Last weekend, spirits and gods came alive in the Rubio Theater during the “Sylvia Reclaimed” performance. The play, originating in 19th century France, draws on Roman mythology to tell the story of Sylvia, a nymph who serves the Goddess of the Hunt, Diana. The Andover rendition, re-written and directed by Mr. Kareem Lewis and acted out by Andover students, sought to incorporate students’ varying skill levels and display both modern contemporary dance and classical ballet.
Breanna Ren ’29, one of the huntresses, detailed how students prepared by slowly familiarizing themselves with the music and choreography after Summer break. Towards the end, students finalized the choreography by watching a set of videos sent by Mr. Lewis. Ren offered her take on the storyline in Mr. Lewis’ rendition before clarifying how it contrasts with the original.
“The storyline is different. First of all, it’s a lot shorter, and there’s a lot more simplicity in the characters. Sylvia is originally a guy. The story starts with the huntresses introducing Sylvia, and then Sylvia being attacked by the tree forest. She slightly loses hope in her dreams, and that leads to an act with very depressing music, but then, the huntresses are able to cheer her up again. Her friend Aminta tells her to keep moving forward and that’s how the story continues,” said Ren.
Selene Park ’28, an experienced dancer in classical ballet, further described the process of developing the choreography. Park detailed how parts and choreography were distributed among the dancers, and explained how dancers refined Mr. Lewis’ suggested choreography.
“We took an audition [at the start of term] before Mr. Lewis provided a basic structure of what was going on. Then we mostly followed his opinion, but there were some parts where we wanted to add in to make it cooler, easier, more fit to the music, etc. I feel like that’s why it kind of worked out in the end… The part that I enjoyed the most was the finale. I know that act two is where I do my solo, and that’s the part that is supposed to convey Diane the most. However, the finale was a lot more upbeat and cheerful for me, and it also felt like a ballet gala, which is basically where you showcase all your skills without focusing on the storyline,” said Park.
Brynn Niewold ’28, an audience member whose sister Greer Niewold ’29 joined the production as an intermediate dancer playing the role of a forest spirit, stated her appreciation for Lewis’ skillful accommodation for differences in the cast’s experience with the medium. Niewold further complimented the integration of contemporary dance into the characterization of certain roles, as well as how the difference in styles was used to create a natural experience.
“You could tell that Mr. Lewis, the director, was trying to make sure that dancers of all levels could join. He made choreography that might have been more challenging for the dancers … I especially loved all the forest spirit scenes. They’re supposed to be evil, but I liked how their dancing was so rigid, and it was like how a tree would move. The forest spirits and the constellation spirits used more modern dance, as ballet isn’t so rigid but also because technique-wise ballet is more demanding. This way the dancers that were more experienced in ballet, like the huntresses, did ballet or more ballet elements, and the forest and constellation spirits had more modern aspects in their choreography,” said Niewold.
Mari Uchino-Garcia ’29, another attendee at Sylvia, described her experience in the audience, sharing the scenes that left a lasting impression. She also mentioned elements of the performance that clearly demonstrated the intentional creative planning behind the show.
“The performance was rather striking. There were moments where there were big changes, like music turning off, lights turning off, silence, and dancers walking which was a big contrast to the rest. There was also a mystical feeling with these like spirits and the ballet with their own unique bands and the way that they perform that was also really mystical. I could really see the creative aspect in it. It’s a great way of seeing the creativity of the performers and their director combining together and making something that everybody can really enjoy, and that was really wonderful to see,” said Uchino-Garcia.
