What is Dance? Under the production of Allison Parsley, a Mamaroneck High School education faculty member, the Performing Arts Center Education put on a dance concert entitled “Kinesthesia”. By watching this concert one can suppose the deeper meaning of dance. Many people would assume dance is simply just movement to music; it is in fact much more. Dance is an expression of emotion. There are several components that go into a dance that contribute to this expression of emotion to the audience. PACE students of Mamaroneck High School performed Kinesthesia at Mamaroneck High School. The dance concert was performed November 19 20, 21, and 22 at 7:30 pm in there auditorium. The performance had two Acts’ with eight dances in each Act. All the dances were produced by a student in twelfth grade and danced by younger grades. The first component that contributes to emotion is lighting. Lighting was such an important part of this performance because it was one of the first indicators of the emotion for each dance. In one dance for example, the backlight was bright red. This immediately set a happy and bright mood in the audience. As the dancers came out and performed it was evident that this dance expressed feelings of joy. On the contrary, another dance began with dark purple lighting. Typically purple is thought of as a deep color. This color hinted at a more intense dance. The lighting in these performances was the primary indicators of the emotion that would be expressed through these dances. Another very important component is the costumes. The colors and the style of the costume are also examples of the emotion that the dancers are trying to express. Dances with darker, sadder emotions tended to have tight, dark costumes. Happier and more joyful dances had brighter color costumes or loose flowing ones. In one of the dances that expressed happiness, the dancers wore bright, neon costumes. In another dance, the change in emotion could be seen through the use of a dancer taking off her flowing skirt to show her power. After doing that the mood became much more intense in the room. A third component of dance that helps to expression the mood and
