The CSUEB Theater and Dance Department attempted to push participants and audience members past their comfort zones last Friday night, showing that the art of dance is universally inclusive, even to those who feel excluded from other forms of expression.

Ice-X is an experimental dance performance project, said producer Eric Kupers at the show on Dec. 8th.

The performance, separate from the department’s annual winter showcase Ice, was meant to “take bold risks, blur boundaries, and research new performance forms with passion.”

Performers accomplished this not only through their choreography, but also through their set design and musical selections.

Even the programs were an experiment: with only a title and date on a blank sheet of paper, audience members received crayons and were asked to create their own based on their impressions.

Acts were created and rehearsed in several Theater and Dance classes, including the Inclusive Interdisciplinary Ensemble, Dance for All Bodies and Abilities and Beginning Modern Techniques.

Some students in the show said they never thought that they would be dancing before a theater audience, and that they probably wouldn’t have if it were never required of them.

The majority of the show featured live spoken word poetry, rhythms, or lyric-less, operatic vocal melodies instead of pre-recorded music.

The first act was a bizarre scene from Kupers’ forthcoming musical theater project, “Arthur in Underland” and featured extensive use of props and dialogue to advance a confusingly abstract and metaphorical plot.

There seemed to be too much happening on stage to focus on any one point; what one could assume to be the main character moved through the environment gracefully in the style of modern dance, while other characters simultaneously sang and moved around in darker sections of the stage.

The performing group, called the Inclusive Interdisciplinary Ensemble, featured dancers of all ages and abilities; supporting character roles were supplied by one dancer in a wheelchair, one with autism spectrum disorder, several young children and dance students including “Mr. CSUEB” Benny Avalos.

A theme of the evening was that every person can dance, and the All Bodies and Abilities class continued this theme as mostly freshmen showcased routines they choreographed based on a set of a few predetermined moves.

Each group was allowed to select their own musical accompaniment and they all worked the prescribed motions into their routines in a unique way.

Other classes showcased dance assignments in which they would tell a story from history, such as the arrival of the Spanish in the Americas and the following impact on native life.

MC responsibilities were passed between Kupers and his teaching assistants, who also represented a diverse pool of dancers.

Toward the end of the performance, the audience was warned that the next act would require some crowd participation. The finale concluded with dancers reaching out into the audience and inviting spectators to join them on the studio floor for a truly inclusive final number.