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BalaSole: VISAGES

Thursday October 24th, 2013 – Roberto Villanueva’s BalaSole Dance Company presenting VISAGES, a programme of solo danceworks, mostly self-choreographed, which was given at Ailey Citigroup Theater. Roberto provides a rare opportunity for dancers to perform solo works in professionally-staged productions before sizeable audiences of dance-lovers. His ever-changing roster of dancers is marked by diversity of race, body-type, age, style and individual expression.

Christa Hines (above) performed the opening solo entitled Falling Together, Falling Apart which was choreographed by Teal Darkenwald. Wearing a soft white belted tunic and heavy black boots, the dancer began in silence, moving haltingly about the space and periodically collapsing to the floor. The plaintive voice of Mimerose Beaubron seeps into our senses as the dancer continues her struggle against unseen forces. Ms. Hines, with an appealing quality between vulnerability and hope, signaled the start of a programme which was especially strong in its musical offerings.

Janina Clark performed the solo Sining (Art) to the delicate sounds of the koto. In a black tunic with a ruby-red sash, the dancer moved gracefully across the space, evoking images of a young geisha dancing alone in her own private world.

Steven Brown’s solo Revealed was set to a haunting rendition (in Italian) of Nadir’s aria from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers sung by the late tenor Salvatore Licitra. I had never heard this particular version before, and it was quite moving. Mr. Brown’s performance – he remained stationary throughout, communicating with his expressive arm and hands – had a reverential and introspective quality, and he sustained the mood beautifully.

Ursula Verduzco, the tall and stately ballerina, let her hair down for the solo Nothing To Hide, danced to the contemporary lyricism of Yann Tiersen. Eminently at home on the stage, and using the space with expressive assurance, the dancer’s sense of urgency moves inevitably to a silent scream. This solo was a cohesive blend of music, movement and personal commitment.

Jason Garcia Ignacio, a compact and muscular dancer from the Philippines, used harpsichord music by Louis Couperin to excellent advantage for his handsomely-danced solo My Brother’s Keeper. Jason’s supple body, finely lit to delineate his sculpted torso, showed compelling flexiblity in some deep backbends (that’s Jason in the costume-photo at the top of this article).

The evening’s most unusual work, Go To The Limits Of Your Longing, was created and performed by Anna Brown Massey (above).

Ms. Massey’s solo opens with vocalist Julia Patinella seated onstage, clapping a rhythmic phrase. As dancer enters (above photo), Ms. Patinella bursts into song: her is voice rich, earthy and powerful. The dancer takes a seat across the stage and her entire solo is performed from this seated position, with Ms. Massey using her arms, hands, shoulders and neck to convey an interior monolog. The voice of Ms. Patinella filled the hall with passionate clarity.

Looking striking with her long hair and vivid make-up, dancer Katherine Alvarado showed a strong dramatic flair in her solo Distancia; the music, by Max Richter, seems Glassian at first but then evolves into expansive, full-blown lyricism. Ms. Alvarado, in a backless black outfit, used her entire body as a communicative vessel.

A strong house beat set Delphina Parentiv (above) in restless motion for her solo Body Rebellion. A vivid gestural language and space-covering combinations marked the dancer’s high-energy performance which drew an enthusiastic reaction from the audience.

Roberto Villanueva’ s solo Seconds Remain The Same showed this magnetic dancer’s presence and his flexibility of physique as he moved across the stage in a contemplative state, seemingly lured by some far-off vision. Eventually the dancer is seen in silhouette as he retreats from us into the distance.

The BalaSole tradition of opening and closing their programmes with ensemble works created in a brief rehearsal period was particularly rewarding tonight as the dancers introduced themselves (and bade us good-night) to the music of Franz Joseph Haydn, marked by celebratory getures and a series of pas de trois in which individual personalities emerged. The evening’s performers were joined by emerging artist Ashley Peters who – it seemed to me – deserved a solo shot. Maybe in the next BalaSole show?

I apologize for the darkness and lack of focus in some of these photos from the dress rehearsal: I am still trying to capture motion, but I have a long way to go…

…though I can do well enough when dancers stand still (Jason and Christa, above).

October 24, 2013
Intermezzo Dance Company/Update

Above: Carlos Lopez and Kurt Froman in the ‘drunken duet’ from Raymond Lukens’ ballet VEILS from Intermezzo Dance Company‘s debut performance at the 92nd Street Y; photo by Sarah Sterner

Mary Cargill writes about the Intermezzo performance here, and Deborah Wingert covers it here.

Above: Aran Bell and Kurt Froman in VEILS; photo by Sarah Sterner

Above: Intermezzo ballerinas Kaitlyn Gilliland and Rina Barrantes; photo by Sarah Sterner

After the show: Craig Salstein (center) with the Intermezzo dancers and the members of the Wyrick String Quartet.

October 23, 2013
Great Piano Quartets @ Chamber Music Society
Above: pianist Gilbert Kalish of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Tuesday October 22nd, 2013 – Piano quartets from three centuries were on the bill today at this Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performance. As I walked down the corridor to enter the auditorium at Alice Tully Hall, I experienced the odd sensation of being in church; these CMS concerts are not only completely satisfying musically, but they are so spiritually uplifting in their ability to carry us out of the everyday world to something more pure and elevated.

I had an incredible seat, second row center, looking up at the musicians at close range. The lines of communication – between player and player, and between musicians and audience – were so direct and intimate; I don’t exaggerate when I say it was a transportive experience.

Above: pianist Orion Weiss

Mozart first: the ill-fated genius composed two piano quartets, a relatively rare genre during the Viennese
Classical period. The E-flat major quartet K. 493 is the second of these, and dates from 1786. It is thought to be the piece that Mozart himself played at Count Joseph Thun’s palace when the composer journeyed to Prague in 1787 to witness the overwhelming success there of his opera LE NOZZE DI FIGARO. This quartet is considered among the peaks of Mozart’s chamber music, and it certainly seemed so today in a performance of remarkable musical clarity and emotional immediacy.

Orion Weiss was at the Steinway, with Nicolas Dautricourt (violin), Paul Neubauer (viola) and Keith Robinson (cello) center-stage. Their playing was impeccable, and I so deeply enjoyed watching the communication between them: a silent language of the eyes and a tilt of the head. Mr. Neubauer, as expressive of face as in his musicianship, seemed the conduit linking the four players emotionally. The music flowed freely as melody and embellishment passed from one player to another. An atmosphere of quiet intensity filled the hall, the audience breathing in the sustaining beauty of Mozart’s perfection.

A complete change of mood as we were transported forward to 1931 and the intoxicating rhythms and alluring turns of phrase of the Spanish composer Joaquin Turina’s A-minor quartet, opus 67. Here the players were out to seduce the ear, led by Yura Lee (violin) with Messrs. Neubauer, Robinson and Weiss.

Turina composed this piano quartet in 1931; its flavour of
Spanish folk music, with gypsy and Andalusian nuances, is characteristic of the composer’s work, which was influenced by his predecessors Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albeniz. Veering effortlessly from the fiery rhythms to the more sustained song-like motifs, Ms. Lee and her colleagues reveled in sensuous glow of the music; Mr. Weiss fulfilled the demanding piano writing with élan, and again I greatly enjoyed the the silent sense of conspiracy among the players as they wound their way thru the subtle turns of the music.

Yura Lee switched gracefully from violin to viola for the evening’s concluding work, the Brahms Quartet #2, Opus 26. For this long (50 minutes) and demanding work, keyboard master Gilbert Kalish was at the Steinway, Nicolas Dautricourt returned with his violin, and the superb Mr. Robinson polished off his evening perfectly – the only player involved in all three works tonight.

Johannes Brahms himself played the piano part at this work’s premiere in 1863; Robert Schumann had already hailed Brahms as Beethoven’s heir apparent, and the piano quartet was one of the works that propelled the composer into his position as one of the immortal Three Bs – Bach, Beethoven and Brahms – in the pantheon of classical music.

Tonight this masterpiece unfolded in all its glory. In a touching tribute in the playbill, Mr. Dautricourt spoke of being mentored by Mr. Kalish at Ravinia in 2002 when the Frenchman had first arrived in the United States. It must have been a great experience for them to perform together this evening.

Mr. Dautricourt’s playing is so passionate and expressive; I found myself drawn to this tall and charismatic musician, who is apparently equally at home in both jazz and the classics. Mr. Kalish’s playing was resonant and sublime, with Ms. Lee and Mr. Robinson yet again as pleasing to watch as to hear. The cumulative effect of their performance drew a sustained applause from the attentive and dedicated audience of music-lovers.

The anticipation I felt going into the concert was amply rewarded: I had expected the best that music can offer, but – intangibly – it was even better than that.
The participating artists tonight were:
October 22, 2013
Ballet Next: New Works-in-Progress

Above: Michele Wiles of Ballet Next

Monday October 21st, 2013 – Ballet Next had a huge turn-out (intentional pun!) for their choreographic exhibition at Ailey tonight. Three works being created for the Company’s upcoming season at New York Live Arts were shown, all performed to live music under the direction of cellist Elad Kabilio.

The dates for the Ballet Next performances at New York Live Arts are January 13th – 18th, 2014; further information will be forthcoming.

Above: violinist Mario Gotoh played the Chaconne from the ‘Partita #2′ for the pas de deux entitled Bach 260, choreographed by Robert Sher-Machernndl, and danced by Michele Wiles and Mr. Machernndl (photo below).

This duet, anchored in the classic vocabulary, takes a contemporary overlay with elements of pursuit and capture carrying the dancers about the space in movement that both sustains and sometimes counter-acts the Bach score, which Ms. Gotoh played so beautifully.

All the Drops of Water
is a duet choreographed by Michele Wiles and danced by Tiffany Mangulabnan and Ms Wiles (above). The music, a lyrical quintet by Max Richter, was performed by Hajnal Karman Pivnik and Ms. Gotoh (violins), Caroline Gilbert (viola), Mr. Kabilio (cello) and Ben Laude (piano). The musicians were seated literally inches away from me – in fact, I could read Hajnal’s score – while the two dancers in deep blue with their hair down seemed like contemporary nymphs. The choreography has a restless quality, inter-laced with moments of repose and tenderness.

Surmisable Units is an ensemble work with choreography by Brian Reeder. The dancers (above) are Tiffany Mangulabanan, Michele Wiles, Steven Melendez, Kaitlyn Gilliland, and Brittany Cioce. The score, Steve Reich’s tricky and repetitive ‘Piano Phase‘, was played by Peter Dugan and Ben Laude.

The choreography utilizes the space in quirky ways, with the dancers sometimes standing behind the two pianos (which are center-stage) and executing semaphoric arm gestures. At times the dancers wear metallic-silver face masks, making them anonymous. Solo dancing is woven in, and the combinations echo the speed and articulation of the relentless musical pulse.

Above: Kaitlyn Gilliland and Michele Wiles in Surmisible Units.

The large crowd of Company friends and supporters seemed very taken with the dancing and the music; I look forward to seeing these works in their staged settings at NYLA in the new year.

October 21, 2013
Lar Lubovitch @ The Joyce – Program B

Above: Kate Skarpetowska and Brian McGinnis in Lar Lubovitch’s CRISIS VARIATIONS; photo by Kokyat

Sunday matinee October 20th, 2013 – Lar Lubovitch Dance Company‘s 45th anniversary was celebrated this afternoon at The Joyce as the Company marked the finale of their two-week season. Two familiar works – Transparent Things and Crisis Variations – were followed by a trio of new pieces: a stunning all-male ensemble work called As Sleep Befell, a new duet choreographed by Company dancer Kate Skarpetowska entitled Listen, and an over-the-top cowboy caper Crazy 8s. If the dancers were feeling any end-of-season fatigue, it didn’t show. They danced their hearts out.

Lar Lubovitch was inspired by the Picasso painting ‘Family of Saltimbanques‘ (above) for his 2012 ballet Transparent Things, set to the Debussy string quartet in G-minor. With the score performed live onstage by the Bryant Park Quartet, the union of music and dance was celebrated by the charming characterizations of the six dancers, each costumed exactly like a figure in the painting.

This ballet weaves a very particular spell; the melding of art, music and movement gives it a Ballets Russes feeling – Diaghilev would approve, I am sure. The musicians played so well, and the dancers excelled. Attila Joey Csiki gave a wonderfully expressive performance as the Harlequin figure, his movement so fluent and graceful. As the quartet’s third movement draws to a close, the dancers invade the musicians’ space and wriggle their way between the chairs; as the light fades, Attila gently lays his head against the cello. A lovely murmur passed thru the house at that moment.

But the quartet has another movement still to come, and although it seemed to me that a perfect ending might have been forsaken, the actual end of the ballet is equally well-judged and drew more sighs of admiration from the crowd. The dancers – Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Laura Rutledge, Brian McGinnis, Clifton Brown and Reed Luplau (a dreamy Blue Boy) – were all endearing as individuals and, in addition to Attila’s perfect rendering of Harlequin, made the ballet a poetic experience.

Lar’s CRISIS VARIATIONS is set to a nightmarish score by Yevgeny Sharlat which features the unusual juxtaposition of harpsichord and saxophone; glimmers of melody shoot thru a dark, dense cloud of sound. This turbulent ballet is essentially an extended pas de deux for two remarkable dancers: Kate Skarpetowska and Brian McGinnis. Their partnering is risky, passionate but unromantic, and they perform it with unfettered physicality and angst. The ensemble – Nicole Corea, Laura Rutledge, Jonathan Alsberry, Reed Luplau and Anthony Bocconi – lay down, writhe. pile up, and periodically seem to try to escape from this ongoing dream. The ballet ends on a quizzical note as Kate suddenly vanishes beneath a mound of bodies.

Both of these first two works seem to have taken on new depths and fascinations since their premieres, showing that the more we devote ourselves to watching dance the more we will see.

Above: from AS SLEEP BEFELL, photo by Steven Schreiber

After the second intermission, new works were brought forth: the first of these, Lar’s AS SLEEP BEFELL, was a staggeringly beautiful experience. Once again the unity of music, dance and setting combined to please, and to seduce. The musicians of Le Train Bleu are ranged in a semi-circle at the rear of the stage: all dressed in casual summer whites, they are barefooted. They strike up Paola Prestini‘s multi-hued score, conducted by Ransom Wilson. A tall, white-gowned priestess -vocalist Helga Davis – begins her chant which takes her from distrubing growls in chest voice to uncanny, sustained high tones; a throaty quality imbues her singing with a raw earthiness.

Ranged on the floor are six male dancers – Clifton Brown, Jonathan Alsberry, Reed Luplau, Anthony Bocconi, Oliver Greene-Cramer and Tobin del Cuore. They are bare-chested and wearing long diaphanous white skirts. They rise in a tribal ritual of dance that is primitive, sensuous, and hypnotic to behold. Expressive port de bras, fluid torsos, and long, muscular legs emerging from the white gowns create an alluring vision of male beauty. To a seductive rhythm, they link arms and sway in unison: a provocative passage.

AS SLEEP BEFELL might be viewed as a male counterpart to the sisterhood Jerome Robbins created in his masterpiece ANTIQUE EPIGRAPHS. Both ballets evoke communal rites and timeless visions of ancient realms and forgotten gods.

Above: Nicole Corea and Reed Luplau in LISTEN, photo by Steven Schreiber

Kate Skarpetowska also turns to the music of Paola Prestini for her new pas de deux LISTEN. This duet will eventually be half of a longer work but even as it stands now, it’s another excellent entry into Ms. Skarpetowska’s catalog of work. In a shaft of bright light, Nicole Corea and Reed Luplau seem to be having a conversation set against Ms. Prestini’s elaborate clockwork score. The movement is restless and quirky as the energy passes back and forth between the two dancers. The interjection of a soulful cello theme brings a new element to the ballet; then Nicole suddenly vanishes, leaving Reed to dance an animated solo.

Nicole and Reed make a perfect pairing, and I’ll look forward to seeing the resolution of this duet. This was my fourth experience with Kate Skarpetowska’s choreographic work; in her musicality, her sense of visual poetry, and her imaginative use of both the physical and emotional characteristics of her dancers, she is already taking a distinctive place in the choreographic community.

Above: from CRAZY 8s, photo by Phyllis McCabe

The afternoon ended with a terrific little ballet called CRAZY 8s. After a half-century of creativity, a choerographer is entitled to a bit of fun, and Lar Lubovitch took off on a totally unexpected tangent with this piece which spoofs hoe-downs, square dancing, the Grand Ole Opry, the rodeo, and the whole cowboy culture. The score is a fractured mash-up of Wild West rhythms, square dance calls, and a country-Western heartbreak song. The dancers, clad in garish bright yellow tights and ten-gallon hats, threw high-falutin’ artsy hogwash to the prairie winds and set to it with tongues-in-cheeks and a glint in their eyes. A special howdy-do to Jonathan Alsberry for his crazy/sexy-boy solo. This deft little romp sent the crowd home in high spirits.

October 20, 2013
San Francisco Ballet @ Lincoln Center

Above: San Francisco Ballet‘s Vitor Luiz and Vanessa Zahorian in Helgi Tomasson’s TRIO; photo © Erik Tomasson

Saturday October 19th, 2013 (evening) – Welcoming back to New York City one of the world’s greatest ballet companies: San Francisco Ballet! I had hoped to attend both of the Company’s programs during their first week at Lincoln Center, but things didn’t turn out that way. When the Company were last here in 2008, I went to see everything they offered, and I fell in love with all the dancers. Fortunately tonight I was able to see many of those beautiful dancers again, though I missed some other favorites – like Lorena Feijoo and Taras Domitro. I very much admired the Company’s programming, bringing works to New York City that we’ve not seen before.

Above: the Company in Helgi Tomasson’s TRIO; photo © Erik Tomasson

Helgi Tomasson’s TRIO, which opened the performance, is a four-movement work in the Romantic style danced before an antique/Renaissance backdrop (by Alexander V Nichols). Mark Zappone’s costumes, in shades of wine and dusty Autumn flame, set the dancers off beautifully. Tomasson’s ballets always please the ear as well as the eye: TRIO is danced to Tchaikovsky’s richly melodic Souvenir de Florence.

After a striking entrée where the ballerina is held aloft, the gorgeously elegant, the dark-haired Vanessa Zahorian swirls thru lovely supported pirouettes and covers the space beautifully with her joyous dance; her cavalier, Vitor Luiz, shows off some unusual flourishes in his combinations. Their duet, backed by the ensemble, is filled with demanding partnering motifs; they gave a wonderful performance, setting the tone for the entire evening.

Above: Sarah Van Patten and Tiit Helimets in TRIO; photo © Erik Tomasson

New York City has Wendy Whelan and San Francisco has Sarah Van Patten: I feel these two dancers might be sisters under the skin. Ms. Van Patten’s striking presence and passionate physicality transcend the steps and music. In the adagio of TRIO she appears first in a sensual duet with the marvelous Tiit Helimets; we are basking in their expressive perfection when the charismatic Anthony Spaulding suddenly appears, making his own claim to the ballerina. The trio’s passions and tensions ebb and flow thru their pas de trois, a finely-crafted dance drama.

Maria Kochetkova, a petite ballerina with who radiates enormous charm and technical authority, dazzled the audience with her ebullient dancing; she and her vividly handsome partner Davit Karapetyan led the ballet’s third and fourth movements which range from classic partnering à la Russe to some stylized motifs that maintained the ballet’s freshness.

Among the ensemble, soloist Hansuke Yamamoto made an outstanding impression. This Tomasson ballet made me crave a revival of his 2000 Beethoven work for New York City Ballet: PRISM.

Martin West
conducted the Tchaikovsky score for TRIO and also had the baton for the evening’s second work: Christopher Wheeldon’s GHOSTS set to music by C F Kip Winger.

Above: Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Wheeldon’s GHOSTS. Photo © Erik Tomasson.

Christopher Wheeldon’s GHOSTS, which premiered in 2010, is performed by an ensemble of dancers in gossamer white beneath the pallid glow of a full moon. CF Kip Winger’s score has a cinematic feel, with passages of Romantic styling mingled with quirky, more angular effects.

Christopher Wheeldon (who was on the Promenade this evening during the intermission) describes GHOSTS as a “mass gathering of souls … creating only atmosphere, not story.” The ballet’s marriage of music and mood evoke a dreamworld in which the dancers move with sonnambulistic grace, often falling to the floor only to rise again in a restless quest for some elusive sense of closure.

The ravishing Yuan Yuan Tan and her superb partner Damian Smith perform an ethereal pas de deux; Seeing Yuan Yuan Tan onstage again reminded me of a very special hour Kokyat and I spent in Jessica Lang’s studio two years ago when the ballerina was rehearsing with Clifton Brown for an appearance at Fall for Dance.

Sofiane Sylve (above in a © Erik Tomasson photo) is a more restless spirit: the beauteous ballerina is still
missed here at Lincoln Center where she danced as a principal at New
York City Ballet from 2003 – 2007. Sylve in GHOSTS casts a spell in her pas de trois
with Mr. Helimets and Shane Wuerthner.

Soloist Clara Blanco, a
particular favorite of mine during the Company’s last New York visit in
2008, stood out among the ensemble…I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Above: from Wayne MacGregor’s BORDERLANDS, photo © Erik Tomasson

BORDERLANDS, a 2013 Wayne McGregor ballet, has a strong contemporary feel and demands great stamina and focus from a dozen of the Company’s generously talented dancers. Set in an enormous bare-walled enclosure, the stage is first bathed in steely-grey light; this will shift to Autumnal gold for the central pas de deux and then to vivid neon blue as the ballet moves to its end. The dancers wear shorts, displaying their leggy allure. They often stand or kneel around the edges of the space to observe their fellow-dancers.

In this austere, stylized ballet the music of Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney ranges from the kozmic and other-worldly thru a cinematic/romance to a rock-like statement and a final anthem. The dancers move with athletic intensity; the choreographic and partnering demands are strenuous and the dancers come and go throughout the work: their relationships uncharted, sometimes mechanical and always mystifying.

The San Francisco dancers threw themselves with complusive energy into this unusual movement style: particularly excellent work from Frances Chung and Mlles. Sylve, Van Patten and Kochetkova, and from the ever-fascinating Mr. Spaulding.

Above: Maria Kochetkova and Lonnie Weeks in McGregor’s BORDERLANDS. Photo © Erik Tomasson

All photos in this article are copyright: Erik Tomasson.

Repertoire and dancers: Saturday evening, October 19th, 2013:

Trio
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor: Martin West

Vanessa Zahorian, Vitor Luiz
Sarah Van Patten, Tiit Helimets
Anthony Spaulding
Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan

Ghosts
Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
Composer: C.F. Kip Winger
Conductor: Martin West

Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith
Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helimets, Shane Wuerthner

Borderlands
Choreographer: Wayne McGregor
Composer: Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney
Conductor: Martin West

Maria Kochetkova, Jaime Garcia Castilla
Sarah Van Patten, Pascal Molat

Frances Chung, Carlos Quenedit
Sofiane Sylve, Anthony Spaulding
Koto Ishihara, Lonnie Weeks
Elizabeth Powell, Francisco Mungamba

October 19, 2013
Premiere Performance: Intermezzo Dance Company

Friday October 18th, 2013 – Since I was involved in the early planning stages of these first performances by Craig Salstein’s Intermezzo Dance Company. I can’t really write about their premiere performance tonight at the 92nd Street Y with any sense of detachment – not that we should ever be detached from dance. But of course I loved the music – the Verdi string quartet and a fantasia on themes from his opera A MASKED BALL (all played live by the Wyrick Quartet) – and the choreographers and dancers all came thru with flying colours. And the audience was simply loaded with dance-world celebrities.

With three sold-out performances, Intermezzo‘s off to a fine start, and I know Craig has some exciting future plans – which can’t, as yet, be announced.

Hopefully I’ll soon have some production photos to share.

October 18, 2013
Fall for Dance 2013 – Program 2

Above: Dance Theater of Harlem in Gloria; photograph by Matthew Murphy

Saturday September 28th, 2013 – The annual – and very popular – Fall for Dance festival is underway at New York’s City Center. Tonight was the first of three programs – out of five being offered – that I’ll be reporting on. The theater was packed, of course, and there was nary a peep from the audience during the dancing, but plenty of genuine enthusiasm after each work.

Above: Nrityagram (Surupa Sen & Bijayini Satpathy) in a photo by Uma Dhanwatey

Nrityagram is one of India’s foremost dance companies; for nearly 20 years, Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy have taken traditional Indan dance all over the world while also commissioning new compositions from leading Indian classical musicians. Tonight the the two dancers opened this Fall for Dance performance with Vibhakta (2008, choreographed by Surupa Sen). Inspired by the belief that creation begins when The One splits into
two and becomes Ardhanārīśvara (…’the Lord who is half-woman’…), this duet was performed to live music played by a small ensemble of excellent musicians seated stage right. Wearing gorgeous costumes of red, gold and pink, with jingling bells on their anklets, the two dancers cast a spell over the House with their graceful synchronized moves, long balances, accentuated footwork, and elegant gestures.

Most of the audience seemed to enjoy 605 Collective‘s offering, Selected Play, more than I did. I’ve seen this type of dancework countless times in recent seasons: the dancers clad in everyday clothes doing everyday dance moves to a vaguely ominous soundtrack. It was well-performed and well-lit, but there was nothing to set it apart from the many other similar works in this style that I have seen.

With the City Center stage stripped back to the bare walls and lighting scaffolds, HeadSpaceDance from London performed Light Beings, a duet choreographed by Mats Ek and set to Sibelius’ Andante Festivo. The dancers – Charlotte Broom and Christopher Arkill – burst joyously onto the stage and filled the space with witty combinations which seemed to gently spoof the traditional steps, port de bras and partnering motifs of the art of ballet. Their dancing, wth droll facial expressions, drew constant laughs from the crowd. The piece was a fun interlude and – at just under ten-minutes duration – showed that the choreographer understood the concept that brevity is the soul of wit.

Above: Da’Von Doane and corps de ballet of Dance Theatre of Harlem in Gloria; photo by Matthew Murphy

Gloria, choreographed by Robert Garland and performed by Dance Theatre of Harlem to the classic sacred work by Francis Poulenc, was s striking finale for the evening. The dancers, clad in rich hues of blue, forest green and chartreuse, moved thru Mr. Garland’s well-structured choreography with assurance and commitment. The girls are on pointe and the vocabulary is classic, but with some fresh accents that give it a distinct flavor; a troupe of small girls from the Company’s school also participate in this ballet. In leading roles, Ashley Murphy and Da’Von Doane looked superb. The combined effect of Poulenc’s uplifting score, the beautifully-lit space, and the very attractive dancing evoked an enthusiastic ovation from the audience.

September 28, 2013
TAKE Dance: Dark Mourning

Above photo by ‘M’ Apisak Vithyanond; Elise Drew and Kile Hotchkiss in the foreground

Friday September 27th, 2013 – TAKE Dance presented the premiere of Takehiro Ueyama’s DARK MOURNING at Symphony Space tonight. The programme further featured a new duet entitled A BAITED SOUL created by Kazuko Hirabayashi and danced by Jill Echo and Take Ueyama, and a revival of Take’s FLIGHT which was created in 2010.

I’ve been following TAKE Dance since 2008, when my friend Sophie Bromberg first mentioned the Company to me. Take was one of the first to bring dance bloggers into the fold, and he has often shared his creative process with me. In May 2011, Take’s evening-length SALARYMAN seemed to have attained a peak – both theatrical and choreographic – for the Company. Tonight, watching DARK MOURNING, I felt that Take has surpassed himself yet again. This somber new work, in which movement, music, and silence are meshed into a cogent whole, expresses both the terror and tranquiity of death, and presents a haunting view of bereavement.

To the tolling of bells, a black-clad dancers appear as shuffling mourners moving across the darkening landscape. We are reminded at first of Take’s 2009 creation FOOTSTEPS IN THE SNOW; but DARK MOURNING takes a very different path. Take’s musical choice of the Kronos Quartet’s Lachrymae Antiquae gives DARK MOURNING a timeless sprituality. In structuring the work, silences are as profound as the Renaissance-inspired music.

Alternating ensemble passages – marked by fluid movement – with four solos, Take presents his dancers at their most compelling. Kile Hotchkiss, appearing nearly nude in a pool of dazzling white light – a sharp contrast to the prevailing gloom – appears as a fallen angel, his long limbs and expressive hands simply spellbinding. In a long black gown, Kristen Arnold evokes images of Martha Graham with her expansive gestures of mourning and supplication. John Eirich, showing his customary disdain for personal safety, gives a restless athleticism to his bold gymnastic combinations. And Gina Ianni ended the work as a broken spirit, her blonde vulnerability succumbing at last to the inevitable. Lynda Senisi, Elise Drew (now dancing with Limon) and Brynt Beitman completed the cast for this impressive new creation, a work which I hope to experience again soon.

Take Ueyama and Jill Echo performed the Hirabayashi duet, A BAITED SOUL, which was inspired by a Japanese ghost story. To the lonely sound of a flute, the two dancers appear in ritualistic moves in a state of courtly wariness that evolves into tempestuous conflict. Smoke wafts across the space, and Jill carries a decorative rose-hued parasol, sometimes hiding behind it. The back curtain is opened as Take begins a long, physically demanding solo to the sound of chant. As the voice becomes distorted the dancer’s movements suggest he is trapped in a spirit world. It was of course wonderful to see Jill and Take dancing together, and Anthony Aiu as a mysterious black-clad attendant also made his mark here.

In a work inspired by flocks of birds banking or racing across the Roman sky, the revival of FLIGHT has taken on a new visual dimension: the costumes have been changed, so that the dancers who – at the premiere – appeared as brown-clad starlings, now look like doves in their gossamer white trousers and shirts.

Barry Wizoreck, a former Paul Taylor dancer, appears in FLIGHT‘s opening solo which Take had originally danced himself. Projections of swarming birds appear, and the dancer casts a shadow as he moves in a state of quiet wonder. A quartet of dancers – Gina Ianni, Elise Drew, John Eirich and Kile Hotchkiss – dance the second movement, sometimes in unison and sometimes perched in their arrested trajectories; John Eirich again erupts with a dazzling combination. In a dynamic, turbulent build-up, more doves appear. Dancing to Philip Glass’s Meetings Along the Edge, the large ensemble moves fast while the quartet moves slowly: a striking justaposition. Barry Wizoreck reappears, wandering cautiously among the fluttering doves as he scatters white feathers on the ground.

The performance was well-attended and well-applauded; among the audience were four beloved Taylor women from different generations: Linda Kent, Karla Wolfangle, Rachel Berman and Amy Young.

Performers:
Kristen Arnold, Brynt Beitman, Jill Echo, Elise Drew, John
Eirich, Kile Hotchkiss, Gina Ianni, Lynda Senisi, Marie Zvosec &
Take Ueyama with Jesse Dunham, Jamison Goodnight, Jillian Hollis, Lauren
Elise Kravitz, Anthony Aiu and Barry Wizoreck (Guest Artist)

Music by Philip Glass, Ana Milosavljevic, Kronos Quartet,
Terry Riley, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Houzan Yamamoto

Lighting Design: Lauren Parrish
Costume Design: Jesse Dunham, Elena Comendador

September 27, 2013
Dual-ing Pianos @ Juilliard’s Paul Hall

Thursday September 26th, 2013 – Students and faculty members from Juilliard’s Collaborative Piano Department joined forces in a really enjoyable concert at Paul Hall tonight. The Department’s pianists had decided that, in addition to playing for singers and instrumentalists, they wanted to work together on music written for two pianos or piano four-hands. They gave their first programme last season and tonight theye were back for Round Two.

Paul Hall is a special place for me. Having attended a few concerts there on my visits from Hartford many years ago, I started going frequently once I had moved the NYC in 1998. It was at Paul Hall that I first heard my remarkable contralto-friend Makiko Narumi as well as many other Juiliard singers who have gone on to successful careers. Following Makiko’s untimely death in 2002, I found it difficult to sit in Paul Hall, for all the memories the place stirred up. I mostly stopped attending performances there, and it wasn’t until May 2012 that I felt comfortable in the space again: a superb all-Britten programme evening with tenor Spencer Lang and pianist Dan Kurland seemed – in an odd way – a benediction to my friendship with Makiko; she would not have wanted me mourning her ten years after the fact.

It was in fact Dan Kurland who told me about tonight’s Dual-ing Pianos programme. I’ve never seen such a big crowd in Paul Hall before; I sat in my customary seat – third row on the aisle – and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this excellent presentation.

Music spanning two centuries – from Mozart to Lutoslawski – was performed. After brief opening remarks from the head of the Collaborative Piano Department, Jonathan Feldman, the music commenced and rolled onward for 75 minutes without interruption; seven pieces were performed, nicely placed on the programme to emphasize the contrasting styles of the composers. The audience were attentive and appreciative, and the sound coming from the two Steinways was rich and evocative.

Aaron Copland’s EL SALON MEXICO in a two-piano arrangement was played by Kristen Doering and Art Williford. Bright fanfares evolve into a swaying dancelike passage; a big rhythmic section melts into a gentle romanza which leads to another animated section. The fanfares return, and there is a motif of almost childish naïveté before the boisterous conclusion. This arrangement – and indeed every piece on the programme – would make an excellent dancework.

Mozart’s Fugue for Two Pianos in C minor was performed by Margo Garrett and Jonathan Feldman, both of the Juilliard Faculty. Evoking Bach, the work was wonderfully pleasing to experience in this intimate setting. I was very curious about Ms. Garrett’s score, which had an charming binder and in which the music seemed to appear in columns rather than full pages.

Darius Milhaud’s Scaramouche suite received a colourful performance by Juliana Han and Jung A Bang. The opening movement, Vif, has an almost music-hall quality; the second, Modéré, begins with a ‘classic’ feel which gives way to a rather wistful melody. In the concluding Brazileira – a full-tilt Latin dance number – the two girls played with enormous vitality.

Robert Schumann’s Andante and Variations brought forth pianists Luis Ortiz and Miles Fellenberg, playing beautifully. The variations flow like the unwinding of a silken ribbon of melody, with the shifting rhythms and colours playing on our emotions; the final dreamy passage was particularly lovely.

In Witold Lutoslawski’s Paganini Variations, the familiar strand of melody was marvelously corrupted by the 20th-century Polish composer, giving the music an off-kilter and nightmarish quality. Pianists Siyi Fang and Ari Livne did a brilliant job with this darkly luminous piece.

Brian Zeger is a pianist I have long admired; tonight he and Bretton Brown played the evening’s only work for piano-hands – and the last work Franz Schubert composed in that genre: the Rondo in A major, D 951. Their playing had great clarity and purity of expression and was a highlight of the programe.

The evening came to a conclusion with four pianists playing CARMEN Fantasy, arranged by Mack Wilberg. Dan Kurland and Raymond Wong were at one Steinway, Jung A Band and Zsolt Balogh at the other. This wild and wonderful piece draws on familiar themes from Georges Bizet’s opera: the Toreodor Song, the Habanera, the Act II prelude, and Carmen’s ‘Chanson Boheme’. Relentlessly paced and filled with cunning dissonances, this could be the soundtrack for a Hollywood horror film (Micaela’s Nightmare?). It brought the concert to a rousing conclusion, and had me humming the ‘Chanson Boheme’ all the way home on the A train.

September 26, 2013