Editor’s note: This story includes mention of sexual violence or assault. Resources are available here.
I think I felt more like a preteen watching IU’s production of “Dance Nation” than I did when I was actually one. Still, the emotional rollercoaster was familiar. I laughed. I cringed. I felt indignant, nervous and on the verge of tears.
That invocation of emotion — all in a 90-minute run time — is the greatest strength of Clare Barron’s 2018 play, here directed by IU master’s student Kendrick Weingast.
“Dance Nation” performs at the Wells-Metz Theatre from Sept. 26 to Oct. 4, and tickets can be purchased online or at the box office in the IU Auditorium. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. and, on Oct. 4, there’s a matinee at 2p.m.
Over and over, I found myself nodding in agreement as the dancers at the heart of the show dealt with many of the emotions and questions that are so central to growing up: insecurity, pressure to achieve, self-worth, yearning, longing for meaning and the fear of not measuring up.
The nuance with which the actors portrayed these feelings blew me away. The group as a whole brilliantly captured the hyper, fidgety energy of preteens, as well as the way that friendships change — for better and worse — as people fight and make up.
Laura Rong as Ashlee and Hayley Cashman as Amina, in particular, brought incredible range to their characters, at times speaking in quiet, choked voices, and at others, letting loose with such intensity that the tendons in their necks stood out. Eli Fitzsimmons’s Luke almost made me cry with his soft, wistful monologue on the beauty of driving in the rain at night while listening to his mom.
I loved that the tweens had their own moments to stand apart from the others and speak — to themselves, to the sky, to the audience. Some monologues were long, like Rong’s rant about beauty, the math section of the SAT and the fear of trying. Others were short, like Vaishu Majji’s quiet moment in which Connie reflects on mental health struggles and the human connection.
In the end, "Dance Nation” isn’t so much a coherent story as a slice-of-life piece that realistically portrays what it’s like to be 13, unsure of your place in the world yet desperate to find it.
The authenticity of feelings is the show’s greatest strength, but it’s not perfect. The derailing of the plot towards the end is frustrating. In theory, “Dance Nation” follows the dancers from Liverpool, Ohio, as they seek national glory.
However, the dance company doesn’t make it to nationals. Not because they don’t qualify, but because the show ends after the first of three competitions that they need to win to get there. There’s so much left unresolved, both in terms of the overarching plot as well little vignettes that hint at things like sexual assault, body image issues and lost friendships.
I realize these hanging questions are yet another way in which the show reflects the real world — after all, there are so many things in life that we just never get to know — but it did feel like there were too many loose ends left at the end of the play.
In fact, that was one of the most abrupt endings to a show I’ve ever seen. It was impactful, but it wasn’t a conclusion. It just stopped. As I was leaving, I overheard someone near me say, “I have never been more confused about a show in my entire life,” to which her companion responded helplessly, “I have to write an essay about that?”
I don’t think it would be hard to write an essay about “Dance Nation”, since there are plenty of moments to analyze. The dance routine about Gandhi, for example, and the mention of his hunger strike subtly tie in with themes of disordered eating we often see in the dance world. The show never hits you over the head with that sort of allusion, which I appreciate.
It does hit you over the head, however, with coarse language and crassness. To some extent, that adds to the realism of the show — the characters are 13, after all — but I think the play went overboard. Much of the talk of genitals and sex felt gratuitous, especially in the last few scenes.
In the end, there’s plenty to talk about after seeing “Dance Nation”. More importantly, there’s even more to feel while watching it.
