TAKE Dance @ St. Mark’s Place

Above: Corinna Lee Nicholson, Lynda Senisi, and Corinne McLoughlin in Jill Echo’s If You Find Yourself Missing; photo by Nir Arieli

Author: Oberon

Thursday October 26th, 2023 – TAKE Dance presenting the world premiere of Bamboo Dreams, the latest creation by the Company’s Artistic Director, Takehiro Ueyama. Also on the bill: the world premiere of If You Find Yourself Missing by TAKE Dance’s Associate Director, Jill Echo.

If You Find Yourself Missing is not only choreographed by Ms. Echo, but she also designed the costumes, and wrote the text, which is spoken by Corinne McLoughlin (above). Comprising the musical setting are The Blue Hour by Federico Albanese and Dna by Akira Kosemura. 

Corinna Lee Nicholson and Lynda Senisi (above) are the dancers, with Ms. McLoughlin joining the dance moves in addition to voicing the text.  This dancework raises the question: “Where is home?” The choreography is restless and poetic by turns, and beautifully articulated by the trio of women.

More of Nir Arieli’s images from If You Find Yourself Missing:

Corrine, Lynda, and Corinna take a bow after If You Find Yourself Missing

Take’s latest, Bamboo Dreams, is danced to atmospheric music by Ryuchi Sakamoto, who passed away in March 2023. Take first heard Sakamoto’s music as a teen-aged baseball player in Japan, and now he honors the composer’s memory with this ballet.

It commences with a vibrant, demanding solo for Kristen (Arnold) Bell (above), dancing with her customary authority and perfectly shaping the phrases.

Kristen Bell in Bamboo Dreams; photos by Nir Arieli

There follows a duet for Ms. Nicholson and Orion Duckstein (above). From 1999-2010. Mr. Duckstein was a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Take also danced for eight seasons.  Orion is a beautiful mover, actor, and super-partner, forming a compelling alliance with Ms. Nicholson, whose lithe beauty and fluent movement are intriguing at every moment.

Photos by Nir Arieli

Lynda Senisi and Kristen Bell now join the Nicholson/Duckstein duo. The ensuing quartet veers from huddling together to space-filling combinations. Each dancer is distinctive; you can focus on them as individuals, assured of their technical prowess and expressiveness.

More of Nir Arieli’s images from the quartet:

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Lynda Senisi (above) made a particularly vivid impression in this work…and all evening, actually.

Photos by Nir Arieli

A movement from last season’s duet, 10/18/22, now forms the finale of Bamboo Dreams. It opens with a solo for Kristen Bell (above, photo by Nir Arieli).

Watching 10/18/22 for the first time last season, it immediately became one of my favorite dance duets, in part because it is danced so movingly by two of my favorite dancers: Kristen Bell and Corinna Lee Nicholson,  The ballet honored the memory of longtime TAKE Dance board president and friend, James Kraft, who passed away on that specific date; it is danced to solo violin music by J S Bach.

The choreography veers from lyrical to athletic, from serene calm to moments when we might suspect the two women of being a bit deranged. Kristen and Corinna invested all their energy, strength, thoughtfulness, and commitment into this work, to striking effect. A ritualistic scattering of rose petals leaves a poignant impression:

All photos by Nir Arieli.

~ Oberon