Different Drum: more diverse than 'Riverdance'

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH Scattered or diverse? You decide.

A.D.D. These are the initials of Yale's youngest dance group, A Different Drum. Interestingly, they are also the initials of "Attention Deficit Disorder," which is what I felt I was suffering from when I watched their latest performance.

Perhaps it was their name that misled me. Perhaps I simply had unrealistic expectations of seeing something I hadn't seen before. After all, the group, founded in 1996, claims to be the most "diverse" at Yale, incorporating in their performances styles that range from ballet to jazz to Indian and Russian folk. To be fair, there was an eclectic range of dance styles in this last performance, including ballet, Irish dancing, and tap. The dancers, on the whole, performed their moves with grace and enthusiasm.

A Different Drum's main problem is its choreography, primarily in the jazz and ballet numbers, which made up most of the show. It got pretty old, pretty fast.

The opening number, danced to Madonna's "Ray of Light," is a good example of the group's weakness. With choreography by Melissa Tepe, SY '99, the dance starts off upbeat, with graceful, ballet-like moves. The audience was clearly curious to see where it would go. The problem was, it didn't go anywhere. I felt like I was watching instant replay over and over again.

The same was true for "Sigh," choreographed by Elaine Kim, ES '01. The fault, once again, was not so much with the dancers as with the choreography. The jumps, chassés, and spins were executed with grace--they were just executed in the same way too many times.

The performance got more interesting when the choreography broke away from the traditional and the predictable. One of my favorites was a piece compiled from traditional and ballet steps from Guinea and West Africa, danced to a drumbeat. Choreographed by Lauren Beslow, BK '99, it was a refreshing change from the generally repetitive dances I had seen up till that point. The credit here goes not only to the choreographer, but to the dancers, Lindsey Tucker, MC '01, Indira Jones, SM '02, Debbie
Potvin, ES '02, and Beslow. It wasn't only their moves that were impressive, but also their rapport with each other. The fact that they seemed to be having fun with the dance helped make it that much more entertaining.

A similar sense of fun came across in "Confidence and Insecurity," choreographed by Erik Johnson, PC '02, which he performed with Erin Flynn, ES '02. In this dance, the two not only perform their moves, but also tell a funny story with their body language and facial expressions. To be able to create humor with a simple smirk or roll of the eyes is quite a talent, and one which these two seem to have mastered.

Maybe "attention deficit disorder" is a little strong to describe my condition while watching this performance. In the moments when the choreography was original and refreshing, I actually stopped looking at my watch and found that I was enjoying myself. I only wish those moments had come around a little more often.

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