DOTS DANCE CONCERT: A Contemporary Dance Piece by Ea Torrado

 

Our lives are composed of dots. From the simplest atoms in our bodies to the bright stars in the sky; from the moments of memory in our psyche, all creation is but a speckle in this vast, infinite dot we call our universe. How despairing! How beautiful! 

When in Manila, one should never miss out on our talented Filipino contemporary dancers, ala So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD).

Dots dance concert  is a new and exciting  piece that fuses together elements of contemporary dance,film, and animation into the self-journey of a man who tries to connect the seemingly endless number of dots in his life. The happiness, the pain, and the love of each dot will be made felt by the direction of contemporary dancer-choreographer, Ea Torrado. 

 

 

Dots dance concert was held at The Mirror Studio Theatre on the 5th floor of SJG Center at 8463 Kalayaan Ave., Makati City at 7:30 pm last September 19, 20 and 21, 2013. It’s a quaint studio that can house less than 5o people as audience. It was indeed  an intimate event. 

 

 

Dots dance concert started with Ms. Ea Torrado acknowledging the presence of everyone, then the show began. It started with a particular white chair in the middle, seeing it is one of the focal point of this piece. As the dancers started to dance, it started with a scene in th MRT, a scene that all of us can identify with: pushing, bickering and fighting for space.

 

 

Then, Erick (Dots’ main lead) was left sitting on the white chair  holding a book, and then dots came out from the background. He danced, trying to catch these dots and make sense of it.

 

 

Afterwards, a lady came out where they danced a pax de deux (partner dance). It was one of my favorite scenes, where love was depicted. But in the end, she left.

 

 

This scene is very intense when it comes to technique, where two dancers were trying to tease him and get his chair away from him. He tried to get it from them with all of his might, but these two were very persistent. It was a breathtaking piece.

 

 

A heartfelt scene of a mother’s love, where he tried to beg his mother not to leave him. As the piece progressed, it made me realize that all of us have certain dots  in our lives that we try to make sense of, just like in the depiction of the MRT scene, where people pushed, bickered and fought with each other. All of us at one point try to make space for ourselves, but in the process, we get hurt or hurt others. In the end, we have to be still, stop and think that’s when we see and realize how beautifully we are created. That these dots in our lives do make sense.

 

 

With the impressive background of these dance artists and the creative choreography of Ea Torrado, the piece was able to deliver what had be delivered. Coming from a perspective of a contemporary dance artist, this kind of dance piece deserves to be restaged in a bigger stage to cater to a wider audience and more patrons of art. 

 

Photos courtesy of Aaron Vicencio and Tuchi Imprerial.

 

At the helm of the great music is the laudible artist, ‘Pasta Groove’. Dancing in the piece are Erickson Dizon, Jomelle Era and Miki Ochoa from Core Dance Group, Mark Rosaroso from the Chameleon Dance Theater and independent contemporary dancers, Sabrina Gacad, Ryan Salas, Mervin Manuel, and Bill Barrinuevo. Dots dance concert seeks to stretch the boundaries of dance and theatre and engage audiences in an entirely new viewing experience that presents to them a mirror to the soul.

When In Manila, dancing never stops and life is like a dancefloor.

 

 

DOTS DANCE CONCERT: A Contemporary Piece by Ea Torrado