RDT 'In Habit's campus with season's first show

By Anna Wilde     11/19/09 6:00pm

Nearly two months after the opening of the Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center, the Rice Dance Theatre has finally received the opportunity to showcase its talent in the facility's state-of-the-art dance studio. After one viewing, it is easy to see that the wait, while tedious, has been worth it.In preparing for "In Habit," the studio needed only minor tweaking to transform the Rec Center's dance studio from practice space to performance space. Come the night of the performance, the room finds itself adorned with black partitions lining the walls and black material covering the wood floor. Four light trees are employed on either side of the performance space; though there is only flexibility in light intensity, not color, the space is well lit and the company uses well-timed light fading to enhance their performances. Dancers emerge from the partitions and perform in the round - chairs surround the performance space on both sides, and there is not a bad seat in the studio.

The showcase consists of 10 performances, all but two of which were choreographed by students in RDT. The different choreographers provide diversity to the showcase, not just through their choreography, but also via their costume and music choices.

The show's two ingenious performances, helmed by Assistant Director for Dance Programs at the Recreation Center and RDT Director Leslie Scates, are improvised dances: a solo to the musical rhythm of spoken Chinese and a duet with Michael Slovich (Will Rice College '09). Though it is incredible to behold Scates' improvisation, especially her execution of fascinating stunts and off-the-cuff rhythm with Slovich, her performances begin to feel forced as she reaches the bottom of the barrel with originality. The uncomfortable pauses in her dances are just long enough to cause even the most enthralled audience member to begin to lose interest.

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Fortunately, "In Habit" is pieced together such that each dance is followed by a different vibrant performance - no two dances are alike. In "Throwing Bows," members of the company wearing colorful T-shirts stand on, sit on and melt from chairs to execute level changes that keep the audience on their toes while the dancers jig to Irish-themed music.

Other performances employ repeated choreographic combinations of lyrical steps and modern movements in different groupings of dancers, often duets. Most of the time, the staggered repetition of each performance's choreography, in addition to a great deal of group and partner stunts, keeps the dances from becoming monotonous.

The music accompanying each dance ranges from pieces such as a dramatic Russian diatribe, to an energizing instrumental piece, to a bittersweet song lamenting "the fine line between romance and friendship." Dancers capture the emotions of each song while wearing beautiful, colorful costumes that remain simple enough to allow their movements and emotions to shine through.

The showcase ends with an unexpected bang, as RDT's members wander from their traditional modern and contemporary dances to perform a body rock to Lil' Wayne's and Kevin Rudolf's "Let it Rock." Some of the performers still seem a little out of their element, but this awkwardness is shadowed by powerful, popping choreography, and even features some gymnastics.

RDT's impressive level of talent is out in full force in "In Habit." Though timing, spacing and execution miscues are impossible to miss while watching the small group of performers in each dance, these blunders are few and far between: The audience easily forgets them while gorgeous turns, strong lines and powerful movements, in addition to the show's unpredictability, make them want to keep watching. As the show's program says, "Don't blink, or else you might miss something.

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