'Contemporary Voices' dance draws large crowd

The IU Dance Theater lights flickered and indicated Saturday’s show was about to begin.

Inside the theater, many patrons were ready for IU Department of Kinesiology and Theater and Drama’s “Contemporary Voices” performance to begin, but outside, the line for tickets was long.

As 7:25 p.m. turned into 7:30 p.m., the advertised start time of the show passed.
Theater staff placed a pause on the performance and accommodated all the unseated, ticketless supporters.

“We usually don’t hold this long,” said Miriam Poole, the theater’s assistant house manager.

The hold turned into 10 minutes. Poole advised that, for future performances, attendees arrive early to be sure to have a secure ticket.

But for Bloomington resident Bobbie Saccone, attending “Contemporary Voices” was a last-minute decision.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a contemporary dance performance, so I’m just hoping for an exciting show tonight,” Saccone said.

She said she attended the show to introduce her 10-year-old daughter, Grace, to modern art.

“She’s been to the ballet before, but never contemporary dance,” Saccone said.
But after 15 minutes had passed, the show had to go on, and unseated patrons waited until after the first and second performances to be seated.

Finally, by the third piece, all the audience members were in place, and the
performance began.

Individual dance pieces ranged from modern pieces such as “Lucy’s Bones,” a dance choreographed by Elizabeth Shea, coordinator of the IU Contemporary Dance program, to more theatrical pieces such as “STOP!!!,” a performance that caused audience laughter and tension at various intervals. It was choreographed by George Pinney, head of musical theater.

Following the final piece, many of the actors and coordinators of “Contemporary Voices” said they were pleased with the final showing.

“Every single piece was amazing tonight,” Elizabeth Shea said. “I held my breath during the solo that I choreographed, though. That was very difficult using technology with dancers.”

Some of the dancers agreed that keeping up the energy of the performance was the hardest part.

“The energy of one last time was amazing,” showcase performer Alejandro Fonseca said.