Industrial Revelation

Unmasked, presented by Theatre UCSB. At the Hatlen Theatre,
Sunday, December 3.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Schwyzer

UCSB dance majors don’t just clock a lot of hours in the studio;
by the time graduation draws near, they’ve been trained in costume,
lighting and scenic design, choreography, and musical composition.
They have collaborated with professional designers and with one
another in crafting an aesthetic and realizing a vision. Last
weekend’s Unmasked was evidence of the rigor and the relevance of
the department’s program.

The show set student works alongside
faculty choreography, opening with contemporary ballet instructor
Valerie Huston’s Concentric Incident. Subtly illuminated by low,
slanting shafts of warm light, a procession of dancers snaked in
and out of linear and circular formations, breaking into emotive
solos and duets, and then melding back into formation.