A Review

They came, we saw their shadows and they left us awestruck. WSC had the incredible honor of hosting the talented Catapult group, here in Wayne last Tuesday in Ramsey Theatre.

For those of you who didn’t order a seat ahead of time, you definitely missed out. Who knew shadows could be so powerful before Catapult came to Wayne State? Catapult has been around for a number of years, but many people know them from season eight of “America’s Got Talent” in 2013.

For the performance, Catapult – Magic Shadows presented nine dances which were a part of their Black and Gold Performing Arts Series. The nine dances included “Four Seasons,” “Berlin Wall,” “Milestones,” “Spy,” “Angel Heart,” “Bullies,” “Go West,” “Travelers Tale” and “Encore.”

Each dance had a message that was portrayed through their shadows behind a white sheet, but yet it was so powerful. My personal favorite was “Spy.” It showed the everyday struggles of a woman who is a spy/wife. Forgetfulness, fighting crime and still making it home before supper time is relatable to everyone right?

The performance was free for students and open to community members which really got the whole town involved. Everyone around me was clapping after each shadow that the dancers pulled off.

Dancers included Francesco Alfieri, Anjuli Battacharya, Giorgia Caffiero, Luca Contini, Silvia Dalle Nogare, Laura Ghilardi, Annalisa vancini and Jason Stotz.

The company included director Adam Battelstein, manager Tobias Christianus, stage support Emanuella Picolo and rehearsal director Jason Stotz.

All in all, I loved every dance, but the most powerful one was entitled “Bullies.” Everyone has dealt with bullying at a point in their lives, but this performance was a great opportunity for them to say it’s not alright. First people weren’t playing with a girl at recess, and it quickly escalated to a dragon bullying her. She found a friend who would stand up to the dragon with her, and everything was alright.

Catapult is a very talented group with a strong message in every dance. If you weren’t able to attend I highly recommend stalking their schedule and getting a ticket to their next show.