Dancing At The Lake

Dance is beautiful. Um, let me clarify, not the kind of dance i do at clubs – which is flailing around like my hair is on fire – but graceful, expressive movement of body and soul. THAT kind of dancing. I got a chance to see a troupe the other night in a very unique setting –
 E: motion Dance Ensemble at Willow Hill Reservoir in Folsom. The setting was completely different than my memory of college ballet performed in the bowels of a dark theatre. Willow Hill is everything that a theatre is not. Light, airy, fresh, charming. It’s nestled between the arms of Prairie City Road and Iron Point Road adjacent to Folsom High School. Though small, it has a lovely blue pond with cattails rimming one side and tall trees on the other. This picturesque setting was the perfect backdrop for the stage. Who needs a theatre when you have such a wonderful vista!



I got turned on to E: motion through a friend who dances with the group. According to their website, E: motion is dedicated to a limitless fusion of jazz, ballet, modern, musical theatre and basically any number of combinations and creations to express the vision of the director and dancers. Though E: motion has been around for several years, this is the first season they have not been associated with The Sacramento Ballet.

The day had been just a tad too warm, but by 6 PM the sun was dropping low and the Delta breeze kicked up, chilling the sweat off our bodies. The dance began. Lovely. Expressive. Fun. Silly. Theatrical. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I loved it all. I’m not a dance critic. And i don’t really care if everyone is in perfect synch or if someone misses a step – what i’m looking for is the overall expression and do i connect to that? The exquisite delicacy of pain etched on a face, the tenderness of arms as they unfold like flowers opening to the sun, the bouncing rhythm of feet hitting the stage, this is the real experience for me. And it was all just lovely. But better than i can express in words – pictures. See for yourself what a wonderful thing it is to Dance!