Tag: Mark Owen

Rehearsal: John-Mark Owen’s REQUIEM

Dancer Josh Christopher (above) takes a central role in John-Mark Owen’s REQUIEM.

Wednesday August 29, 2012 – Today I went over to the 92nd Street Y where choreographer John-Mark Owen was rehearsing for his upcoming presentation of REQUIEM. The performances are scheduled for September 13th thru 15th at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center. Ticket information here.

Taking on the Mozart REQUIEM from a choreographic standpoint is a major project, and John-Mark has risen to the task in this ensemble work which avoids a literal interpretation of the sacred texts and favours instead a painterly approach. Each ‘frame’ of the ballet becomes part of a living gallery; John-Mark applies a dramatic subtext but he isn’t a slave to it. The sculptural feeling of certain passages, as well as the unison ‘choral’ phrases of walking or marching, respond to the architecture of the music with its sense of ritual.

John-Mark has assembled a strong cast, with particularly vivid performances by Aaron Mattocks (above) as a sinister and even brutal dark angel…

…and the intense lyricism of John Christopher (above). Kerry Shea and Amy Brandt have the principal female roles.

Here are some images from the rehearsal and of the individual dancers involved:

The ensemble

Josh Christopher and John-Mark Owen

Aaron Mattocks, Amy Brandt

Ensemble

Josh Christopher, Aaron Mattocks

Jason Stotz, Nadezhna Vostrikov

JoVonna Parks, Oisin Monaghan

Kelsey Coventry

Alfredo Solivan

Kristen Deiss, Kelsey Coventry

Kerry Shea

Josh Christopher

Nadezhna Vostrikov

Kelsey Coventry, Jason Stotz

Oisin Monaghan, Matt Van

John-Mark Owen

August 29, 2012
Checking In with John-Mark Owen

Friday April 29, 2011 – Down to SoHo this morning to watch choreographer John-Mark Owen putting the finishing touches on a new solo performed by Jesse Marks, a soloist with Colorado Ballet. Kokyat and I met Jesse last year when he appeared with Lydia Johnson Dance here in New York City.

The solo, entitled Sonatae, is set to music of Heinrich Ingaz Franz Biber. It begins with the dancer in a contemplative Narcissus-like pose and then flows into space-covering movement. John-Mark, a choreographer after my own heart for our shared love of Baroque music, shows Jesse off to beaufitul advantage. I really enjoyed seeing Jesse again.

Sonatae will premiere at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center in performances on May 6th and 7th when John-Mark’s work shares a triple bill with Island Moving Co (from Newport, RI) and Cherylyn Lavagnino. Details here.

Both Jesse Marks and John-Mark Owen will be appearing in Dances Patrelle‘s GILBERT & SULLIVAN: A Ballet! at Dicapo Opera Theatre May 12th – 15th. Information here. Read about it here.

April 29, 2011
John Mark Owen’s Sonatae II

Saturday March 26, 2011 – Choreographer John-Mark Owen invited us to watch a rehearsal of his newest work, Sonatae II, set to music of Alexander Balanescu. The duet will be shown at the 92nd Street Y on Sunday March 27th at 3:00 PM. The dancers are Jennifer Goodman and Josh Christopher, above in Kokyat’s photo.

When Kokyat and I arrived at the studio, Jennifer and Josh were putting the finishing touches on the duet.

They worked in silence with John-Mark and all the movement seemed so expressive. With a performance scheduled for the following afternoon one might have expected an atmosphere of urgency or even panic in the studio but instead there was an air of calm with the dancers taking their time to perfect the small nuances of gesture and expression that John-Mark was looking for.

With the studio time running out, John-Mark played the Balanescu music and what had been an attractive series of danced passages took on a deeper and more intense feeling altogether.

The music is just so poetic, and the dancing took wing on it.

As soon as the run-thru finished the dancers quickly bundled up and packed off to the Y for further rehearsing. All photos: Kokyat.

Jennifer Goodman is currently dancing a featured role in performances of Strauss’ CAPRICCIO at the Metropolitan Opera.

On May 6th and 7th, John-Mark Owen’s Sonatae I will be performed by Jesse Marks at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center on a programme shared with the Island Moving Company of Newport, RI.

March 26, 2011
Photoshoot: Paul Monaghan

Kokyat photographed dancer Paul Monaghan rehearsing with choreographer John-Mark Owen for a performance at Jacob’s Pillow. John-Mark created a solo on Paul which – even in rehearsal – looked wonderfully expressive.

I asked Paul to tell me a little about himself and his background in dance; this was his response:

“i began training at a performing arts high school on long island under
the direction of catherine murphy. i then began taking classes at the
martha graham school of contemporary dance in manhattan. i went on to
study dance at marymount manhattan college on the upper east side. i’ve
worked with some notable choreographers such as Geoffrey Holder, Sophie
Maslow, Chet Walker. I’ve also performed w/ the Anna Sokolow Player’s
Project at the joyce theatre. currently, I’m a freelance artist dancing
with a few companies here in manhattan, and showing my own work;
sometimes in collaboration w/ other artists/mediums/spaces. most
principally, i’m dancing w/ Robin Becker Dance who will be premiering an
evening length dance inspired by the book “They Marched Into Sunlight,”
by pulitzer prize winning author and washington post senior editor,
David Maraniss in the spring of 2011.”

While Kokyat was photographing in black and white, I was taking some casual pictures with my Lumix, one of which captured Paul’s hair quite nicely:

The dancer seems to have been reincarnated from the time of Caravaggio or Botticelli.

More of Kokyat’s images from this rehearsal here.

December 25, 2010