Thursday September 22, 2011 – A really fine evening of dance from Cherylyn Lavagnino‘s beautiful Company, enhanced by live music and performed in a “salon” setting at the Chelsea Art Museum. Above, violinist Jane Chung and dancer Luke Manley in QUIET PLACE, the evening’s final offering.
Two duets, a quartet and a large ensemble work were danced in different areas of the museum’s large upper gallery. The audience, despite being urged to walk about, mostly remained in their seats, moving their chair as the performance shifted from space to space.
Composer Scott Killian provided the original score for DUET #3 in which two men move thru scuptural poses, often linked like conjoined twins. There’s no hint of romance or physical attraction between the two dancers – Justin Flores and Josh Powell (above). Instead the piece has a rather brotherly feel, and though the pacing in general is slow it is quite demanding in terms of stamina and strength.
As DUET #3 ended, Josh walked away from the space leaving Justin in a pensive pose; he was soon joined by the lovely Selena Chau for the artful duet A BIRD CAME DOWN THE WALK, set to an entrancing score by Toru Takemitsu. This pas de deux seems a perfect companion piece to DUET #3 and some of the same motifs appear in the choreography, subtly altered. Selena and Justin (above) gave a lyrical performance; Ms. Lavagnino’s partnering settings are very appealing and persuasively interpreted by her excellent dancers.
Moving to another area in the large gallery, four dancers appeared to perform WILL which is set to a score by Jane Chung which the composer, a polished violinist, played live tonight. Above, dancers Sarah Bek and Selena Chau.
The work opens with two duets: in the first Ms. Chau and her partner Justin Flores (above) dance with expressive lyricism – Selena’s vulnerable quality is so appealing and Justin a fine and attentive partner. Meanwhile…
…the second couple (Sarah Bek and Patrick O’Neill) stand to the side, facing one another silently.
Sarah and Patrick’s duet has a more edgy element to it; these tall and attractive dancers match up well and danced with commanding assurance.
Justin Flores in WILL.
Justin and Patrick in WILL.
A large ensemble then took over the central space of the gallery for the concluding QUIET PLACE; Ms. Chung played the Passacaglia for Solo Violin by Heinrich Ignaz Biber as the dancers moved thru ever-shifting pairings and sub-groups in patterns that evoked images of reverence and ritual.
The individual dancers have ample opportunities for expressiveness: Josh Powell, above…
…Luke Manley and Eric Williams…
…Darion Smith, with Ms Chung in the background.
Violinist Jane Chung, dancers Luke Manley and Claire Westby
Julia Mayo, Josh Palmer, Jane Chung
Josh Palmer
Luke Manley, Eric Williams
Ms. Lavagnino’s choreography in this larger-scale work impressed in its musicality and underlying sense of passion for movement. She’s becoming one of my favorite contemporary choreographers.
A note about violinist/composer Jane Chung, from the Musica Bella website:
“Jane Chung, violin/viola, has performed as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across the United States and Europe, including the festivals of Prussia Cove, Aspen, Taos, Britten-Pears, Utah and Spoleto. She has collaborated as a chamber musician with Joel Krosnick, Rostislav Dubinsky, Luba Edlina, and Steven Isserlis, and the dance company TERRAIN. An enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, Ms. Chung has been a regular guest artist of the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players since January 2003, including tours to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Minsk. She has also appeared with the Elements Quartet, Non Sequitur, Azure Ensemble, odeonquartet, and worked with Mario Davidovsky and Eric Chasalow.
Ms. Chung trained primarily at Yale University, where she received a Master of Music degree and a B.A. (magna cum laude) in architecture, and was winner of both the graduate and undergraduate concerto competitions. She then studied in Vienna as a Fulbright grant recipient. Her main teachers include Peter Oundjian and Donald Weilerstein. Ms. Chung has served on the faculty of Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp and the Great Neck Music Center, and she has taught violin and chamber music at Yale. She is also worked with American Ballet Theatre’s orchestra and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra.”
All photographs by Kokyat. Visit his Leica photoblog here.
Oberon's Glade 