From graceful leaps to wide arm movements to finger snapping and theatrical comedy, audience members saw a completely original and diverse dance at the opening show of “Kinetic Resonance” on March 13.

The University Dance Theatre, a yearlong class at SF State’s School of Music and Dance, performed artistic routines that pushed beyond the ordinary. The students fused various dance cultures while providing the audience a chance to experience art through movement.

“This is really making dance an art form,” said Susan Whipp, School of Music and Dance professor and dance coordinator.

The UDT is made up of 20 students who audition in the fall and spend the entire year training and building choreography for the spring showcase.

“The UDT is a very formal process,” Whipp said. “We push them very hard.”

The UDT students must have the intensity and commitment to work, and they all go through a transformational process along the way, Whipp said.

Dance performances by the UDT have been around since the early 1960s, but were previously known as the EMBAJE (Ethnic, modern, ballet, African-Haitian, jazz and ethnic dance) Dance Company until 2000.
“
The acronym stopped working,” Whipp said. “We’ve gone beyond that.”

Whipp said the dances UDT puts together come from various backgrounds and fuse cultural and contemporary styles.

McKenna Theatre was nearly filled to the maximum with dance supporters like SF State sophomore dance major Katrina Wise, who grabbed some seats with her friends.

“I enjoy these performances,” said Wise, 19.

“‘Kinetic Resonance’ allows people and the community to experience different collaborations of dance,” Wise said. “It’s not just hip-hop or ballet, there’s contemporary and Haitian, too.”

SF State junior Felize Diaz made a trip to attend her first show by the School of Music and Dance.

“This performance is great,” said Diaz, 27. “It’s convenient for people to come to campus and check out art.”
After seven short, unique story-telling performances, choreographer Byron Seddens presented the audience with a playfully comedic finale that showcased musical theater in “Scenes From a Talk Show,” a spoof of the television talk show, “The View.”

Five characters performed as well-known celebrities and characters such as RuPaul and Fran Drescher, and as fictional characters like Wonder Woman, Dorothy Gale and The Queen of Hearts.

Each character acted and danced to tunes from RuPaul, Joss Stone, Kirsty MacColl, Eartha Kitt, Elton John and Will.i.am.

“That was my favorite,” said Gayle Scherer, whose 19-year-old daughter, SF State sophomore Landra Scherer, played Fran Drescher, infamous for her nasal voice, laugh and Queens accent. “The whole skit made me laugh.”

“Performances like ‘Kinetic Resonance’ are great because the arts at SF State are very important,” Scherer said.

The UDT will be performing as a part of National Dance Week, a gathering of dance groups at various events nationwide to actively encourage the growth of dance from April 25 to May 4.

For more information, visit National Dance Week Web site.