Review Penn Dance's 'Spring' succeeds

The show at Annenberg School Theatre offered up a dynamic collage of seven unique and diverse pieces. The seven arrangements ranged in theme from rythmic interpretations of the four elements to a smoky club scene complete with fog and dancers in formal wear. Other themes included substance abuse and various elemental themes. The costumes, scenery and lighting were unique to each piece and excellently taylored to the thematic material, as was the music, which ranged from Peter Gabriel to blues. Different combinations of dancers perform in each piece. All dancers took part in the final scene, which simulated an aerobics class choreographed to the music of C&C; Music Factory, with strange punctuated excerpts from Eddie Murphy's album Comedian. Penn Dance members were pleased with their performance, especially in light of technical obstacles and reduced dress rehearsal time. Technical Director and Wharton senior Vincent Fumo attributed some of the difficulties to the run-down Annenberg School Theater lighting system, and a small stage which made curtain changes, fog machines and other technical aspects difficult to implement. But Fumo was confident that "all would be ironed out by Saturday," by which time he said it would be "perfect." Co-director Vaughnda Hilton-Lyn said things went "really well" considering that there were some technical difficulties and was pleased with the performance as were the other dancers. Audience members expressed near unanimous satisfaction after the performance and were unaware of any imperfections as the two hour performance was frequently punctuated with loud applause. Penn Dance members prided themselves on the eclectic and evolutionary nature of their performance, in which they enlisted the help of guest choreographers Peter McCoy and Norman Taylor. Members attributed much of the diversity of the nights work to the choreographers. Also choreographing were co-director Vaughnda Hilton-Lyn, dancer David Knox and dancer and College senior Julie Choderker. Penn Dance will perform Spring again tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Annenberg School Theater.

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