Dance Review: The Richmond Ballet - Versatility and Seamlessness, The Whole Package

The Richmond Ballet's performance at The Joyce Theater on Wednesday night achieves a feat which few ballet companies can successfully pull off.  They manage to master the classical ballet aesthetic of clean, long lines in the first piece of the night, Violin, while demonstrating their contemporary and modern movement mastery with Misa Criolla.  The final piece of the evening, Vestiges is a fusion of the dancers' ballet and modern dance talents.  As the dance world progresses, we continue to see the necessity for dancers to be trained in a variety of dance forms.  It is more common now for ballet dancers to be versatile in modern dance and vice versa. The major difference between the Richmond Ballet and other companies is the dancers' ability to appear comfortable while performing dance styles long considered out of the ballet aesthetic element.

The first piece of the night, Violin, which was choreographed by Val Caniparoli, features ten dancers, five women and five men. The dancers are clad in simple hunter green costumes, leotards for the women, tights for the men.  The simplicity of the costumes coupled with the lack of storyline creates a modernist feel to the piece.  Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber provides the compelling violin music.  The men begin the dance in a ritualistic circular formation. Their movements are powerful and full of energy.  The dancers bend their wrists and place their arms in very specific shapes, adding to the rich texture of the choreography.  The lights dim and the women take their position in place of the men in the center of the stage.  The women all appear happy and upbeat as they fly through the air.  My favorite part of the performance is the seamless duets which are interspersed throughout the piece. The dancers move extremely well together, whether they are dancing as a group, in a trio, or in a duet.  I thoroughly enjoy watching Maggie Small because of her quickness and her flawless technique.  Thomas Ragland is also a thrill to watch.  It is evident that the dancers feel each other when they move together onstage.  Bravo! 

After intermission, we are introduced to the world of Misa Criolla.  In this piece choreographed by William Soleau, the dancers are wearing what appears to be peasant garb; the women are wearing shawls and dresses to their ankles.  The music gives the piece an archaic feel to it, with piercing operatic voices strewn in.  According to the program, this piece is about the ability of communities to collectively rise up above adversity and join forces in a shared bond of friendship.  The stage is bordered by wooden benches which the dancers sit, dance, and move around the stage.   With elements of various folk dances thrown into the mix, the dancers couple up and then change partners throughout the duration of the piece.  For example, the dancers hold hands in a circle and then run into the middle, reminiscent of the Israeli folk dance, the Hora.  Lauren Breen and Cecile Tuzzii really stand out in this piece.  It is their stage presence and acting ability which really draws my attention to them. Although Misa Criolla is wonderfully constructed, it feels as if it drags on too long at points.

The last piece of the night, Vestiges by Colin Connor, is probably my favorite piece of the program.  The piece reminds me of musical theater because of the dramatic costumes the dancers wear, the use of the lighting, and the way the music tells a story with its melody.  The dancers portray dramatic characters, adding to the overall theatrics of the dance.  The lifts are executed seamlessly, even when one of the women dancers lifts a male dancer.  Valerie Tellmann is the standout in this piece with her unparalleled physicality and fearlessness.

This is the first time I’ve seen the Richmond Ballet and I must say that I am impressed with Artistic Director, Stoner Winslett.  The task of presenting such a versatile repertoire is not an easy one, but Ms. Winslett has shown us that she is capable of doing so.  The dancers of Richmond Ballet are extremely current and relevant dancers who not only are up-to-date on all of the trends in the dance world, but they are also setting their own.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Amanda Keller 
Performance: Richmond Ballet 
Venue: The Joyce Theater
Show Date:  Wednesday, April 8, 2010
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Dance Review: Crossing Over, Passing Through -Dance Brazil at The Joyce Theater

DanceBrazil continues to blur the boundary between capoeira and modern dance with their latest season at The Joyce Theater

Formed by choreographer Jelon Vieira in 1977, DanceBrazil incorporates elements of Afro-Brazilian culture, especially the martial art of Capoeira, into their modern dance works. On Wednesday evening, the company presented two pieces at the Joyce Theater: Banguela and Memórias.

Banguela is a well-crafted celebration of Brazil’s unique capoeira culture, expressed through a striking balance of sincerity and physicality.  “Banguela,” as the program notes explain, is “a special rhythm played to calm down the capoeiristas when their play in the roda gets too heated.”  In the dance Banguela, Vieira draws the audience into the capoeirista’s meditative state. The dancers move with such strength and control that at times they appear to defy gravity, as if time is slowed and blurred by the Banguela rhythm.

The piece begins with the company dressed in white and dancing through a series of luscious motions with satisfying clarity, their arms carving through space in round gestures as if drawing the air into a large embrace.  When the music starts, the company forms a circle and dances inwards, referencing the capoeira “roda” formation.

The highlight of Banguela is a duet between Paulo Silva and Raphael Novaes.  The two men move through a continuous series of cartwheels, low leg sweeps and backbends with grace and flair.  For the most part they maintain eye contact, keeping with the original tradition of capoeira.  At certain points, however, the capoeiristas shift their movement toward the audience, running their hands in the air facing an invisible partner.  In capoeira, partners use these hand gestures as a means of familiarizing themselves with their partner and focusing on their partner’s movements.  By splicing the capoeira pair and turning the dancers towards us, Vieira makes the audience the partner, and invites us into the sacred and historically significant space of the capoeira circle.

While I am delighted by the craftsmanship and execution of Banguela, I am unfortunately disappointed by the second piece, Memórias, which unfolds through as a muddled series of vignettes.  In this topic-heavy work, a number of powerful ideas (such as Brazil’s modernization -referenced by honking car sound effects- and the country’s history of slavery and perseverance) are introduced but are not adequately developed.  DanceBrazil’s usual focus, energy and clarity are lost amid the wide-range of topics and sentiments.

Although not as apparent in this program, Vieira is known for utilizing his dancers’ athleticism and virtuosity to create powerful modern dances that draw upon the strength of Brazil’s own movement and music traditions.  The company’s past seasons are better examples of this, and I look forward to seeing the DanceBrazil’s next engagement at The Joyce.

Photography by Tom Pich

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Tze Chun
Performance: DanceBrazil
Choreography: Jelon Vieira
Venue: The Joyce Theater, New York City
Performance Date: April 1^st, 2010
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Dance Review: K+C= Genius, Keigwin + Company at The Joyce Theater

Keigwin + Company has done it again!  But this time, in the major league.  K+C has pulled off a very successful solo week of performances at the Joyce Theater.  But, would you expect otherwise?  Keigwin has an enticing creativity and wit that lures you into his world.  Once you're there you're bound to come back again and again and again.

Whether or not you're a coffee lover its hard not to become briefly addicted to what you're seeing on stage during the first piece.  Caffeinated, originally commissioned by the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, is a caffeine high, aerobic, hyperactive, humorous piece about people's common addiction to coffee.  Philip Glass' "Glasspiece #3" really sets the tone for crazy town and compliments the dancer's hyper-energetic, and mildly psychotic dispositions.  Keigwin's brilliant movement vocabulary in this piece is a fanciful mix between jazzercise and cheerleading.  The dancers, with coffee cups in their hands, are really engaged in a workout with Keigwin's athletic movements and zombie-like gestures.  At the end of the dance you're left wondering exactly how much caffeine they indulged in to make it through that piece.

In the next piece, Mattress Suite, Keigwin recreates a jocular behind doors look on relationships in a world where anything and everything goes.  The audience watches a series of episodes ranging from love and marriage, to heartbreak; from a kinky rendevous in the sack (literally on a mattress), to a little ménage trois action.  Wilcott and Keigwin are really quite the pair with a natural sensitivity to each other and a malleable chemistry that can shift from sensual to rugged in a hot second.

Bird Watching, this season's world premiere, is quite the treat for the evening.  The radiantly decorated fleet- fly, flap, flutter, and flock in the space with an eccentric gestural vocabulary reminiscent of our feathered friends. There is an inherent ballet vocabulary in this piece that really gets the whole bird idea across.  Ashley Browne, stands out as a stunning creature throughout the piece with her poise, grace, and seamless lines.  Keigwin has the uncanny ability to let humor infiltrate movement in both subtle and blatant ways.  Bird Watching is a piece of art that truly shows Keigwin's versatility and the direction he is taking off in.

Like a few good shots of tequila, Keigwin really hits you at the end of the night!  The evening closes with, Runaway, a fierce experience of fashion, theater, runways, and jaw-dropping movement set to a riveting score by Jonatha Melville Pratt.  You don't have to be a choreographer to appreciate the artistic compositional elements of this work; you can watch and have the same reaction...wow.  Runaway is simply a must-see piece.

Keep your eyes peeled for what K+C is up to next.  They can only get more fabulous.  If you haven't already, get addicted.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Simone Sobers
Performance: Keigwin + Company
Choreography:  Larry Keigwin
Venue:  The Joyce Theater
Show Date:  March 17, 2010
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and supplies to victims in this crisis?
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