Topic > My impressions from Chicago

Sunday, November 2, 2003. It was a normal day for most people, but the rush of electricity that ran through Times Square thirty minutes before the show started was felt by everyone. At the Ambassador Theater on West Forty-eighth Street, we all shuffled to our seats, stood in silence as the house lights dimmed, listened to the obligatory announcements about turning off cell phones and pagers, and waited anxiously for the music to begin. “Raise the curtain, turn on the lights” (Gypsy), oh wait, wrong show. “Come on honey, why don't we paint the city….and all that jazz” (Chicago). Ahhh, there it is. Velma's sweet sound introduces us to 1920s Chicago. A time of wild parties, wild nightlife and wanton killing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay This revival of Chicago is choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse. Throughout the show we see the amoeba feature, which is when several dancers are grouped together and move in unison from one point to another with the only distinctive movement coming from their arms and hands. It's an incredible sight to see fifteen dancers move across the stage with their feet in perfect synchronization. Sometimes, these dancers were in brighter light which made it easier to see their feet and enjoy their movements, other times they were in darker light or shadow which made it difficult to see the movements. Another unifying feature was the fact that all the dancers wore black. They each had different clothing styles for their costumes, but all of the costumes were black, which made the dancers blend together when they were in this amoeba formation. The use of minimal sets, props and costumes allowed the audience to focus on the dance and story, which would otherwise have been lost in large, ostentatious sets or large, brightly colored costumes. Reinking was a protégé of Fosse, so it's conceivable that she strove to keep the choreography as close as possible to what he would have done. The dancer's movements were crisp and clear, which varies from a more traditional ballet look, smooth and fluid. The corners were used in the way dancers held hats, elbows pointed with the thumb and forefinger holding the brim while the remaining fingers were pointed upwards. This gave the impression that the movements were intentional and also gave the dancers less room for error. When a dancer was out of sync with the others, it was very noticeable. Watching the dancers, I could see many of the movements and steps from the ballet class come to life as part of a complete dance. This was really important to me, because dance is the area of ​​musical theater that I have the hardest time connecting with. Seeing professional Broadway dancers use some of the same movements we learned in our classes showed me how these techniques apply in the "real world of dance." In the first act, there was a song called ___________ with Roxie and three dancers. The dancers were in a triangular formation and performed a dance in soft shoes. I was immediately able to recognize the rond-de-jambs which made me connect to the dancers. Other movements I could identify were the spins done in stance behind, as we had done them during the peak class I attended, as well as the bourrees when the dancers moved from place to place in the song Razzle Dazzle. Another feature that struck me was the dancers' ability to walk with such style. The dancers needed.