Written by Bailey Wilson, Managing Editor.

VSU Theatre and Dance have continued to dazzle audiences with their spring dance concerts, and their latest show, “Evolve,” has taken the creativity of the department to new heights– in some moments, literally. The project includes a statewide premiere of a collaborative piece that has been years in the making, as well as VSU’s first hip-hop dance performance in a dance concert.

“Evolve” is a collection of dances created by both faculty and students, as well as guest artists involved with the project. The show is made up of two acts. The first is a multimedia piece choreographed by Melissa Pihos and two guest artists. The second is made up of two numbers created by VSU’s newest faculty choreographer, a dance meant to be performed for a competition, and four numbers from the performance of the musical “Chicago” that was cancelled.

Years in the making

“Evolution of Gaia” is a multimedia narrative performance made in collaboration with Texas Tech University composer Peter Fischer, Texas Tech University and Flatlands Dance Theatre choreographer Ali Duffy, and VSU Dance faculty member Melissa Pihos. It also includes aerial choreography from VSU Dance professor and Interim Department Head Sarah Wildes Arnett.

The story has been an idea in the making since 2019, with the first performance happening in 2022 at Texas Tech University. They decided to rework the initial piece for this show, and this show is the premiere of the newly-designed show, and the first performance of it in the state of Georgia.

This piece tells the story of the Innocents, a group inhabiting Earth as dark and light, and the conflict that ensues as Gaia calls out to them in a time of crisis. The story comes from Fischer, who reached out to Duffy and Pihos to work on the project.

“I came up with a story about trying to save the Earth and realizing that there’s not one way to do it,” Fischer said. “The show’s really about people coming together and figuring out that there’s multiple paths to do these things.”

Once they made the decision to rework the show, they came together to see what could be redesigned to fit the theme and original message best, while adding new pieces to the initial work and changing parts that they felt needed it.

“For this project, we began by developing a story, then using that story and the characters and themes in it to create the performance elements such as music and choreography,” Duffy said. “Then we added film, lighting design, and sound design. All of these layers made for a holistic audience experience.”

The addition of film is something Pihos has done on multiple occasions, including for last year’s concert with the film “To My Younger Self.” However, unlike previous concerts, it includes film alongside dance rather than separate.

“I think it brings something to the dance, I think it rounds it out,” Pihos said. “There’s been times where I’ve done a multimedia piece and the projector wasn’t working, and I didn’t want my dance to go on stage because it was very researched and integrated into what was going on.

“There’s such a long story that my character goes through,” Carly Fults, a junior dance major, said. “It’s a wonderful experience to be able to show all of those emotions.”

The show is a masterclass of music, dance, film and acting; it combines visual aspects like nature and dance film, a moving soundtrack, acting from the dancers involved and practical effects such as aerial maneuvers and props. It is designed to make the audience feel, and not only succeeds in this mission, but excels.

A first for everything

“as in certain, intertwined” is going to be presented on Mar. 6 at the American College Dance Association conference, hosted at Charleston College. This piece, choreographed by Arnett in collaboration with the dancers involved, is a breathtaking dance with an ending that will leave the audience stunned and amazed.

In tandem with the students, Arnett has crafted a visually stunning narrative with the story, utilizing props as a medium in which she furthers the narrative. This piece is best to watch with no prior knowledge of what is to happen, but with knowledge of the story. It is based around the Red String Theory, a belief that people are destined to be together whether they know it or not.

“[The dance] is looking at the concept of this invisible red string that is tied to each one of our pinkie fingers that ultimately connects us to someone else in the world that we are meant to come together with in some way,” Arnett said.

Brazilian choreographer Caroline Gonsalves Bertho has come out swinging with her first two works here at VSU, “Remanso” and “Resistência,” both stunningly beautiful and emotionally charged pieces. The second piece, “Resistência,” is VSU’s inaugural hip-hop piece in a dance concert. It was originally created in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a message as powerful as its name, which translates to “resistance.”

“This is about empowerment and going through difficulties and being together through those difficulties,” Bertho said. “It’s about resilience and the ability to rely on each other.”

Bertho has joined VSU with a brilliantly explosive start, though the bold and fiery energy in “Resistência” is balanced by “Remanso” in a more ethereal (but no less impactful) number. Both create strong emphasis on the beat of the songs used, often employing the dance as a form of percussion in and of itself. It creates a strong effect on the audience, a feeling that the song is no longer digital, that it is on the stage with the dancers, a commanding feeling that has the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Near and dear to our hearts

The end of the concert includes four numbers from the musical “Chicago,” a piece that VSU was meant to perform earlier in the semester, but was unable to due to delays caused by Hurricane Helene.

The show stars Annabelle Rose as Roxie Hart, a wannabe Vaudeville star turned media sweetheart, who plunges herself into stardom after killing her lover, Fred Casely. It also stars Arianna Mangus as Velma Kelly, one half of a sister act, who is in jail under suspicion of killing her sister and husband after finding out about an affair.

The show had to be trimmed to a mere four songs, so the ones that were chosen had to make sense to an outsider who was experiencing the story for the first time. It took not only careful choice for which songs to use, but lines had to change in order to fit a condensed plot.

The show includes four numbers, each a combination of song and acting that tells the story of murder, debauchery and ego, all at a dizzying pace with electrifying intensity.

“Because all of the numbers we had, other than Roxie, were completely finished… it was actually pretty easy to condense it,” Elinor Fenimore, a sophomore, said. “The only hard thing about it was that because we’ve been doing it for so many months, it’s become a bit tired.”

Overall verdict? VSU Theatre and Dance have put together a spectacular number for this concert, one filled with hardships in the beginning, but has since triumphed into a stunning display of art in all forms. It is a vibrant, impactful concert, and one that is well worth the wait.

Photos by Bailey Wilson, Managing Editor.da