Tonight I was one of about 175 people who were fortunate to attend the Sara toga Arts Fest “Saratoga Dances” performance at Skidmore College Dance Theatre. We were treated to a wonderful evening of dance by three NYC Ballet dancers and a short interlude by a local string quartet.

Three very different dance pieces were presented. The first, “Mopey”, choreographed by Marco Goecke, was a high energy, non-stop modern dance piece that was danced by Sean Suozzi. I kept wondering how Sean could make his arms reach the way that they wrapped around his body. Some of the movement was unpleasant.

We also got to see excerpts from “Apollo”, one of George Balanchine’s first pieces. I’ve seen video clips of this piece before, but have not seen the full performance. Now I want to see it.

The highlight of the evening was the commissioned piece, “The Enormous Room”, choreographed by Justin Peck. Justin explained to us that the piece was supposed to be about Saratoga. His inspiration for the piece was the contrast he felt between NYC and Saratoga – city vs. country.  All I know is that I didn’t want the piece to end. The arm movements reminded me of blooming flowers. There was the contrast of flowing movement and then sections where the dancers just held a beautiful pose. They were like a sculpture in a garden. And at the end, I imagined myself sitting out on the beautiful lawns at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

I hope that “The Enormous Room” is performed again. More people must see it!