On Wednesday night, I (along with several hundred other students) made my way to Morgan Auditorium to watch the Dance Alabama performances. As someone whose dancing abilities would probably land him in a Tosh.0 segment were they ever to be put on YouTube, anyone who can dance with any degree of ability can sufficiently impress me. However, “impressed” is not the word I would use to describe what I was during and after the show.

“Wonderstruck” would be more accurate.

Yes, I was impressed with the technical difficulty of some of the dancers’ moves. Yes, I enjoyed (most of) the musical selections of the evening. What truly made the show a great experience was the absolute passion that the performers communicated to the audience in every individual dance.

More specifically, the emotions and feel of the music were reflected perfectly in the choreography and individual performances. Be it in the primal, sinister beats of “Bird Flu” or the stark beauty of Jeff Buckley’s cover of “Hallelujah,” the form of the dance followed that of the music on several, often subtle, levels.

As a songwriter, I love it when another songwriter has something to say and says it with clarity and power. These incredible dancers and choreographers of UA delivered their respective messages without writing a single word or note of music, using only their own bodies and those of their fellow performers.

They took someone with no interest in the world of dance and held every ounce of his attention for every minute of the show. The great dancers in this show should be damn proud of what they’ve put on for their fellow students, and the rest of us in attendance should be damn proud to have witnessed it.

Ben Nims is a freshman majoring in English.