The Smith College Museum of Fine Arts Dance Concert this past weekend was well worth the trip to Northampton. Titled ‘The Next Stage,’ the performance was a collection of four M.F.A. students’ works of choreography for their thesis projects. Each choreographer effectively created personal statements in their respective works, each of which were interesting, enlightening and simply a pleasure to watch.

The performance opened with a work by Kerri Underwood. Aptly titled ‘Momentum of the Body,’ the piece was interesting and aesthetically pleasing. Dancers oozed onstage from the wings and even up from the orchestra pit platform, almost as if liquid, effectively conveying a sense of perpetual motion. There was a striking moment when all motion stopped, and two dancers proceeded to explore and demonstrate the most basic movement of walking, slowly elucidating the role each joint and muscle has in this action. This pair continued to dance in unison in a duet section, and it was clear that each understood the movement of the other quite well. After an intense transition of music and lighting, the full cast returned for a beautiful sequence. Here the choreographer showed an excellent use of space with varying angles of dancers in formation, creating fluid lines of movement; these complementary groups of dancers accented each other to create an appealing effect. The piece ended in lovely unity, all the more impressive with the large, well-rehearsed cast. Throughout the entire piece, the lighting was subtle and sophisticated. However, unlike the first two musical selections, the music of the third piece included words that interfered with the mood established by the prior two sections. It is understandable, though, that Kerri could not resist using a song with the words ‘from New York to Los Angeles…’ as her bio states that she’s a native Californian, come to the east coast to ‘fulfill her dreams.’

Leslie Miller’s work ‘Wake Up and Smell the Jazz!’ followed, bringing vibrant energy to the stage in a fun showcase of dance for dance’s sake. Five different sections were performed in a club setting complete with a bar and tables and flashy, colorful costumes. Opening the piece was a hot mambo number danced by the entire cast, and it was clear that each dancer enjoyed the fiery choreography. This was followed by a playful challenge between two groups – the jazz queens and the pointe-shoe-adorned ballerinas – that displayed the cast’s ample, versatile technique. The impressive technique continued throughout the two duets, a very sweet ‘Their Romance,’ and a coy ‘Guy Meets Gal.’ A section titled ‘Girls Night Out’ featured a quartet of fun to watch, talented jazz dancers. The Broadway-esque finale, with its sharp, together cast and its great costumes, punched the point home that Leslie knows what she likes to see in a production, as well as how to bring that to the audience.

Sarah Seely’s contemporary piece ‘Butterflies and Other Lies’ was performed to beautiful classical music with heavenly vocals. The angelic voices were expressed through soft, breathy movement of the dancers and the lovely lines created by the dance dresses. Sarah’s solo section, with its tension-filled movement, portrayed the angst of the vocalist effectively. As the piece progressed, the music and choreography gained strength and definition, which was echoed well by the increasing deliberateness of the lighting. While there were some discrepancies in the unison movement, the grace and heart of the dancers was consistent throughout the piece.

Closing the performance was ‘A Time of Darkness’ by Sukarji Sriman, a native of East Java in Indonesia. The piece was based on a poem printed in the program which is difficult to summarize, but can be said to be an appeal to a God during a time of ruin. Sukarji incorporated much of his culture into this piece, with Eastern influenced motifs of movement, and he personally sang the poem onstage in Javanese. The piece progressed through several states – one of joy, then unrest, ending in peace – which were conveyed in the vocals of Sukarji and another male singer who sang parts of the poem in English; these states were also expressed through the changes in movement quality. The dancers moved at first in unison, in a seemingly ritualistic style, then broke from the restraints of unison into a more expressive, interpretive section, and eventually returned to the synchronous movement. It is likely that Sukarji’s style of choreography and the message he wished to convey were novel to the female dancers, so the intelligent interpretation of his work by these women was particularly impressive. With the red-toned lighting, ornamental costumes, and movement well suited to engaging music, Sukarji succeeded in creating a cohesive, enlightening work.

The Smith College M.F.A. concert this weekend provided valid proof that the five-college dance department is too often taken for granted. Three of the four pieces drew a handful of dancers from Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke Colleges, as well as our very own UMass. The casts that these and the Smith College dancers comprised, with the help of the four talented choreographers, displayed a caliber of talent that could parallel many professional productions. Even if you have not been exposed much to dance, consider going to the next concert you hear about, and do not let the fact that it is off the UMass campus stop you. You will likely be pleased by what you get out of it.