I arrived at the Footlight Players Theatre too late to get a seat for the very first dance in this year’s Piccolo Dance Festival.  Waiting to hear the applause before I could sneak in for a seat, someone leaned into me and said, “This next group isn’t really up to our normal standards…”  Startled, I immediate thought to myself, What exactly ARE the standards to be part of Piccolo Spoleto??? Especially for young unprofessional dancers?  I sat down and looked at my program to see who was coming up next.  Before my brain could register anything, the lights went down, and I watched with tears in my eyes, wondering at how anyone could be so demeaning to these girls…girls who are out of trouble and up on stage…girls with big hearts and blooming talent.  I applaud them for their courage and passion. 

After an hour and a half, I left totally inspired and came up with a list of all that I saw and why I think every group in that show (unfortunately I didn’t get to see them all) was “up to par”.  I danced when I was younger and studied the figure during my undergraduate education.  I believe that dance is really not only expression, but performance art, and perfection of the human form.  It is music visualized.  It is complete control and balance sided with organic and fluid energy.  It is raw muscle and tissue sided with ethereal grace and gravity defiance.  Who are you to put a restrictive line around what is and what isn’t in “normal standards”?  Each group had such individuality in their pieces, it would be ludicrous to discriminate one from the next.  Sure I had my favorites, but as a whole, Well done ladies and gents.

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