Fashion N’ Motion takes the stage

Anyone who has walked through the Concourse over the past few months knows the distinct presence that Fashion N’ Motion has on this campus.

This past week, over 100 student dancers had the chance to strut their stuff for four days in a row, beginning last Thursday.

The main priority of the annual dance and fashion show “at its heart, is dancing for a cause,” announced charity awareness co-ordinator Kale Boehmer in his speech following intermission in the opening night of the show.

This year, partial funds raised from admissions were donated to the charity Reach for the Rainbow, an organization that offers recreational programs across Ontario for youth with cognitive and physical disabilities.

The show itself – State of Mind – chronicled a young woman who moves away from her home to New York to escape her past and make a new beginning.

Through the fresh-faced energy of the dancers, the performance captivated the pure feeling of the new experience of finding oneself in a new city.

The narrative of a woman encountering the fashion-forward, cosmopolitan city fit well with the clothing as the pieces the participants donned in the show included modern clothing designed with an androgynous edge.

The models’ clothing was provided by LOOP, SKIRT, GLOSS and, Channers and the models’ hair was done by Ikandi.

The various modeling scenes throughout the production, in which the dancers struck stoic and artistic poses, created the atmosphere of a high-end clothing store with expensive pieces draped over stone-cold mannequins.

Other scenes successfully fused acting with modeling, creating the feeling of seeing fashionistas in a New York jazz bar.

There were also transition dances, where the performers were continuously dressed in the same “I (Heart) NY” shirts.

The redundancy of the same plain white t-shirt seemed strange in contrast with the fashion-forward theme.

However, it did drive home the theme of the progressive city while maintaining consistency within the show.

Popular dance music was compiled well, fitting with the clothing, choreography and overall mood of the show.

The dances themselves often had comedic components and were creatively aesthetic.

As well, there were times when the dancers and models were made to look as though they were black silhouettes in the light and backdrop of the stage.

The dexterity and level of complication of the dance moves themselves were mediocre as the clear majority of the student volunteers were not trained dancers.

The co-ordination of dance segments, which featured the entire cast on stage, were not in sync in the least.

However, the overwhelming passion and intensity of the participants – clearly the mark of a labour of love – outweighed whatever minor technical deficiencies existed in the show.

The greatest highlight of the night was the section featuring four male dancers who engaged in an unforgettable dance-off before the intermission of the show.

These performers were talented as the speed of their dance motions was unbelievably fast-paced and all four dancers were impressively synchronized.

One dancer was even able to perform impressive stunts like multiple back-flips in a row, which left the full audience roaring after he left the stage.