Dance Review: Dante Puleio Dance Festival

 

Dante Puleio kicked off his festival with a refreshing approach; a minute long “mockumentary” on dance and dancers. He quickly moved into Untouched and the audience obliged anxiously awaiting the performance to come. 

Dante set the piece to music by The Veronica’s, which started with 80’s pop and transitioned into 80’s punk.  He created a piece on seven dancers who beautifully displayed Dante’s frequent use of circular arm gestures. The group began a little substandard, but they quickly pulled it together and showed off Dante’s vigorous choreography.   

Next to perform was Jonathon Fredrickson and six dancers in moments from The Edge of Some World.  Jonathon’s creation exuded an apprehensive exploration through space.  The dancers began in silence, while moving horizontally across stage.  The choreography developed and moved into a beautiful duet of codependence; a display of the desire to overcome.  

There was one more choreographer in the evening’s events and that was Phoebe Kelly.  Translate to Now was a duet with a beautiful live bass accompanist and recorded vocals.  This was a standard duet as the two dancers mirrored each other and progressed slowly.  However, the couple became intensely sensual and commanding, which agreeably brought the piece to a close.

Dante completed the festival with two more appealing works, Won’t Back Down and 7 Degrees of Separation.  Won’t Back Down was done with acoustic guitar and much like his other works he incorporates fluid movement with gestures of the arms and upper body.  Nonetheless, he created shapes and movement that kept the audience intrigued.  For 7 Degrees of Separation, Dante’s fluid style folded nicely into itself.  The music, strong and engaging, this piece’s execution overall was nice. 

Dante is one of New York’s emerging talents on the dance scene.  I would be curious to see more work from him as he grows and explores the rest of the body using his intriguing fluid arm movements he has established as his signature style.  All and all, the evening was delightful.  Kudos to all the dancers and choreographers who have participated in the Puleio Dance Festival.

Photos courtesy of Puleio Dance Festival

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by: Caroline Banks
Performance: Puleio Dance Festival
Choreographers:  Dante Puleio, Jonathon Fredrickson, Phoebe Kelly
Venue:  American Theater of Actors, Chernuchin Theater
Performance Date:  May 14, 2009
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Dance Review: Alonzo King, Change We Can Believe In

If you think all ballet looks the same, that is all centuries old or even died with Balanchine- think again.  See Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet and you will see things you have never seen.  You will continue to see in each moment things you have never witnessed and that you will never see in the same way again, and it will make you think.

Alonzo King is a god of the dance world, a contemporary classical dance genius.  Hearing him speak about dance is like listening to Obama about change, or Martin Luther King Jr. about equality, or Nelson Mandela about freedom.  I say “god” because he is ultimately a creator of something beyond comprehension.  Mr. King connects on a deeper intrinsic level to the human soul.

His craftsmanship is evidenced in the eloquent calligraphy written with his dancers, who own up to his choreography embracing each movement and expressing it within each owns physical voice.  Watching one dancer pirouette, spiraling the spine signaling a head roll continuously flowing into the next technical element, one is amazed by the seamless quality of the choreography.  Each dancer executes the movement with extreme focus, in tune with the highest life forces.  The dancers themselves are freaks of nature, but no movement is for show.  There is a higher purpose. 

Alonzo King’s choreography emphasizes dynamics: sustaining a position then becoming a blur of momentum, sharp and angular projections to swirling internally driven spirals.

In Dust and Light, King creates an exquisite piece with minimal costuming showing-off the beauty of the dancers’ body; the dancers are super human.  Organic, embodying life essences, they are also acutely aware of each other, pacing the stage, watching the given soloist with full attention.  Dancers exit the wings not as if they are leaving the stage, but purposefully, as if bound for an exotic journey.  It thrills to see dancers who push past their own limits, constantly challenging themselves to do more.  The dancers lack self consciousness, slipping almost falling a few times as they strive to out-do themselves, yet lost in the extremity of the movement.  

One of my favorite moments of the evening is in Rasa, one of King’s most popular repertory pieces.  In this signature jewel there is a wonderful duet in which the male and female interchangeably manipulate the other.  Beautiful variations of same movement convey a sense of struggle for equal playing field between the male and female.  Another interesting moment with the choreography occurs when two couples take the stage, but the partnering is unique- the two females are together, and the two males together. 

Balanchine believed that dance was an art beautiful for its own sake.  For him, ballet could have a story, though he is probably more known for his abstract ballets that emphasize beautiful shapes rhythmically coinciding with beautiful music.  Alonzo King’s choreography takes this a step further, challenging his dancers to make beautiful shapes that are distinct and descriptive.  Crawling on pointe, a dancer captures the elegant gait of a cougar.  The soft shape of a dancer’s hand signals the delicate leafing process of a tree in springtime. 

LINES Ballet is a beautiful must-see company of artists, a mainstay and powerful current in the world of modern concert dance.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Lea McGowan
Performance: Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet
Choreography:  Alonzo King
Venue: The Joyce Theater, New York City
Performance Date:  Tuesday, May 5, 2009
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Dance Review: Botanica Does Mother Nature Justice

As I walk away from The Joyce Theater thinking about the spectacle I have just witnessed, I have an epiphany: "Moses Pendleton is the kind of beacon that throws a heavy blanket of inspiration over dancers and non-dancers alike, bringing the world together with his art."  As my boyfriend walks out of the theater with me, he immediately tweets "Momix is amazing - go see their show!".  This non-dancer man is just as inspired as me as he rambles on and on about his favorite pieces of the night, the cool use of props and an interesting take on Mother Nature's gifts. 

Even though Mr. Pendleton tends to put the focus on the "show" factor in which the company showcases the brilliance of the concept as a whole (lights, costumes and props), the majority of the special effects enhance and showcase the dancers’ talents.  The moments when the dancers get to show off their full majesty are a little sparse for my liking, as it's evident that these dancers have beautiful classical technique bubbling under the surface.  At times, I see the girls standing in an effortless turned out fifth with an uber-expressive port de bras that makes me want to see so much more "pure dance" without bigger than life headpieces/skirts (Marigolds) or hoses tethered to their arms (Night Crawlers).  Don't get me wrong, I think these pieces are one of a kind, but they also hold the dancers back from fully using their bodies.   Of course, the same thing that makes me say, "Hold back on the props because I want more dance!"  also makes me say "What a beautiful picture!" and "How original!"

Pendleton features soloists in a fashion that always entails extensive reliance on the props, but as mentioned before, these props tend to enhance the dance and not detract from it.  In Glass Awakening, all of Sarah Nachbauer's expressive movements are replicated by a mirror wedge sloped toward the audience, the reflections allowing everyone in the audience to see each image that's formed.  Ms. Nachbauer's reflection emphasizes the finesse and control in her movements as she duets with herself while executing slow dévelopées to the side and simple yet expressive port de bras.  Many times, she looks at her reflection and touches it with much love and admiration as if she is Narcisuss, while other times, she quickly looks away in fear.  The solo ends as she slowly sinks down behind the sloped wedge, the sound of a rippling pool of water echoing in our ears. 

Cassandra Taylor, performing Beaded Web, is another commendable soloist who uses her prop to bring her to new heights.  Ms. Taylor's turning capability is highlighted because she must continue turning throughout the entire piece in order to keep sets of beads that form trains down the sides of her body levitated and spinning - at times, the beads spin so fast they look like a helicopter's propeller or a humming bird's wings, almost non-existent.  Ms. Taylor takes down her hair from her ballet-bun at the very end of the piece as the lights fade out on her hair spinning with the beads creating the illusion that her hair and the beads are one.

These dancers are absolute firecrackers.  Quickly changing from ethereal, soft movement to chaîné-jetés across the stage with a spot so sharp one almost doesn't see the head turn, there is no telling what the next piece will bring.  The firecracker movement in New Green shows how brisk and precise these dancers are.  With only the the forearms and the bottom half of the legs glowing in an otherwise dark theater, three women dance a dance of shapes created by joining these glow-in-the-dark pieces together.  A larger than life ballet dancer, formed with only the forearms of the dancers, does tendus with the fiercest cashew foot you have ever seen.  Flamingos are formed and peck at each other before quickly transforming into swans.  My personal favorite moment is when all of the glow-in-the-dark parts come together to create a big sad face that quickly turns into a smiley face whose eye quickly winks at the audience before exiting the stage.

Momix's use of wind machines coupled with fabric is absolutely stunning!  The show begins with a windy winter storm and proceeds to a summer storm opening the second act.  In Frozen Land, dancers gradually rise up from beneath the silk-like material that is made to look like snow as the 'winter storm wind' creates ripples that run through it from one side of the stage to the other.  Still fully entrenched, shapes of bodies run toward the blowing wind before vanishing in thin air.  The collaboration of wind, choreography and fabric creates a surreal Dali-esque picture; the fabric-masked dancers only slightly resemble humans.  When the dancers drop down to the ground from the force of the storm, the tall snow-ripples make it look as though there is no longer a body underneath the material, creating the illusion that the shape has magically disappeared.

In Summer Storm, the thunderstorm soundtrack and undulating pieces of blue and white fabric create a severe storm before us, including a twin pair of tornadoes that two men create as they quickly spin the flag-like contraptions around themselves.  The female dancers make quick jeté passes in between the brewing storm clouds as they try to outrun the storm like fleeing birds.

Last Leaf is another praiseworthy creation involving the collaboration of material and multimedia.  Jon Eden gallantly carries on his back a white "leaf" as tall as the proscenium.  This leaf is tethered to Jon like a feather backpack on a Vegas showgirl.  He has the ability to open and close the leaf so that it goes from being as wide as 75% of the stage to looking like a closed Chinese fan.  The lights go down so that the multi-media is brightly projected only on the moving leaf.  As he bends forward, the leaf ripples toward the audience, catching different aspects of the pictured multi-media as it drops to the ground.  Jon Eden shows impressive control when he turns to the side, slowly waving the leaf forward to the ground and then backwards in a deep hinge.

Mr. Pendleton's injection of humor is sublime.  In Bird, Tsarra Bequette, dressed as a bird without a head, makes a couple of quick darts across the stage before pausing, "looking" at the audience to get her laugh and hurriedly running off in a perplexed manner.  The bird costume is 'miniskirt short', flaunting a pair of female legs as this bird daintily scurries, flicks, coupés and bourrées. 

There are instances of humor splashed all over the show, as I continually hear snickers and laughs coming from the audience, myself included.  Many of these absurd and quirky moments follow impassioned moments, showing off Pendleton's balancing act of equally highlighting the beauty found in both the absurd and the profound.  The absurd combines with the practical when a man dressed as a snail crawls slowly across the stage dragging a heavy load - a bright green snail shell ten times bigger than his body.  Just when the audience snickers and assumes that this is just another short-lived comedic cameo, an insect-man is revealed behind the snail shell as Mr. Snail continues his slow journey off stage.  Insect man joins another man gliding across the stage with one foot strapped into a rollerskate in Insex.  Joshua Christopher and Rob Laqui do a fine job portraying hungry insects as they sharply expand and contract their ribcage and open and close their mouths while they search for grub.

Nudity is to Botanica as a daffodil is to spring - organic and aesthetically pleasing.   In Old Bones, Sarah Nachbauer portrays a cave woman who befriends a living Triceratops skeleton, one of Michael Curry's puppet designs that proves that he has scored once again with his puppet and prop creations for Momix.  Ms. Nachbauer frolics with the dinosaur that she believes is her friend before being consumed by it, writhing inside of its ribcage.  Rob Laqui comes alive after resting on one of the two rock piles, both of which come alive and wrap themselves like boa constrictors around the caveman .  After a dramatically harsh struggle, Mr. Laqui overcomes the menacing rock piles that have been clinging to his body and dances a beautiful duet with Ms. Nachbauer after she has successfully freed herself of the now dead Triceratops.  Ancient Stones is full of sweeping lifts and primitive longing as their pre-historic, half nude bodies melt into one another. 

God's Hammer reveals every member in the company as a blooming nude rose.  Flesh piles onto one another in a pattern as intricate as overlapped rose petals, mirroring the image of a red rose projected behind the bodies. They bloom and reach for the sun before closing in on one another as the rose withers.

What better way to connect every kind of person than to accentuate the natural symmetries, rituals and behaviors of the planet Earth?  Moses Pendleton not only links traits of the Earth together to create an extravaganza of dance and media, but also reveals caricatures of certain aspects of the natural world, bringing humor and a unique perspective on the Earth that we live on.  Pendleton stains a lasting imprint of Momix's Botanica in the mind of the viewer with this unparalleled evening of Mother Nature's quirks, by way of unmistakable genius with just the right twist of humor.

Bravo to all of the dancers for an intriguing performance: Jon Eden, Steven Marshall, Rob Laqui, Donatello Iacobellis, Sarah Nachbauer, Simona DiTucci, Cassandra Taylor ,Tsarra Bequette, Joshua Christopher, and Jennifer Chicheportiche

Photos Courtesy of: Max Pucciariello and Don Perdue

iDANZ Critix Corner 
Official Dance Review by Adrienne Jean Fisher  
www.adriennejeanfisher.com
Choreographer: Moses Pendleton
Performance: Momix's Botanica
Venue: The Joyce Theater, New York City 
Date: May 13th, 2009  
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Manhattan Motion Saves the Dance

Manhattan Motion Dance Studio proudly presented its Spring Showcase , “Save The Dance” this weekend,  a celebration of recreational dance.  Nestled on the corner of 76^th and Broadway, way up on the 4^th floor of an elevator-less building, Manhattan Motion offers a free work-out as you must climb to the top! What a great feeling when I finally reached the top on Sunday and took my seat in the studio-turned-auditorium.

Gabrielle Taylor, studio owner, gave a quick welcome and was all smiles as she presented her loyal students.  These students range from early teens to adults who may not have dreams of gracing a Broadway stage, but definitely LOVE to dance, and do it quite well.  For the past months, they have worked a few days a week on producing the pieces for “Save the Dance”.  Family and friends were beaming with pride, armed with cameras!

The show featured Hip-Hop faculty Charlene Smith, Ryan Davis, and Andre Lee, who all not only choreographed but also performed in the show. Shanti Wargo also choreographed a hip-hop piece and was present to cheer on her students. Hip-hop students featured: Lismarys Arjona, Julie Betances, Ryan Davis, Yuki Masuda, Nanette Richardson, Jane Acierno, Natalie Browning, Katie Hamilton, Sara Joaquimsthaler, Luisa Bilboul, Ana Clemente, Anne Eller, David Hill, Tanya Williams, Mikelle Drew, Kerry Lewis, and Jayme Stevens.

There was one performer that I feel compelled to take note of, and that is beginner hip-hop dancer David Hill. Despite a mental handicap David was able to perform his hip-hop routine with commendable skill and drew a roaring applause from the supportive crowd. It was truly uplifting to realize that dance is available and healing to all people, no matter what career path we may have chosen, or the level of talents we are naturally given.

Manhattan Motion also boasts a number of belly dance classes and showed off those sizzling, shimmying coin skirts with three different belly dance pieces. Two were choreographed by faculty member Joharra, and one was a solo by student Heather Newman. Gabrielle joked about having to sweep up the coins that break loose from the skirts after each piece! Belly dancers: Kara Marceda, Heather Newman, Dina Plotch, and choreographer Joharra.

Gabrielle Taylor brings us into a world of lyrical jazz with Mea Culpa, using the four dancers as spiritual beings who begin and end the piece hiding under sheer pink sheets of fabric. Dancers Jenna DiMartino, Julie LeBlanc, Yuki Masuda, and Julia Prosser captured the eerie essence of the piece. Before her closing production number, Gabrielle Taylor improvised a solo entitled Two Minutes. She explained that she impulsively decided to do it and hadn’t rehearsed at all, beyond listening to the music. It turned out to be a beautiful piece of art!

Finally, a throng of jazz students took the stage for Retro the Funk, a medley of Michael Jackson songs! The dance boasted many elements, including quick costume changes and props! My favorite may have been the THRILLER section! Jazz dancers: Keara Albert, Charisse De Los Reyes, Emily Frey, Amanda Goodman, Stephanie Kamiel, Julie LeBlanc, Kerry Lewis, Jennie Macker, Yuki Masuda, Julia Prosser, Maureen Williams.

At the final bow, the students returned to collect their applause. At Manhattan Motion, you will not find self-absorbed professional dancers. You will find a supportive, loving community of people who just love to dance. This is what I loved so unbelievably much about this performance. It celebrated dance. It celebrated community. It celebrated the feelings we get when we let go of our inhibitions, try new things, and allow ourselves not to be judged, and even... to save the dance. 

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Sheena DiMatteo
Performance: Manhattan Motion "Save the Dance" Spring Student Showcase
Choreography:  Gabrielle Taylor, Ryan Davis, Charlene Smith, Joharra, Andre Lee, Marguerite Hemmings, Heather Newman, Shanti Wargo
Venue: Manhattan Motion (76 n Broadway) 4th Floor
Date:  Sunday May 17, 2009
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Dance Review: Avant-Garde-Arama Goes Askew

Remembering the Future of Art in NYC

P.S. 122 is one of my favorite venues. Located in the East Village since 1980, it continues to carry that era's attitude of daring disregard for the mainstream. As the venue's longest running series (spanning 25 years), Avant-Garde-Arama is a thread between the then and the now, and the next now. This year they join forces with Theatre Askew, giving the show a LGBT twist.

Eccentric hosts Bianca Leigh and Everett Quinton comically over exaggerate their dependency on note cards to introduce the first piece, a film "Black & White Study" by Peter Cramer. Both comical and sincere, this silent film on 16mm depicts a relationship between a black man and a white man, switching the image back and forth between the two in the nude, black and then white, until they finally connect and join in acrobatic kamasutra cleverly obscured by the split of the split screen.

Professional cabaret performer, Daniel Isengart, gives a performance that is almost too good. A stunningly beautiful man, he opens with a European style cabaret song, then sits at his dressing room table and gives an autobiographical account of growing up as a man who identifies more with doing the things that women do. His calculated captivating performance reveals that he has had plenty of practice manipulating audiences. I question if it's genuine while falling for it at the same time.

I would expect for the only dance company of the evening to bust out some serious "dance", and I'm actually glad that they didn't. Irene Ruiz-Riveros builds her choreography for BLISS Dance-Theatre Company out of theatrical facial expressions and gestures, rather than jetés and fouettés, and within the context of the evening, it works.

Following intermission is an audience participation performance. In "Forty Second Street" each volunteer gets forty seconds of fame, a chance to get up on stage and do whatever they want for forty seconds. I briefly consider volunteering, then giving myself a rave review, but decide against it.

Both Bianca Leigh, and Theatre Askew, show excerpts from upcoming shows; comical and absurd, they show good things to come. The final performance of the evening is a brilliantly written and performed one-woman skit "The Last Artist in New York City". Karen Grenke tells an NYC artist's story, teaching art, working so hard to maintain life in the city that she hasn't made any art in four years. The piece is packed with clever comments about how NY has changed since the 80's, hitting home with the long time New Yorkers in the audience.

The evening leaves me with thoughts about NY and where this city is going. I think of venues like P.S. 122 as survivors of the corporate epidemic, an endangered species, the last of its kind. But as I consider the situation longer, I'm filled with new hope. Perhaps the "recession" will allow real art to seep back into the city, and it will be the underground, counterculture of the 2010's that people are reminiscing about in the future. Or perhaps I'm crazy. I thank P.S. 122 and Avant-Garde-Arama for reminding us where we're going.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Julie Fotheringham
Performance: Avant-Garde-Arama Goes Askew
Venue: P.S. 122, New York City
Date: May 15, 2009
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Dance Review: Christopher Williams Explores Sainthood with The Golden Legend

Christopher Williams is brilliant! His epic piece, The Golden Legend, ranges from the gruesome to the divine with a little light-hearted fun woven in. The piece includes three hours of brilliant dancing,
puppetry, theater, and live music. Williams’ attention to detail is astounding and his passion shines through every aspect of the evening. He even translates the lyrics of the songs in the program notes and tells us the stories of the 17 saints that we will see come to life through the lens of his wild imagination. The cast includes some of the greatest male dancers working today and every single one of them brought their A-game!

Of note is Stuart Singer, playing a stunning Saint Eustace, patron Saint of Hunters. Wearing large antlers, he enters corralled by a wolf and a lion. Singer dances exquisitely; technically adept, yet
gritty and earthy. With swift and powerful legs, he fights off an attack by the wolf and lion and the solo concludes with a tiny puppet messiah climbing Singer’s antlers and opening his arms in a vision of
the crucifixion.

Another standout is Reid Bartelme, portraying Saint Giles, patronsaint of cripples and beggars. He appears as a strange amalgam of man and deer, with a red-painted face and large animal ears. A deer puppet enters, seeming quite life-like, wagging her tiny tail. She encourages Saint Giles to suckle from her which brings him to life. Bartleme is vulnerable, yet strong; using his expressive face and body in a poignant series of long balances which undulate one to the next
with his twisting torso. A hunting party finds the pair and, though at first Saint Giles is able to fend them off, eventually the hunters fire an arrow at the deer. Bartelme shields the deer with his body, but the arrow strikes him through the hand. As the doe looks on, her savior dies a slow, heart-wrenching death.

Paul Singh is smooth as silk, beautifully playing Saint Paul the hermit. He begins with mysterious whispers in an ancient tongue coupled with fluid floor work; his woven collar and skirt covering his face. Singh captivates, slipping seamlessly between silly and serious, drawing the audience ever more deeply into the character. At one point he uses his amazing sense of timing in a sequence of facial contortions, changing his emotions as quickly and easily as he changes his expression. Singh really goes there and we go there with him.

Throughout the entirety of The Golden Legend, Williams encourages us to dream and to believe in those things we cannot see; from tortured martyrs to mad hermits to Santa Claus. His vision is complex, but he realizes it so completely that we, the audience, are able to embrace it without doubt or disbelief. Every aspect of the performance is extravagant and complete; the dancing, puppetry, theater, live music, lighting and amazing costumes all come together to create a deep and fulfilling world. This may be the event of the year. See this dance!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Hope Davis
Performance: Christopher Williams
Choreography: Christopher Williams
Venue: Dance Theater Workshop, New York City Performance
Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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Dance Review: Dancers-You Can Fly!

Fly-By-Night Dance Theater presents NYC Aerial Dance Festival 2009at the JCC in Manhattan, and the title of the show not only does not lie, but brings a truth to the convergence of aerial art and dance art that is totally groundbreaking.  The Goldman-Sonnenfeldt Auditorium (AKA the JCC in Manhattan) is a tiny black box with high ceilings (one reason this venue has been chosen for the show) totally packed with excited patrons waiting for the imminent aerial spectacles as the one hanging rope down center stage teases us in its blatant foreshadowing.

Starting out the show is not an aerial act, but a host.  He says, in more or less words (definitely more words), "Are you ready for what you are about the see?"  All of a sudden, the fourth wall has officially been broken (not typical for a concert dance show) because Mike is not saying these words in vain.  He actually wants a response from the audience; the theatre's patrons look at one another quizzically.  After he finally gets an answer from us (a hesitant and "feeling like we are being treated like kindergarteners" yes), he introduces the first aerial piece of the evening and walks offstage, although this is certainly not the last we have seen of this man.

three times, choreographed and performed by Kristin Geneve Young, kick starts the show to the sound of a ticking clock as she corroborates her virtuosity on the corde lisse. This piece is the epitome of a fusion of creative concept, musicality and integration of dance into tricky rope sequences. three times opens with Kristin hanging at the top of the rope in a black unitard, showing off her muscular prowess.  A metronome sits ticking back and forth on a stool upstage left.  Ms. Young shocks the audience when she takes a stroll with flexed feet in time with the tick-tocks around in a circle as if she is lying flat on a ticking clock on a plane perpendicular to the ground.  As she swings back and forth in a knot  at the bottom of the rope, created by the rope intertwined with her body, the image of a pendulum on a large grandfather clock comes alive on stage.  The lights fade out as the pendulum swings back and forth.  Kristin Young is an extraordinary choreographer who has brought choreographic enlightenment and a poignant movement dynamic to aerial dance.

Soon September, conceived and performed by Heather Hammond, is haunting in the way she uses mime and her imagination to create scenarios with a 2-point circus trapeze, in which the trapeze itself morphs into representations of different types of walls that exist in life.  At first, Ms. Hammond uses the rectangular shape that the two ropes and the seat of the swing create as a wall mirror as she puts on make-

-up facing the audience, looking sad.  Then, the trapeze becomes the wall between a clerk and customers as she performs transactions through the ropes.  After working as a clerk, she pushes this multi-faceted trapeze so that it swings back and forth slowly as she tries to chase it, always one step behind.  When she finally catches up to it and conquers the swing by climbing into it and swinging back and forth, we see her smile for the first time.  As she soars up and downstage on the trapeze, we see all of the tension that she has built up vanish.  She sits on the swing with her body hanging upside down facing the audience and gives us a beautiful display of her port de bras.  Heather Hammond is a master at incorporating a story into her work that is clear and moving.  She succeeds in bringing her trapeze to life, it representing work, play and self-perception.

Sara Joel floors me with her piece that seems to have been dedicated to the baby in her belly.  That's right!  Sara Joel is beautiful and pregnant all the while giving her baby the time of her/his life as this graceful aerial artist performs a self-choreographed piece called Surface.  She starts out in a transparent plexi-glass half sphere that she is balled up inside like a baby in a womb. The music, LaBarcheta and Neoclassical Moods, complements her dedication to her baby with soft, lullaby-esque melodies.  Ms. Joel gently reaches for the various points on the rim of the sphere and drapes herself on the top and on the bottom of the structure.  Her costuming, light blue pants and a light pink shirt that's tight at the bosom and falls open at the tummy) suggests that this baby could be a boy or a girl.  The choice to have the shirt expose the pregnant belly is perfect in that it immediately shows the parallel between the mother's pregnant state and the plexiglass sphere representing the very uterus that is holding the child inside her own womb.  In the end, Ms. Joel sits on the stage floor, looking up at the plexiglass sphere as it spins around and around.  The lights fade out on this image of her looking up at the spinning sphere/womb with a longing yet loving look on her face - a mother's love.

Julie Ludwick's choreography shines.  Set on the Fly By Night Dancers, Janet Alsawa, Kristin Hatleberg and Summer Tennyson Baldwin, I Can't Not brings the audience into the world of a one year old. (I Can't Not is inspired by Julie's child at the age of one.) This playful trio is colorful in their outfits and their joy.  Each movement exudes a wonderment and curiosity that bonds these three adults in memories of happy childhood and is infectious to the audience.  They play on the single point trapeze as if it is a jungle gym.  They continue to play in this playground as they accomplish such feats a shoulder stand to reach the top bar of the trapeze and a pig pile that follows a satisfying set on the trapeze. All three sporadically toss pieces of the brightly colored clothes around, watch the soaring brightly colored material mimic their own playful dancing. At times, the clothes fall draped on one another, including on appendages that spin around on the swing creating a baby mobile effect.  The lights fade out on all three dancer-aerialists as they strike a pose on the trapeze with all limbs pointing in different directions.  As it spins around slowly, one catches a glimpse of what a 1 year old baby sees as it lies in its crib looking up at a colorful abstract mobile,

spinning around and around. Bravo ladies for highlighting a wide eyed and curious innocence that we get to re-live through a vivid moving portrait of childhood play.

The host continues to play his guitar and speak to the audience in a question and answer type way that continues to catch us off-guard every time that he appears in between every piece.  I hear murmurs amongst the patrons that amount to, "Didn't we come to see dancers and aerialist tonight?"  The general consensus is that more than 10% of the show being taken up by this man's entertainment is a little bit much.  He croons his original songs and tells us stories such as the time he went to Vegas and rode on a Gravitron type machine, in which he felt like he was flying.  He actually gets down on the ground awkwardly with the mic in one hand showing us the exact position that he was in on this Vegas ride.  I see, in my periphery, people covering their faces wondering if this is supposed to be a joke or not.  The point of this demonstration is to start an audience-host interactive conversation about whether or not anyone has ever felt like they were flying.  One man hesitantly talks about his time parasailing after a long awkward silence.  When he finally introduces the opening piece after intermission, the curtain gets stuck, and as we sit there in the darkness, we hear over the speaker system, "Is anyone afraid of the dark...I can tell you another story.."  Just before he starts telling us ghost stories, the curtain opens much to the relief of the audience.

Anna Vigeland wins the award for getting the highest in the air and performing breathtaking feats such as accelerating faster and faster in a spin not too different from that of an ice-skater.  In Malra, the cloudswing rope that she works with is unique in that both ends are tethered to the ceiling, allowing her to wrap herself up in it and also lay in it like a hammock.  Anna's intense gaze completes every line, and her beauty shines against her simple costuming of black shorts and tank top.  Bravo for bringing simplicity to such heights!

De Anima uniquely uses a tall, pewter-esque rectanglar trapeze as the flying device.  Deena Marcum Frank and Aimee Hancock, as choreographers and as performers, conceptualize creating a living, moving picture inside the metal frame.  Their dark gray, romantic dresses and the ethereal music, Miracle, Mystery and Authority by Jòhann Jòhannsson, create a somber picture of a relationship as they reach for one another in between impressive positions and seamlessly partner inside and outside the trapeze picture frame. 

Nathan Dryden is the incarnation of meditation in Reach. Flaunting his bare white torso and bald head, he swings back and forth on a trapeze with intense driving concentration.  The tattoo on his upper back is a beacon of energy as his expressive upper back flaunts this circular design. Although deep concentration is evident, his whole body is in the deepest form of relaxation.  This is the ultimate achievement as an artist:  total control and strength unbridled from any tension or extreme effort.  Well done Mr. Dryden for this effortless performance with a creative, meditative take on aerial/dance choreography.

Jordann Baker closes out the evening with Entertainer, a piece performed to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit performed by the Vitamin String Quartet.  The only silk act of the evening, Ms. Baker's silks give her choreography an interesting edge as she twists herself into her baby pink silks that hang in two pillars straight down from the ceiling.  She craftily integrates floor-ography with movements on the silk that are not limited to but definitely highlight her splits (straddle and all!)  Many times during the piece, she tangles and then untangles herself in the silk to end in a split of some sort that it always impressive in its slightly hyper-extended nature.  Kudos to the costume designer Kae Burke for her beautiful design of a black lace unitard with a very flattering neck and back line. 

Much to everyone's surprise, after everyone bows the host does not come back out before the audience to get another couple of words in or sing us another song.  It is understandable that the show needs some kind of filler as the rigging is being set up behind the curtain, but this host's shtick is a little extreme in the length of the songs and the constant prodding of the audience.  Host aside, Fly By Night is a stunning spectacle of aerialists.  This evening's program has proven that aerial dance is alive and living in New York City, and that the creative concepts that are born upon integration of flying and dance are limitless.

All Photos Courtesy of Fred Hatt

iDANZ Critix Corner

Official Dance Review by Adrienne Jean Fisher
www.adriennejeanfisher.com

Performance: Fly-by-Night Dance Theater Presents: The NYC Aerial Dance Festival 2009

Choreographer:  Julie Ludwick, Sara Joel, Jordann Baker, Heather Hammond, Kristin Geneve Young, MOTH Aerial Dance, Deena Frank, Aimee Hancock, Nathan Dryden, Anna Vigeland

Venue: The JCC in Manhattan Goldman-Sonnenfeldt Auditorium

Performance Date:  Saturday May 9th, 2009 8:30 PM

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Dance Review: Make Room for a Ballerina’s Space!

The Ailey Group City Theatre has the reputation of 'any seat is a good seat' due to the intimate space and clear view of the stage. Lemon Sponge Cake is a rising contemporary company that sounds yummy, but I am not familiar with. Therefore, my seat has to be a 'good seat'. Choreographer and director Sher-Machherndl of Lemon Sponge Cake is closing his NYC premier of Liquid Space tonight. Prima- ballerina, Minna Tervamaki, is continuing her extensive contemporary study with Lemon Sponge Cake and accompanies Robert Sher-Mercherndl in the duet in the program. Both dancers are established as professional artists in Europe, but Lemon Sponge Cake has only had the opportunity to perform in Denver and Boulder in the States. This two-day performance in New York is a huge step for both the company and Robert and Minna, this being their first time performing in the Big Apple. I am not expecting tutus, frilly outfits and grand pas de deuxs, but I am looking forward to seeing creative twists on classical ballet and contemporary movement to be featured in this program.

Robert Sher- Machherndl starts on stage as a pedestrian. His long legs and arms have as much room as possible to move around as a soloist. The heartbeat of the music keeps him moving until the pulse stops. He shows off his beautiful, long profile. A game of hide and go seek is being imagined as Robert walks on and off stage with Minna following him. Minna appears on stage looking as strong as an ox! Her athletic ability as a dancer is obvious as each defined muscle is flexed and coordinated in her movement. She is wearing ballet flats and a two-piece black outfit. The simplicity in her outfit makes the choreography easier to visually understand. She starts her solo showing off such artistic influences as William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin and Glen Tetley. There is an edgy feel to her style of movement that captures Sher- Machherndl’s concept of Liquid Space.

Sher- Machherndl’s vision for Liquid Space is a catalyst for choreographers who use space and gravity to create new styles of contemporary movement. Minna's artistic ability to apply her classical ballet training to lyrical movement is Sher- Machherndl’s muse for Liquid Space. As the piece continues, Minna and Robert premiere on stage together. They use space to accept each others presence and explore new movement. Both dancers have the extraordinary ability to maintain their different style of movement while finding a medium that creates a bigger subject called Liquid Space. As the piece continues, the music becomes intense and so does Minna. She is able to maintain her technique but also turn in her hips, round in her shoulders and articulate her body in ways that most ballerinas are not capable of doing. Choreography is something that is taught, but I see Minna as an artist when she makes Robert’s movement her own. I see a beautiful woman onstage with a strong presence

and a masculine edge that carries the piece to new heights.

Ms. Tervamaki and Sher- Machherndl continue the duet with Minna on pointe shoes. Liquid Space continues for 45 minutes without an intermission, just seconds for Minna to catch her breathe. Her capability to keep up with the piece without any signs of tiredness impresses me the most. She wins the gold medal for stamina and persistence! As Minna continues to fight through space with her pointe shoes, Robert comes on stage demonstrating his ability as a dancer and a great partner. The movement would be a great challenge for most ballerinas, but Minna effortlessly adds her own interpretation that makes the piece exciting to watch.

The collaboration of European eclectic music and contemporary movement gets a warm welcome from New York viewers. As Robert Sher- Machherndl's choreography continues to develop, I foresee Lemon Sponge Cake being featured in venues during the summer. New York is always looking forward to new appearances from European companies. Choreographers in the US are highly competitive, always raising the stakes in their pieces. Due to his innovative material, Sher- Machherndl is on his way here.

Photo Courtesy of: David Andrews

iDANZ Critix Corner

Official Dance Review by Careitha Davis

Performance: Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet

Choreography: Robert Sher-Machherndl

Venue: The Ailey Citigroup Theatre, New York City

Performance Date: Wednesday, April 29^th, 2009

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Old Sea Dogs Never Die

A colossal dance and musical collaboration rocks the Joyce as the Stephen Petronio Company celebrates 25 years. If Trisha Brown, queen of quirky choreo, and Steve Paxton from Judson Church had a kid together, that kid would be Stephen Petronio. Not looking like he has been choreographing 25 years, Petronio's choreography on his company is fresh and relevant. In the dance world, he is like Hollywood royalty, having worked with major figures early in his dance career. Like Petronio, both Trisha and Paxton are mavericks. And, when I say he is a maverick, I’m not talking "shooting wolves from a helicopter" type of maverick. I’m talking about Petronio’s sustained artistic career as a risk taker. Despite his dance lineage, Petronio’s work is his own, a singular dance vocabulary. He has mastery over a richly fluid movement that is quite classical, although he has little classical dance training himself. When asked if his dancers are reflections of his own dancing, he replied:

I didn’t go to class and beat my feet like that but my brain beats like that.

Indeed it does. While the company celebrates 25 years at the Joyce, rather than trot out some ‘greatest hits’ (a sign that you are truly coasting), Petronio 

takes it to death con four. I Drink the Air Before Me is an ambitious undertaking that works much like a rock opera. The evening-length dance is inspired by a line from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Petronio’s work is flowing with drop dead gorgeous dance sections and the mercurial dynamism of a great score. Like the great retro-movies about the modern age (Willy Wonka or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) it has lots of moving parts that bathe the eye in movement, color and sound. 

Nico Muhly lavish original score was banged out live by a phenom of a quintet upstage and the heavenly voices of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. On the whole, the performance effort feels a bit under rehearsed as was discussed during the Q&A after the show. However, it is difficult to imagine contemporary dance company having the luxury of time in this current economic climate. Petronio pushes to present—LIVE—twelve dancers, a conductor/composer, a quintet and a large choir perform at the level of say a national company from the EU. Still, all in all, Petronio is a process person, and is quite pleased with the efforts of his whirlwind collection of dancers, musicians, singer’s and other creative collaborators. Surprisingly, some have been with him nine years while others a mere three months. I truly believe it will be a critical success once it gets its sea legs fully under it.

After you enter the Joyce, Petronio, the ‘salty dog’, is barking orders to his crew. He is dressed the part from head to toe by Cindy Sherman. His old sea-captain's scruff is complete with a bright red, sunburned neck. He is aided by a first mate in a yellow rubber coat and rain hat. He passes out little cards on which are the words to an evening song, which is a consecration of church bells.

One day tells its tale to another…

The dancers are busy about the stage with a large sail being pulled across the front. The rigging, which both mirrors sea life and the theatrical world of stage hands, is flown overhead extending the space into the audience as it creates one large ship. Finally, Petronio climbs a large scaffold to the top of the proscenium and observes as the storm begins one dancer at a time. 

A dancer enters with stripped leggings and what appears to be long, trailing warming-underwear on top. She is flanked by two men wearing long navy blue trench coats and sea-grey 'long john style' underwear. They glide across the stage like water drips down a windshield. The long legs of the dancer extend slowly both showing the lines of the body and continuing the movement. The heavy costume doesn’t detract at all, but lends credibility to hardships of sea life. Petronio’s movement incorporates lots of contact partnering that, when combined with classical ballet, creates perpetual motion machines. Lifts are fully incorporated into his vocabulary and become the catalyst of more movement.

 

Nothing drops. Every body is lifted and as the musical score intensifies, so does the storm. The dancers start at a steady pace, and the movement is demanding. Twenty minutes in, they are breathing hard, but Petronio and Muhly continue full speed ahead. Past the point of exhaustion, the work continues, and the bodies melt into movement. Two standouts in the dream cast are Gino Grenek and Tara Lorenzen. Each of Grenek’s solos comes with this wave of energy that extends through the space to touch the back wall. Grenek's body cuts through air, and his awareness that he is being watched makes each line perfect. Today, too few dancers understand a 'face forward' or how to 'work the back'. He carves his space out of the center even in large ensemble sections. Like a water sprite, Tara Lorenzen is not bound by gravity. A Purchase BFA grad, she dances from the heart and has an amazing facility in the fast, athletic phrases.

The marathon continues, and the seven movements in the score keep ramping up. One beautiful duet follows a stunning trio completed by sweeping movement sections. Some of the gesture-laden movement incorporates fists and pointing fingers. Petronio blends theatrical ballets, such as Jerome Robbins Fancy Free, with irreverent movements from country line dancing. In a Popeye stance, three dancers look to each other and shake their heads. They drop into a low second and lean back shaking their fists. Finally, they kick up their heels as if about to square dance. These 'less classical' movements are like child’s play; you cannot see the design behind it, only the product of an exuberant mind. Petronio has a freedom of expression that marks all great choreographers. They just can’t shut up the creation of movement after movement and one great idea after the next. 

I Drink the Air Before Me showcases great classical technique with creative structure and a magical score. It is fluid like a long run-on sentence. You have the sense that you are witness to an event—a ritual even—as the overarching design seems consecrated by a higher power. Towards the end, the choir rejoins the group upstage ringing hand bells, adding another juicy layer to the composer/conductor and his rocking quintet. At this point, the dancers have been dancing non-stop for over an hour, and they continue by entering the space one by one, the ensemble dancing to the upstage direction. 

One day tells its tale to another

One night imparts knowledge to another

Although they have no words or language

And their voices are not heard

Their sound has gone out into all lands

And their message to the ends of the world

As the choir sings the words on the card, Petronio’s Captain Ahab character passes out, leaving the audience sitting in amazement. Not fully able to digest all that is witnessed on stage, I swallow hard, take a deep breath and try to drink it all in. Petronio has a way with movement, large collaborations and touching his audience. I am moved.

Photos by: Quinn Batson (1st photo top left) and Steven Schreiber

iDANZ Critix Corner 

Official Dance Review by Sasha Deveaux 

Performance:  Stephen Petronio Company 

Choreography:  Stephen Petronio

Original Score:  Nico Muhly

Venue: The Joyce Theater, New York City 

Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 7:30pm 

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Emerging newsteps Talent Needs Not Bells and Whistles to Shine

The wonderful Mr. Chen welcomes us back to his dance center for the second installment of their semi-annual dance series newsteps, featuring new choreographers’ budding works. While risk-taking innovation is at the heart of the series, the use of audio and non-dance visuals always runs the chance of taking over the show, and in some instances it does. But when the newsteps dancers dance, and do not rely on externals to create an experience, it is then they really shine.

 

A chair with its back tied with rope and appended to Tomikawa in Linkage does not pose a problem; it exemplars supplementary material auxiliary to the whole. Inspired by the distance of the relationship between the choreographer and her family, Tomikawa starts out sitting in a chair, as loud claps of thunder echo her internal struggle. Leaving the chair, Tomikawa, connected to the rope, summons a palpable energy on stage, exuding a current of juices of which the youthful dancer may have only an inchoate understanding. Her technical prowess and exceptional flexibility make it a privilege to watch her grow through struggle before us.

 

Transitioning from ecstasy-inducing simplicity, we venture into Kim’s affected and complicated multi-media work combining dance, martial arts, theatrical text and video. Based on the poetry of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s work of the same title, DICTEE is backdropped by an overhead projector that often shows a woman writing in cursive with narration complimentary to the visual. Kim stomps and rambles incoherencies, matching the maniacal scribblings of the overpowering screen behind her. Kim most likely attempts to bring the audience into a world of historic chaos; though she succeeds, such a synthesis of elements would have said more had they done less. The overpowering projector and narration overshadows Kim’s moves; except for a kick-up from her back to her feet, the choreography proves less than memorable. The screen behind her changes a few times, noting Joan of Arc and the Japanese War, but all allusions seem to muddle together. The dance artistry of DICTEE is simply lost by too much going on behind and around the dancer.

 

Similarly, the dancing in Ortega Tanus’ Inside the Blue is drowned out by overzealous accompaniment. The incessant ringing of a bell, something akin to a tuning fork, takes over, and the audience’s only reprieve of this jarring sound are other horrible reverberations one might hear from Freddy Kruger’s boiler room. Though the piece aims “to create a stimulation of the mind resulting in confusion and insanity,” the audience should be given a glimpse into this scary dark world, instead of being held hostage there. If only the sounds were more subtle and the performance depended less upon them, Patricia Dominguez’ movements could have alluded to confusion and insanity without worsening the audience’s headache from the audio-visual frenzy in the preceding work. Dominguez’ puts her hand over her mouth as if she is going to vomit, covers her head as if she has a headache and at the end, curls up on the floor, bringing knees to chest; this is all well and good, but the audience fails to empathize because we’re made to feel just as horrible—and not in a deep kind of way, but in a disturbing one, derived from brain-curdling sound effects from the loud speakers. Inside the Blue would indeed be more artful if it weren’t too often just noise.

 

Who’s in Charge by Cornfield Dance gives us dancing! Alluding to the emotional dynamics underlying interpersonal relations, this work starts with the attractive 40-something Ellen Cornfield stage-front in balletic attire. She’s reading a book, then announces “7, 8, 9” and two youthful dancers, Caitlin Scranton and Megan Krauszer, paint the stage with their talent. Scranton’s articulate movement and power complement the apt Krauszer, whose energetic sweetness stimulates the audience from the stage. Previously in step, the pair dissociate, playing out power dynamics as Cornfield steps aside; the pair strike a kinetic balance between grace and athleticism that make clear their passion and spot-on training.

 

The highlight of this newsteps series is Tony Bordonaro of Glitterati. In his work with Heather Jeane Favretto, To new chapters even when the bookends, the delectable duo dance to Simon and Garfunkel, raising and meeting our expectations each step of the way. Effortlessly beautiful on stage, the pair’s lithe bodies in muted shades of beige organically intermingle. The interconnectedness of love is fully illustrated, down to even the truism of one partner less invested in the relation (Favretto). It’s not that Favretto is less than amazing, as much as Bordonaro’s remarkable depth; he details the prickling feelings of love in which we desire dissociation from our bodies to become souls that are free. The fruits of love—attachment, union, feelings of forever and friendship—are exposed on stage; the audience is reminded of their inherent innocence, as love without fear materializes before our very eyes.

 

Innovation and risk are intrinsic to newsteps; all growth in life may be as well. But in dance as well as in life, risk and innovation should be a challenge to the core of human character. It is all too easy for the “bells and whistles” at our disposal to make our lives less true and more convoluted. This is not to say that non-dancer resources (sound effects, projectors, etc.) do not have a place in the art of dance; instead, such accompaniment should be used with an artful hand. As said, when the newsteps dancers dance, they shine and offer spectators insight into the mysterious, marvelous and often miraculous world of human experience. Such dazzling dance as an exploration of the internal landscape is indeed most complementary to the understated charm of Mr. Chen and his enchanting dance center.

 

Photos courtesy of: Matthew Wright and Daniella Halsema

 

iDANZ Critix Corner

Official Dance Review by Joe Damiano

Performance: Newsteps 2 at The Chen Dance Center

Choreography: Akiko Tomikawa, Soomi Kim, Guillermo Ortega Tanus

Ellen Cornfield, Megan Krauszer, Caitlin Scranton Glitterati

Venue: The Chen Dance Center, New York City

Performance Date:  Thursday, April 30-May 2, 2009

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