Springboard Performance

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Split | Student Reflections: Carmen de Silva

Split encompasses a wide range of emotions through the exploration of the character’s internal struggle. I understood this piece to be representative of a single character feeling divided within their own body. They are experiencing conflict between different versions of themself. The synchronization and harmony that characterizes the beginning of the piece eventually gives way to a more chaotic, conflictive feeling. I interpret this transition as signifying the emergence of opposing characters coexisting within a single person. I experienced a building sense of tension and urgency through the movement. The intensity of the dancers’ movements accumulates throughout the piece, effectively representing the building level of pressure on the character. At many points in this piece, I felt that the dancers were trying to escape their own bodies. Through the interactions between the two different versions of the character, this piece juxtaposed moments of caring and soothing with moments of harm and violence. At moments, I felt that one version of the character was afraid of the other. By alternating between synchronised choreography and periods of conflict between the two dancers, this piece illustrated that although the different versions of the character exist in opposition to each other, they are inextricably linked. The piece did a beautiful job of demonstrating struggle and reconciliation within the character. Overall, I feel that this piece was a powerful illustration of the internal conflict that many of us experience as a result of a society that pulls us in a million different directions.