~ Author: Oberon
Thursday June 20th, 2019 – Having seen three rehearsals of Amanda Selwyn’s CROSSROADS at various stages of its development, tonight I experienced the finished work in its premiere performance at New York Live Arts.
The process began during wintertime rehearsals: brief movement motifs were introduced by each of the individual dancers. Over time, these were developed and woven into the choreographic tapestry. The dancing is set on a musical soundscape that veers from driven to meditative; the sets, costumes, and props give the piece an eye-opening visual framework, and expert lighting by Dan Ozminkowski is the crowning touch.
In the months between concept and performance, there were some changes in the roster of performers; but Amanda ended up with a cast of brilliant and distinctive dancers whose commitment and flair kept the audience thoroughly engaged throughout the work’s 90-minute span.
The art of René Magritte and M C Escher were initial inspirations for CROSSROADS. A row of fanciful doors provide a backdrop, and columns – illuminated from within – are moved about as the work’s opening movement progresses. Later, the dancers will continually re-arrange a set of boxes to be used as podiums…or obstacles. By the end, everything is stripped down to essentials, the boxes piled in a heap, the dancers liberated.
But lets rewind to the start: Part I of CROSSROADS is entitled Sight. It begins with Ashley McQueen entering the shadowy space; she is a dancer with the grace of a ballerina, the groundedness of an Isadora acolyte, and the impetuous musicality of someone who dances because she must. All evening, my gaze kept returning to this woman and multi-hued dancing. Topping it all off, Ms. McQueen is also a comedienne to be reckoned with: her solo, stuck in an inflatable plastic chair, made me laugh out loud.
The other dancers now enter thru the upstage doors; they pair off – Ms. McQueen with Alex Cottone, Misaki Hayama with Isaac Kerr, and Manon Hallay with Michael Bishop – whilst the distinctive and enigmatic Sarah Starkweather weaves among them, a dancer on her own path. The couples creates a flow of beautiful moves and poses, and then the tall and lithe Mr. Kerr comes forward in silence and takes a bite out of Magritte’s apple.
The music now takes on a deep beat, and we are ready for some spacious dancing; fleeting solos and duets are part of the mix. As CROSSROADS progresses, each dancer will have multiple opportunities to show off his or her individuality and flair, seizing our focus in movement that veers from high-energy to expressive. The boys show off their partnering skills, the women each compelling in her own way.
With the columns on a diagonal, Ashley McQueen covers the space to dense, pensive music; her arms and hands speak to us poetically, and then her solo gets more animated. Misaki Hayama emerges thru one of the doors to dance a thoughtful, moving solo of loneliness and hope; Alex Cottone opens another door to dance with Misaki.
A tom-tom beat sets off a bouncy, propulsive ensemble dance: these people are super-movers. Alex Cottone’s solo here is just one of innumerable passages in which this dancer of boundless energy and passion seized the stage. He dances with Ms. McQueen, and then with Ms. Hallay. Michael Bishop and Ashley McQueen, in a duet to languid, deep, and soulful cello music, execute beautiful lifts.
After a blackout, Part II commences. Entitled Faith, it does indeed take on the feeling of a sacred rite when Alex Cottone is seen in a pool of blinding light on a low altar; his solo is simply spell-binding. As the light over Alex fades, another altar is illuminated and here the gorgeous Manon Hallay displays her beauteous line and floated arabesque in a solo at once alluring and pure. Both dancers here wear raspberry-hued costumes that accentuate their physical appeal.
Each dancer now has his/her own box on which to dance or pose, at first in unison. Sarah Starkweather’s plastique solo inaugurates a fresh cycle of movement motifs. To a bigger beat, the boxes are rearranged, and fleeting pas de deux replace the solos briefly. In a spirited trio, Misaki, Manon, and Sarah dance in sync.
Faith now becomes a journey: boxes are arranged along the front of the stage and the dancers walk in procession over these obstacles, pausing to pose or perform gestural solos along the way. A back-beat develops, and the parade breaks up.
A rather purgatorial “red quintet” springs up to a fresh tempo: Alex and the four women dance in sync, with breakouts and swift duets. Misaki’s fancy footwork here captured my eye. Sarah and Alex duet, then the quintet resumes. The beat is all.
Following a blessedly brief interval, Part III – Ascent – commences. In a foggy setting, Sarah Starkweather has a stormy solo to the sound of rushing water. Misaki and Ashley join her, the music (with big piano chords) has a throbbing depth; then Sarah – she of the unique presence – resumes her solo.
Alex Cottone, Michael Bishop, and the four women now have a quartet wherein the darkly lyrical cello gives a feeling of Russian passion; posing and moving, so attentive to one another, the dancers pair off. The woman in a row gesture in sync as the men provide visual counterpoint. This for me was the best part of CROSSROADS; it ends on a long cello tone.
Now comes the comic interlude: to spaced-out music, Ashley McQueen becomes helplessly trapped in an inflatable plastic chair. Her gestures and facial expressions are priceless. The other dancers come and go, unwilling – or too self-absorbed – to help her. Manon Hallay’s lovely arabesques again come into play; she seems intent on perfecting them whilst Ms. McQueen struggles valiantly to stand. Suddenly, Isaac Kerr rushes on and – in a flying leap – sails over the woman stranded in the chair. Meanwhile, Sarah Starkweather and Alex Cottone have carried on with their own duet throughout.
The mood now shifts, aided by sounds of shifting sea tides: Manon Hallay and Michael Bishop have a tender duet, with lyrical partnering phrases. Misaki Hayama and Isaac Kerr dance a spacious duet, with airy lifts and a trace of romance, which the cello accentuates. Sarah Starkweather and Alex Cottone walkabout, connect, and have an agile, gently amusing duet.
While Alex wanders alone, all the others advance from stage right, striking poses and gesturing – a very nice look here – before leaving Alex on his own again. A duet of passion for Ashley McQueen and Isaac Kerr is not without hints of danger. Following a solo passage for Sarah, Manon and Michael have a side-by-side duet with subtle dips and lifts. When Manon leaves him, Michael continues to dance with his memory of her.
The three men dance as the women ‘Vogue’ behind them; then the four women take the floor. Following a brief, compulsive solo, Alex Cottone is left alone as the lights fade.
CROSSROADS had flashed by: never a dull moment in this feast of movement. Thanks to the vibrant commitment of her seven dancers, Amanda Selwyn can chalk up yet another winning entry in her ongoing catalog of successes. How did I feel when CROSSROADS ended? I felt like dancing!
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 