Oberon's Glade

Tag: Gibney Dance Center

  • Finding Isadora’s ‘DANCE OF THE PRIESTESSES’

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    Above: dancers Morgana Rose Mellett and Emily D’Angelo of the Isadora Duncan Dance Company

    Friday August 29th, 2014 – Today I went down to the Gibney Dance Center where friends of the Isadora Duncan Dance Company had been invited to an intimate studio session in anticipation of the upcoming renewal of a ‘lost’ Duncan work, DANCE OF THE PRIESTESSES.

    Lori Belilove, artistic director of the Company, welcomed us and then told the story of how DANCE OF THE PRIESTESSES has miraculously re-surfaced after several decades of being nothing more than a bit of legend.

    There had been talk of a film of the work having been made in 1963 and featuring one of the original Isadorables, Anna (Denzler) Duncan. Incredibly the film surfaced and was presented to Lori by some benevolent angel.  Lori set to work with her dancers to re-construct the piece, and we will be able to see it danced both on the film and live at a presentation at the Gibney Dance Center on September 17th, 2014, at 6:30 PM.  Further details of this event will be forthcoming.

    The dancework is drawn from the story of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, who was rescued from her fate as a human sacrifice by the goddess Artemis. Iphigenia becomes a priestess at the temple of Artemis in Tauris, a position in which she has the gruesome task of ritually sacrificing any foreigners who land on that kingdom’s shores.  Iphigenia is eventually confronted with the necessity of sacrificing her long-lost brother Orestes but that horrific duty is averted by the intercession of the goddess Athena.

    The story was immortalized in Christoph Willibald von Gluck’s gorgeous opera, IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE. And it is to Gluck’s music that DANCE OF THE PRIESTESSES is performed.

    After providing us with this background, Lori asked each of us to cross our hands over our sternum and to breathe deeply; we can immediately sense our own center and the connectedness of the entire body. Her dancers then demonstrate some of the exercises with which they warm up: similar to a ballet barre, and yet the movement emanates from the torso rather than being guided by the limbs.

    The dancers looked so beautiful doing these deceptively ‘simple’ exercises which actually call for great concentration and control. The movement has a slow and ecstatic quality as the wheel-like flow of the arms, radiating from the sternum, reach down to the Earth and then soars skyward.

    Having shown us these stylistic elements, the dancers then performed a brief passage from DANCE OF THE PRIESTESSES. The ritualistic pouring of the libation oil and the stately pacing of the celebrants, arms opening in eloquent gestures of offering and supplication, create a timeless atmosphere of feminine power and beauty.

    The dancers – Kim D’Agnese, Faith Kimberling, Emily D’Angelo, and Morgana Rose Mellett – each have distinguishing physical characteristics which maintain their individuality even when dancing in unison. Watching them was a truly savorable experience.

    I’m hoping to see a rehearsal of the full work prior to the Gibney showing on September 17th.

    Watch a brief film clip of Anna Duncan performing at Jacob’s Pillow in 1942 here.

  • Gina Gibney’s Celebration

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    January 29th, 2014 – The recent announcement by Gina Gibney that Gibney Dance would be expanding their activities to 280 Broadway, known for years as Dance New Amsterdam, is cause for celebration: the Gibney Dance Center at 890 Broadway now has a sister site further downtown where classes, rehearsals, performances and community events will bring this space back to vibrant life.

    Tonight at a gathering at 280 Broadway, a standing-room-only crowd assembled in the venue’s theater as Ms. Gibney outlined plans for the re-opening of this space which has stood forlornly empty for the past several weeks. I frankly never thought I’d see the inside of 280 Broadway again – a place where I have spent many happy hours watching classes, rehearsals, performances and other dance-related activities over the past few seasons – so I was particularly pleased to be back in the columned hall this evening as Gina set forth her extraordinary vision of a Renaissance in these studios, so redolent with the essence of dance.

    Gina Gibney’s plans for 280 Broadway include creating a digital media center, a high-tech performance lab, and a black box theater. And the latest good news – a $3-million gift from the Agnes Varis Trust – will help bring these plans to fruition sooner rather than later.

    Among the many exciting aspects of the revival of 280 Broadway is the news that The Playground, the vibrant series of affordable dance labs founded by Loni Landon and Gregory Dolbashian, will be partnered by Gibney Dance in their mission to bring choreographers and dancers together in an open, dynamically creative setting.

    This evening’s announcement/kick-off event, liberally laced with applause as each new facet of Gina Gibney’s grand design for 280 Broadway was revealed, seemed to herald a bright new day for dance in New York City.

  • Gabrielle Lamb @ Gibney Dance Center

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    Dancer, choreographer and film-maker Gabrielle Lamb (above with choreographer Luca Veggetti, photo by Kokyat) will be offering donation-based classes at the Gibney Dance Studios on July 8, 9, 11 and 12 at 10:30 AM. Gabrielle has a space grant from Gibney and she has already used part of her time there creating a fascinating duet entitled TwoFold which I was lucky enough to be able to see during its creative process. You can view this work, danced by Gabrielle and Giorgia Bovo, here. Gabrielle’s also been creating a film for Ballet X.   

    Gabrielle writes on the Gibney blog: “I am especially excited about the final component of my grant: my community project. Thanks to the generosity of the Gibney Dance Center, in July I will be teaching a series of classes which will be available to dancers on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. All proceeds will go to City Harvest. In preparation for a choreographic residency at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago last year, I began constructing the framework for a contemporary dance class that includes elements of conditioning and strengthening, while encouraging freer use of the head and greater fluidity of the spine in three dimensions. Starting out, I had the help of a Laban Movement Analyst and Pilates instructor, and among my other important influences have been my yoga practice of many years and my novice explorations of hip-hop and capoeira.

    The warm-up starts on the floor and builds up slowly through sitting and medium levels. It demands whole-body coordination, with a particular emphasis on arm and core strength, in order to help the dancer move fluently to and from the floor. I alternate choreographed exercises and etudes with improvisations structured to introduce unfamiliar movement concepts and to allow dancers to explore their own creativity as movers. I have since expanded and developed the work in classes I have taught at the Joffrey Ballet School and at BalletX in Philadelphia. And I am very happy to be teaching at the Gibney Dance Center on July 8,9,11,and 12, from 10:30-noon. This is a valuable opportunity for me to meet new dancers and incorporate fresh influences into my work, while making a contribution to a very worthy organization.”

    Of the studios at Gibney, Gabrielle writes: “I have felt so lucky to have had access to these grand, sunny spaces at the Gibney Dance Center. These are not just big spaces; they are big spaces that inspire, with their high ceilings and their big windows looking out on the elegant neighboring buildings. I have felt on the one hand that I had the time for play and experimentation, and on other hand that I wanted to make the most of every hour.”

    I first saw Gabrielle at Christopher Wheeldon’s studio when MORPHOSES were preparing for their 2009 peformance with Martha Wainwright in Central Park. I picked up immediately on Gabrielle’s unique energy, a ballerina steeped in the classic style yet vividly contemporary in movement and persona. She appeared with MORPHOSES again in 2010, dancing in Pontus Lidberg’s VESPERTINE at The Guggenheim. Her MORPHOSES connection continues in 2011 when she will dance in Luca Veggetti’s BACCHAE at The Joyce, premiering on October 25th. Also this Autumn, Gabrielle will appear in Emery LeCrone’s new ballet to music of Elliott Carter for The Guggenheim’s Works & Process series.

    Here at Oberon’s Grove, we’ll be following the development of both the Morphoses BACCHAE and the LeCrone/Works & Process piece. Meanwhile I’m planning to check out Gabrielle’s class at Gibney (I’ll be watching, not participating) and would love to see lots of New York’s dancers from all genres there.