~ Author: Oberon
Saturday February 17th, 2024 matinee – The Joffrey Concert Group offering a program of four works by three choreographers at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. The dancers were all technically adept and physically attractive, and the performance was enhanced by excellent lighting. While each ballet was enjoyable to watch individually (and to listen to, at least until someone pumped up the volume), being performed one after the other made for an afternoon lacking in contrasts.
Chicago-born Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer Vernard J Gilmore has created “Dawn Of Love”, which opened the show. The work’s six movements do offer some variety of pacing and atmosphere, all basically coloured by the power and intensity of the music by Prince, distinctively played by the Vitamin String Quartet and mixed by long-time collaborator, DJ April Reign.
“Dawn Of Love” gets off to a big-beat start with “Not Afraid” in which four couples wend thru various ballet partnering motifs. “Neverending” begins with the women, soon joined by the men – the music has a hoedown feeling. A steady beat pulses thru “Specks of Hope“, danced by a trio of women, and then there is an ethereal solo, “I Will, I Am” danced poetically by Mari Murata, with her lovely pointe work. (I should note that, throughout the evening, some of the women were on pointe and others in soft slippers). A pointy duet for Annika Davis and Sydney Williams opens “Diamonds and Pearls“, danced to an insistent beat. The other women join, and finally the men. The ballet concludes with a duet for Breeanna Palmer and Faahkir Bestman entitled “Nothing…”; the stage is bathed in a red glow, and the music has an oddly Appalachian feel. Although this duet went on a bit too long, it was very finely danced. An extra bravo to lighting designer Michael Faba.
There were no bows after the opening work, and after a brief pause Bradley Shelver’s “Random People With Beautiful Parts” commenced. The music draws on the Hilliard Ensemble’s recordings of J S Bach; the piece is in three sections, beginning with a solemn air of ritual. Traditional ballet combinations weave into the music, and a sense of light vs darkness develops. An interesting motif of skidding on pointe is introduced, reminding me of Mauro Bigonzetti’s gorgeous “Luce Nascosta” for NYC Ballet (2010). There’s a lot happening in this opening section; the eye is constantly drawn from dancer to dancer.
Mr. Bestman joined Yumeno Takechi for the ballet’s central pas de deux, set to a pulsing beat. Then trilling percussion opens the dramatic finale, in which several individual dancers had a chance to shine, notably Charles Klepner. The dancing is showy and gets somewhat competitive as the music accelerates.
“The Relentless Nature of Dreaming” by choreographer Eryn Renee Young, is set to music by J.S. Bach and an original score by emerging composer Heather Cook. It’s been quite a long time since I last saw Ms. Young’s work: 2014, in fact, when I saw her excellent Bartok piece “Symphonie Miroir “. From the title of Ms. Young’s ballet on offer this evening, “The Relentless Nature of Dreaming“, I was envisioning an atmosphere of Shades or Wilis; but it’s actually the word “restless” in the title that most aptly applies.
The large cast (seemingly everyone in the Company) were clad in red (the men) and hot pink (the women), making quite a breath-taking sight as the lights came up. The women are divided into two groups: some in soft slippers and other on pointe. Neat patterns and myriad steps are skillfully choreographed. An exceptional solo, danced by one of the soft-slipper girls, was a highlight of the opening movement, but I can’t tell you her name.
The second section of Ms. Young’s ballet is danced to “Be My Water Tonight” by Heather Cook. For some reason, this was played at a very high volume; the dancing – at times quite animated – could have been really engaging, but the music was simply earsplitting. The song eventually turns watery, as if submerged (thus the word ‘water’ in the song’s title); there is so much going on for the dancers but it all gets lost in the musical overkill. The ballet ends with an elaborate final pose.
Closing the program is “OOF”, choreographed by Mr. Shelver. Set to music by Machito, Sunny and the Sunliners, and Balkan Beat Box, it sustained the high-energy, rather relentless feeling of the program. There were passing moments when it seemed a mood-swing might happen – one such was a male solo which commenced in a pool of light – but the idea was not developed: it simply melded into an ensemble.
The choreography is athletic and at times quirky, with something of a gypsy tinge to it. The final duet, set to “I Only Have Eyes For You“, was danced by Joliana Canaan and Faakhir Bestman, and was beautfully done.
What was lacking in the evening was a feeling of emotional connections between the dancers; seldom was any tenderness expressed, though in fact the extroverted nature of the ballets rarely called for it.
As to the music, there seems to be a tradition in this performing venue that music will be played in the theatre for a half-hour before curtain time, and during the interval. This means that the scores the choreographers have chosen to set become part of a larger sound scheme, diminishing their effect.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 