iLuminate

Nine extraordinarily talented young men and women dancers took to the Merriam stage for three performances Friday September 22 and Saturday, September 23. iLuminate brings a unique concept to the stage, combining well-choreographed dance moves with state-of-the-art lighting effects. The show was performed on a dark stage with dancers bedecked in neon lighting from head to toe. In the blink of an eye dancers' lights went off and they disappeared, only to reappear on another part of the stage a few seconds later. The results of the appearance and disappearance of the characters on stage as routines were set to music was nothing short of spectacular. Benches, chairs, a wall clock, a door and an easel were all outlined in lights at one time or another. Butterflies flew across the stage in lights, as did symbols of Ms. Pacman, Super Mario, and an arrow hitting a bulls- eye. The rendition of Michael Jackson’s Bill Jean was superb not only for its athleticism but for its astonishing light display. This number, alone, was enough to give the production a WOW factor of 10 but it was only one of many. ILuminate is the brainchild of Miral Kotb who sought to bring together her passions for dance and software engineering. She has been wildly successful with both. The next featured performance at the Kimmel Cultural Campus will be Love Never Dies (October 2-7, 2018) at the Academy of Music. For more information, see www.kimmelcenter.org.