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Veronica Greydak
VPA/APA’s ​Backstage is Onstage
January 25th, 2019
​CCM Dragonetti Auditorium

Brain Storm
Choreographers: Lisa Peluso & the Class of 2022
Music: “November” by Max Richter
Lighting Designer: Brian Kafel
Costume Designer: Lisa Peluso
15 Dancers
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In works of dance, a choreographer’s intent is revealed by the movement

presented onstage. The piece,​ Brain Storm,​ is no exception, showcasing a topic: human

brain function. ​Brain Storm ​exhibits how the brain works when overcome with anxiety

and conflict, proven through the choreographer’s decisions.

The piece opens with the ensemble positioned in a clump, connected together at

different points of contact. The initial shape appears to be a visualization of irregular

tissue in the brain. When the formation begins to move, dancers hit quick gestures with

their arms and legs, revealing to the audience the rapid transportation of brain signals.

The dance advances when a soloist, located centerstage, pounds her fist in her palm and

makes direct eye contact with the audience. She appears enraged, blazed and focused.

Everytime the soloist slams her fist into her palm, one ensemble member falls to the

ground. The dancers falling one by one behind the soloist represent cells of the brain

firing, processing emotion in the brain.

As seen in the captivating arrangement of movement, the choreography displays

how the human brain works when feeling frustrated. There are moments when dancers

are divided in groups and executing different dance phrases. The set up is chaotic and

captures how cells perform differently to complete specific functions. Additionally, the

intention of the piece is to provide transparency to the use of sharp motion and quick

rhythm. After the soloist dancer pounds her fist in her hand, all dancers in the piece

strike four poses to the accent of the music. The poses are not elegant, yet appear tense

and ridge, mirroring postures of struggle. The audience feels the display of frustration,

understanding the strenuous effort on the brain.

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Personally, the dance made me feel overly emotional. I experienced two

clashing emotions: despair and wonder. To delineate, I felt the struggle and anxiety

shown by the performers, representing how to react to stressful situations. At the same

time, I was in complete awe watching the mechanics of the brain and the complexity of

how it must operate to dispatch emotion throughout the body. I was astounded, thinking

about the capacity of the brain, arguably one of the most vital areas of the human body.

Feeling these two sensations while watching the piece made me incredibly sentimental.

The dance is accompanied with repetitive chords of string instruments,

intensifying the range of emotions felt. The music is contemporary classical and

features violins and cellos. To signify the start of the gripping performance, the music

begins with a few string instruments, slowly building strength with the addition of more

instruments. The activity of the music added to the dance’s increasingly dramatic and

serious tone. The music accentuates how brains must execute functions faster when a

person becomes entrapped with anxious energy. Dancers portray this idea excellently

by magnifying their energy to accompany the music. Moreover, the music is mixed

with sound effects of rain and thunder. The rainstorm sounds relate directly with the

title of the dance piece, the brain storming and firing to function properly. Just as a

storm surges during violent disturbances of the atmosphere, the brain uproars when

stimulated. Sounds of rain and thunder enhance the dance, indicating dynamics of a

human brain.

Music is not the only aspect of choreography to investigate. In terms of

production elements, there are no use of costumes in the concert; all dancers wear black
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leotards and tights. Likewise, no props, sets, or equipment appear in the dance.

However, the lighting enhances the dance piece admirably. The dark blue lighting

special in the opening image of the brain brought focus on the tableau. The lights

quickly change to purple when the soloist pounded her fist in her palm. Changing the

lighting to a completely different color symbolizes prompt brain reactions when dealt

with a change in emotion. Further on, red lighting is used while dancers split into

groups and executed separate movements. Red is representative of energy and passion,

perfectly coloring the vehemence of the piece.

Movement in a well executed dance develops with a beginning, climax, and end.

Brain Storm b​ egins with every dancer connected to each other. They move around in a

clump steadily. As the melody of the song begins, dancers bash gestures, raising the

energy onstage. There are moments where dancers go in and out of the negative space

surrounding each other. Then, dancers start a partnering section. A duet pair perform a

phrase; then, all the other partners begin together a couple beats behind the initial pair.

As a conclusion to the beginning of the dance, dancers return to a clump and slowly rise

together on revelé, holding their hands by their mouth. Suddenly, the dance changes

dynamic when all dancers spread out on stage and collapse to the ground except the

solo dancer previously mentioned. The ensemble dancers fall to the rhythm of the

soloist’s gesture. Continuing, individual dance combinations enter on and off stage,

creating uniformed disarray. The manipulation of staging during a leap section engages

the audience in the middle of the piece. The dancers perform the same traveling

choreography, yet one group faced upstage on stage left and the other group face
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downstage on stage right. The groups leap passed each other back and forth. During this

phrase, featured dancers perform ephemeral solos, standing out from the crowd of

dancers leaping. Finishing the dance, the dancers join into a clump and perform a

fragmented and embellished phrase of the pounding fist gesture. The dancers all jump

and stomp four times on two feet. After. they throw their hands over their head, looking

up towards the ceiling. In the music, the rain sound effect continues to play as the

dancers slowly bring their hands down and the lights fade. Those last moments before

the lighting fade are fierce and potent.

The most memorable moment in the piece is most certainly the finale. This

moment is remarkable as it was utterly unexpected. Before the final moment of

stillness, dancers briskly move side to side and up and down, altering levels. They even

stomp loudly enough for the audience to hear. Out of the blue, the group ends the series

of relentless movement and attack their ending pose with hands on their heads in

perfect stillness. The complete change in dynamics, movement to stillness, makes the

moment unforgettable.

Brain Storm i​ s a perceptible work underlining the brain’s operation when dealt

with intense emotion. Along with various production elements, moments and stage

pictures allow the audience to sink into a concrete vision. Memorable concert dances

depict valuable ideas, concepts, and morals yet, the message is ultimately up to the

audience to determine for themselves.