Giordano Dance Chicago Energizes the Auditorium By Sydney Milligan and Wes Hessel

Giordano Dance Chicago Energizes the Auditorium

By Sydney Milligan and Wes Hessel

 

The beginning of the first act by Giordano Dance Chicago was filled with a lot of vocalizing, and a ton of angsty stomping, thrashing, and headbanging – a very avant garde piece.  Then there was a beautiful pas de deux titled “All For You” choreographed by Adam Houston, and beautifully danced by Ashley Downs and Skyler Newcom, that seemed to tell the story of a tumultuous love affair.

The costumes were very simple, elegant, and appropriate for a jazz performance, and there were changes with each of the pieces that were performed – the outfits ranged from white button downs and black shorts for the entire company, to all white and all black uniforms and leotards, to earth-toned jazz dance pants for the men and earth-toned leotards for the women.

The “Take A Gambol” piece was high-energy and very seemingly a love letter to the classic jazz dance tradition of Broadway’s Golden Age.  The “Shirt Off My Back” movement had some of the most intricate and interesting choreography seen throughout the night, a particularly notable moment being when one of the male/female pairs danced together with each having one of their arms in one of the sleeves of the same shirt.

Overall, the company’s performance was quite good, and the dancing skillfully executed – long, clean lines, graceful yet staccato movements, interjected sometimes with references to pop culture and humor, grand battements and double-turns that astounded and kept the audience cheering.  For tickets or more information on more of the wonderful dance and other performing arts offerings at the Auditorium Theatre, please see their website at www.auditoriumtheatre.org.

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