impressive in light of the fact that it was entirely student run. The pieces were choreographed and performed by members of the troupe and the results were both refreshingly creative and surprisingly professional.
The members of Mlée began to prepare for the show during winter term, when prospective choreographers presented their pieces. According to one of the Mlée presidents Frances Steiner, “we generally accept all pieces unless there’s a large problem. And from the showcase we compile a list of dances, categorized by level of difficulty.we have all levels of dancers — from very experienced to beginner, and we try to accommodate all of that in our show.”
The troupe worked hard, rehearsing for weeks, and it definitely paid off. Said Steiner, “the show went really, really well this year. We’re all so proud — everyone involved worked hard and it definitely shows.”
Steiner went on to say that the show can be a stressful experience and a lot can go wrong, but that the dancers dealt with the pressure well and, “made the experience a lot smoother for everyone.’
And the pulled the show off with flying colors (literally). The dances ranged from ballet to hip-hop. One highlight was the piece “Brazilian Contemporary” by Gustavo Guimaraes, in which dancers were controlled by a mischievous puppeteer via cowbell. The recital also involved Lawrence University International, which performed a ballet and a bachata and merengue combinationThe Swing Dancers were also involved. This collaborative effort is a staple of the spring show and it added even more spice to the already flavorful performances.
The show was dedicated to Kaitlin Mahr, who had been very involved in Mlé*e and previous spring shows. “We decided right away to dedicate the show to her and I think she would have been pleased knowing that,” Steiner said. But even with Kaitlin in their hearts and minds, the dancers seem very focused on the life and future of Mlée.
Said Steiner, “the greatest reward is seeing girls who’ve never danced before having a great time during the performance and seeing big smiles on their faces.” Those smiles were noticeable and infective — no one could help leaving the performance in a better mood than when they arrived.