We went to see the Arpino Dance Festival as a class on Sunday. The day itself was okay, but I had a pretty bad start to the day. I had to walk 30 minutes to get to the train, only for the MTA workers to kick us off the train just one stop away from the ferry, which I then had to pay to even leave the train station! It was pretty annoying, but I managed to make it on the ferry before it departed. However, that wasn’t even all, because there was a creepy person that was visibly sick, and he coughed super loudly while facing me and staring at me the entire time…
I honestly kind of expected for the theater to be much bigger and flashier, kind of like the other theaters on Broadway, but it was still pretty charming. I liked the style of the sign and their arrangement of the LED lights. We had front row seats, but I feel like somewhere in the middle would have been better for the performance because the stage lights were shining directly in my eyes, which was really uncomfortable.
The performance itself was very good, but I am more of a music person, so I mostly paid attention to how the performers lined up with the music rather than how they danced. Their actions (like with the tambourines in Confetti) aligned with beats in the music, and it was pretty satisfying because it was all in time. The dancers were also in sync and very graceful. I noticed that they placed a lot of emphasis on their limbs rather than their torso, which makes sense.
I really liked the style of music they chose for the fourth performance. The color and style choices for the performers’ outfits, as well as the lighting, really gave them that jewel-like appearance which I found extremely beautiful. I also think the “couple” performers had really good stage presence and chemistry, which added to the feel of the performance. I honestly thought the third performance was beautiful as well, and the first one was very lively and interesting too. I just didn’t really like the second performance except for the cellist’s parts, mostly because I was really grossed out by the sweat flying everywhere (no offense to the performers).
After the show, I managed to get lost trying to find the right direction for the 1 train, but I went out to get milk tea after. I originally planned to go to Chinatown to walk around, but I didn’t want to get rained on any further, so I just took an express bus home.
Overall, I thought the performance was really nice. I just wish I was just as into dance as I was with music, because I was mostly focused on the dancers’ steps and movements in relation with the music, not on their own. It might have been better to have more knowledge about ballet and dance in general so I could have a better understanding of the performance.
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