Penn Dance has new, more masculine look

Penn Dance, a co-ed campus dance group, is now even more co-ed than last semester. The company welcomes four new male dancers to their spring show, Unchained, which they will perform tonight, Friday night and Saturday night. College sophomore Leora Saacks, co-chair of the company, noted, "Our male dancers have grown in number." And size. Having been a long-time behind-the-scenes member of Penn Dance, College junior Jason Bassett finally decided to get out on the stage and said he does not regret the decision. "Besides," he explained, "I'm 6'3" and 230 pounds. Not too many people are going to make fun of me." He joins College freshman Massimo DeSantis, the only male member of Penn Dance last semester. With 11 out of 12 pieces choreographed by students, "this is the most involved everyone's been [in the show]," said College senior Allison Powell. "Usually there are only seven pieces, three or four of which are student-choreographed." After a symbolic unchaining to start the show, the performance lapses into College senior Kerry Aronoff's "Mechanique." Performed to Art of Noise's "Beat Box," Aronoff called it "a mixture of all the styles and teachers I've ever had." The silver-clad dancers move in even, robotic movements representing a machine. "They're all together at the beginning, then it breaks off into different pieces and comes back together in the end," Aronoff explained. Later, as a reminder that it is spring, Powell's "Momentum" has a warmth and flow that the title might not suggest. Powell said her lyrical piece is a departure from her usual dance of choice--jazz. Besides, she added, Billy Joel's live rendition of "Summer Highland Falls" -- the music for the number -- was "always one of my favorite songs." "It's called 'Momentum' because the piece is always moving. There's not one break or pause in it," she noted. Along with the student-choreographed numbers, the company presents guest choreographer Norman Taylor's "Dark Rendezvous," a provocative piece suggesting male submission. Saacks explained that with the group's new lighting styles and costumes, the show "has a positive feeling. It puts you in a good mood." From a tap number with no music to a graceful dance to Pachelbel's "Canon," choreographer and College sophomore Sara Pappas said, "There's something for everyone. That's what I love about Penn Dance." The shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Annenberg School Theater and will run for about two hours, said co-chair Robin Pulis, a College and Wharton junior. Tickets will be sold for $5 today and tomorrow on Locust Walk.