The Justice

Opinions of Liquid Latex's annual body-art show fall into a few different camps. In the red corner, with the latex trunks, there are the true appreciators of the fusion of body and canvas with expressive choreography. Then, in the blue corner, with the steel wool snowsuit, there are the detractors, those who say the show is a pornographically inspired, uncoordinated mess for sexual deviants eager to show the campus their goods on the catwalk instead of from a trench coat on the sidewalk. Finally, there are those who just want to see some boobs. Fortunately, for the sake of campus solidarity, there were elements to support the convictions of all three groups, especially the third, in Levin Ballroom Thursday night.

This year's incarnation, "My Body My Vision," largely avoided the pitfalls (good concepts with poor execution) that its critics are so vocal about, though there were one or two underwhelming, but still competent, pieces. "What You Can Do With More Allowance …Yodelayeoo," designed by Matt Brown '08, brought to life the classic cartoon series Doug. Yet despite a great concept and accompanying mix of music from the show, the choreography was only servicable. A more skit-styled performance along the lines of the comic book character mash of "Superheroes Collide" would have been better suited for the cast of such a memorable TV series.

The social awareness piece, "Let's Talk About Sex," suffered from a similar disability despite a humorous introduction with dancers Julia Sferlazzo '09 and Claire Cooper '11 lip-synching to the opening Salt-N-Pepa diatribe on sexual conservatism. In addition to the dancers' having to learn the choreography the night before, the music cut off early, forcing the dancers to exit the stage prematurely.

Fortunately, these instances made up only a small portion of the show. "Trip Through Oz," designed by Danielle Kohn '08 and Jill Seplowitz '08, was a fantastic opener. To the tunes of Pink Floyd (a popular choice for the evening), the cast, painted up as psychedelic versions of The Wizard of Oz characters, proceeded to act out an abbreviated version of the classic film, complete with a wicked witch and fairy godmother. Other highlights included the aforementioned "Superheroes Collide," designed and choreographed by Kira Lacks '08, and Jessica Gambel's '08 "Beatle Mania!," a fusion of wonderful visuals with a plethora of Beatles tracks.

However, the crown jewel of the show was rightly saved for last. "The Pink Floyd Sound Project," designed, choreographed and performed by Brienne Engel '08, was the ultimate synthesis of concept, art and choreography. Painted with painstakingly detailed re-creations of various Floyd album covers, the six dancers, several male and several female, proceeded to pull off some very tricky moves to the songs from the albums on their bodies. Lifting one another and twirling their partners around in the air, the cast had the audience enraptured until the end, when the final notes brought the dancers seated in a row on the floor, emulating the iconic Pink Floyd "Back Catalogue" poster.

Clocking in at a little over an hour, "My Body My Vision" didn't overstay its welcome. Dazzled and dazed by the final display, the audience left the Levin Ballroom fully satisfied.

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