ISB DANCE RECAP

The “Socks Group”* strikes again coming all the way from panther territory. When reflecting on their piece, “wow” is the first thing that comes to mind.. Titled Waking Hour, the dance focuses on the theme of time as a motif. With eight strong girls in their ensemble, ISB was able to exquisitely present the different interpretations and aspects of time.

The piece begins with a dream-like setting, expressed through the fluidity and freeness of their movement, as well as the silky and loose pajamas, which looked like the most comfortable of costumes. That first sequence represented a dream, which transformed into a nightmare within a split second through the change of lighting and music.

In contrast to the subconscious rollercoaster that was their first section, what followed was a series of repetition in movement, symbolizing the day to day routines of everyday life. Stripped of their pajamas, the dancers executed everything to perfection. From the refined synchronization of each step, to the inspiring passion that was conveyed so beautifully. Unlike the other schools, ISB dancers are a firm believers in not using counts to guide them in their movement. Instead, they are led by each other's breath, feeling the presence of every single member to form one big unit.

But what truly captivated the audience was the use of dry oats cascading down the ceiling. All over the floor on the dancers, this whimsical visual imagery had the audience frozen in astonishment, especially with the raw emotion in the eyes (and tears) of senior and four year delegate, Carina De Vries. According to the team, the oats represent “the sands of time” and how anyone and everyone should “never waste, but cherish every hour.” Consequently, this is a topic that resonated with seniors in particular. People soon realized that this would be the last cultural convention for some of these delegates, thus provoking the audience into tears.

What blew the minds of so many was the fact that oats were falling from the sky for a long time. According to the group, they experimented with different methods of dropping a 3kg bag of oats, but most ended in failure. For their success, the tech team must be credited and praised for their genius work, by building a contraption to kept the oats flowing smoothly.

This performance is definitely one to remember. Moving, passionate, meaningful, and astounding. One can only imagine what they conjure up next year as hosts for Cultural Convention Art/Dance/Drama/Tech 2019.

Article by Nina Cobankiat

-----------------------------------------

*ISB is known for being the “Socks Group”, for they wear socks for every single piece they do. The other schools cannot comprehend how they dance with socks without slipping on stage. Ironically, they cannot comprehend how the rest of the schools perform without socks.