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ELY - Cartwheels and handstands, jetes and pirouettes, shuffles and flaps, and some dance moves so innovative they don’t have names, demonstrated the artistry and energy of this …
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ELY - Cartwheels and handstands, jetes and pirouettes, shuffles and flaps, and some dance moves so innovative they don’t have names, demonstrated the artistry and energy of this community’s performers in Math in Motion.
The show was presented by the Reflections Dance Company last weekend on the stage of the Fine Arts Theatre at Minnesota North College, Vermilion Campus. Math in Motion was the company’s fifth annual multi-media show.
“Math concepts and structures like infinity, time, fractals, and geometric shapes were illustrated in choreographed patterns and interpreted musically by the talented chorus and band,” said Director Molly Olson.
As if there wasn’t plenty to occupy the audience members’ minds with the music and movement, there were also colorful dynamic images portraying aspects of each piece projected on the overhead screen.
Local creativity was on display in two musical pieces composed by Zach Baltich and poems by Joey Kenig and Tim Stouffer.
“It was the dancers who garnered the most admiration,” Olson said. “From the tiny acrobats executing perfect back walkovers to elementary and middle school performers defying gravity to leap and twirl, to grown women tapping and jazzing and obviously having a great time, the dancers navigated some challenging choreography and kept smiling.”
She added, “One of the most polished and professional dance groups ever to perform in Ely was a group of four who have danced together since elementary school. Gracie Pointer, Brooke Pasmik, and Cora Olson head away from Ely to attend college next year, leaving Charlotte Hegman here to finish high school. These dancers sense one another’s timing and place in space, creating what looks like a single being that separates into two, three, and four bits of motion, then coalesces in unexpected formations: strength, precision, and grace personified. They have taught and inspired the younger dancers for five years, and now leave their dance shoes to be filled by the upcoming talent.”
Reflections Dance Company is entering its sixth year. Olson said she is excited for the company to become officially part of Northern Lakes Arts Association (NLAA), “so leaving the administration to others and focusing her work on dance.”
Classes for the 2022-23 year begin Oct. 3. Registration and more information is available at NorthernLakesArts.org. All ages and levels of experience are welcome to join acro, ballet, contemporary, tap, adult tap and jazz, and the company group, which is choreographed in a style with movement for beginners and pros.
Math in Motion performance DVDs will be available for sale through NLAA.
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Lucy Hway solo pic
Cora Olson and Charlotte Hegman
Math in Motion was presented by the Reflections Dance Company last weekend at the Fine Arts Theatre of the Minnesota North College, Vermilion campus. photos courtesy of Ian Lah