Tag: Paula Lobo

Ballet Hispánico @ The Joyce ~ 2019

Above: Jared Bogart and Melissa Verdecia of Ballet Hispánico; photo by Paula Lobo

~ Author: Oberon

Wednesday March 27th, 2019 – Ballet Hispánico’s season at The Joyce offered a very strong program: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has re-set her brilliant masterpiece Sombrerísimo, originally danced by the Company’s men, for an all-female cast; and Asian influences came into the mix with world premieres by Edwaard Liang and Bennyroyce Royon, each of which was highly successful in its own way.

I last saw perform Ballet Hispánico in 2016, and there have been major changes in their roster of dancers since then. Watching the Company tonight at The Joyce, I realized how bad my eyesight has become over time; it’s much more difficult for me now to single out individual dancers, and to put names to faces.

Edwaard Liang, formerly a soloist at New York City Ballet and now the Artistic Director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, has established himself among the front rank of international choreographers; his works have been danced by the Bolshoi Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre and Washington Ballet. Tonight, Ballet Hispánico opened their program with Liang’s El Viaje (“The Voyage”).

Set to the lushly lyrical Ralph Vaughan Williams score Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, and gorgeously lit by Joshua Paul Weckesser, El Viaje resonates with themes of emigration and cultural re-location, particularly of Chinese peoples; it speaks to me personally as I married one such emigrant.

Above: from El Viaje, photo by Paula Lobo

Melissa Verdecia, striking in a red dress, is spotlit facing upstage as the curtain rises. Such rushes into a high lift as the ballet begins. The dance has a ritualistic feel, and a strong architectural framework. Partnering motifs, performed by the couples in unison, underscore the sense of community. Solo and duet opportunities abound, in which the Hispánico dancers revel in their power and beauty, buoyed by the marvelous music. At the end, the dancers stand together, facing the sunrise, uncertain but hopeful.

Above: Dandara Veiga in El Viaje, photo by Paula Lobo

Sombrerísimo was commissioned by New York’s City Center for Fall for Dance in 2013; I was present at the premiere, which was a huge hit with the audience. Choreographed for an all-male ensemble by Belgian-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to a collage score by Banda Ionica, Macaco el Mono Loco, and Titi Robin, it of course now has a very different feel as danced by six women: Shelby Colona, Jenna Marie, Eila Valls, Gabrielle Sprauve, Dandara Veiga, and Melissa Verdecia. The movement ranges from swift and accented to cool and sexy, and there’s much by-play with the hats that inspired the ballet’s title. Joshua Preston’s lighting is atmospheric, and often produces a shadow-dancing effect. At the end, the girls toss their hats into the air while dozens of other hats fall from above.

Above: the Ballet Hispanico women in Sombrerísimo, photo by Paula Lobo

Bennyroyce Royon’s Homebound/Alaala is a danced memory-book of his homeland in The Philippines. On the other side of the world, in Bato, Leyte, mi amor de loin keeps me in daily touch with that world – a unique on-line love affair that made Benny’s ballet especially meaningful to me.

Above: Chris Bloom in Homebound/Alaala, photo by Paula Lobo

Opening with a dazzling stars-scape, the stage is full of boxes which the dancers carry, push, construct, take down, open, and close throughout the ballet. Perhaps they are boxes full of memories: some are marked Fragile. To popular songs of the Tagalog, the people work, relax, joke, flirt, and dream. Unison dance passages emphasize the sense of community, which is so very strong in the Filipino culture.

Central to Benny’s ballet is a gay ‘cruising’ duet, performed in silence. The two men warily circle one another, unsure of a response. In an overwhelmingly Catholic society, being gay in The Philippines faces barriers to acceptance; President Duterte tends to send mixed messages on the subject. My Brix thankfully has the support of his family, which many young people in the life there do not.

But, back to Bennyroyce’s ballet: flip flops are lined up as the finale is reached. While I might have wished for more dancing in this piece, I loved the music, the spirit of commitment from the dancers, and feeling the connection to my Tico…a love from afar.

~ Oberon

March 28, 2019
Ballet Hispánico @ The Joyce ~ 2019

Above: Jared Bogart and Melissa Verdecia of Ballet Hispánico; photo by Paula Lobo

~ Author: Oberon

Wednesday March 27th, 2019 – Ballet Hispánico’s season at The Joyce offered a very strong program: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has re-set her brilliant masterpiece Sombrerísimo, originally danced by the Company’s men, for an all-female cast; and Asian influences came into the mix with world premieres by Edwaard Liang and Bennyroyce Royon, each of which was highly successful in its own way.

I last saw perform Ballet Hispánico in 2016, and there have been major changes in their roster of dancers since then. Watching the Company tonight at The Joyce, I realized how bad my eyesight has become over time; it’s much more difficult for me now to single out individual dancers, and to put names to faces.

Edwaard Liang, formerly a soloist at New York City Ballet and now the Artistic Director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, has established himself among the front rank of international choreographers; his works have been danced by the Bolshoi Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre and Washington Ballet. Tonight, Ballet Hispánico opened their program with Liang’s El Viaje (“The Voyage”).

Set to the lushly lyrical Ralph Vaughan Williams score Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, and gorgeously lit by Joshua Paul Weckesser, El Viaje resonates with themes of emigration and cultural re-location, particularly of Chinese peoples; it speaks to me personally as I married one such emigrant.

Above: from El Viaje, photo by Paula Lobo

Melissa Verdecia, striking in a red dress, is spotlit facing upstage as the curtain rises. Such rushes into a high lift as the ballet begins. The dance has a ritualistic feel, and a strong architectural framework. Partnering motifs, performed by the couples in unison, underscore the sense of community. Solo and duet opportunities abound, in which the Hispánico dancers revel in their power and beauty, buoyed by the marvelous music. At the end, the dancers stand together, facing the sunrise, uncertain but hopeful.

Above: Dandara Veiga in El Viaje, photo by Paula Lobo

Sombrerísimo was commissioned by New York’s City Center for Fall for Dance in 2013; I was present at the premiere, which was a huge hit with the audience. Choreographed for an all-male ensemble by Belgian-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to a collage score by Banda Ionica, Macaco el Mono Loco, and Titi Robin, it of course now has a very different feel as danced by six women: Shelby Colona, Jenna Marie, Eila Valls, Gabrielle Sprauve, Dandara Veiga, and Melissa Verdecia. The movement ranges from swift and accented to cool and sexy, and there’s much by-play with the hats that inspired the ballet’s title. Joshua Preston’s lighting is atmospheric, and often produces a shadow-dancing effect. At the end, the girls toss their hats into the air while dozens of other hats fall from above.

Above: the Ballet Hispanico women in Sombrerísimo, photo by Paula Lobo

Bennyroyce Royon’s Homebound/Alaala is a danced memory-book of his homeland in The Philippines. On the other side of the world, in Bato, Leyte, mi amor de loin keeps me in daily touch with that world – a unique on-line love affair that made Benny’s ballet especially meaningful to me.

Above: Chris Bloom in Homebound/Alaala, photo by Paula Lobo

Opening with a dazzling stars-scape, the stage is full of boxes which the dancers carry, push, construct, take down, open, and close throughout the ballet. Perhaps they are boxes full of memories: some are marked Fragile. To popular songs of the Tagalog, the people work, relax, joke, flirt, and dream. Unison dance passages emphasize the sense of community, which is so very strong in the Filipino culture.

Central to Benny’s ballet is a gay ‘cruising’ duet, performed in silence. The two men warily circle one another, unsure of a response. In an overwhelmingly Catholic society, being gay in The Philippines faces barriers to acceptance; President Duterte tends to send mixed messages on the subject. My Brix thankfully has the support of his family, which many young people in the life there do not.

But, back to Bennyroyce’s ballet: flip flops are lined up as the finale is reached. While I might have wished for more dancing in this piece, I loved the music, the spirit of commitment from the dancers, and feeling the connection to my Tico…a love from afar.

~ Oberon

March 27, 2019
Ballet Hispanico @ The Joyce 2014

Above: from Ballet Hispanico‘s production of UMBRAL, photo by Paula Lobo

Tuesday April 15th, 2014 – Opening night of Ballet Hispanico‘s two-week season at The Joyce. This fantastic Company have quickly made their way to my top echelon of Gotham dance-world favorites: the dancers are sexy and spectacular, the choreography is invariably exciting, the musical range is broad and seductive…what more could one ask?

Tonight’s program opened with UMBRAL, choreographed by Edgar Zendajes to an original score by Owen Belton. This ballet honors the traditional Mexican celebration of the Dia de los Muertos (‘Day of the Dead’). Dark and evocative, UMBRAL benefits greatly from Joshua Preston’s lighting and the sleek costuming by Diana Ruettiger which displays the dancers’ lithe figures to maximum effect.

Light smoke drifts across the landscape as Mario Ismael Espinoza (above, in a Paula Lobo photo) appears in a sleek blood-red leotard, with his face painted deathly white, lips sewn shut: a living corpse. Mario, one of New York’s most alluring dance personalities, moves thru the community – an unseen spectre. His dancing has a remote beauty and mystique so perfectly suited to this role.

There is a pas de trois for Mario, Vanessa Valecillos, and Jamal Rashann Callender and then a solo for Mario danced in silence. This is interrupted by the ringing of a telephone – a message from the other side? – which the boys attempt to shush. In a passionate duet, Min-Tzu Li and Christopher Bloom display lyrical physicality. Then the six women appear, topless but discreet, as Mario moves subtly among them. The ballet ends with a stylied ensemble for the entire Company; as the dancers withdraw, Mario stands in a pool of shining light as if ascending to heaven. A brilliant piece, and a real tour de force for Mr. Espinoza.

Above, from SOMBRERISIMO, photo by Paula Lobo

Last season’s hit, SOMBRERISIMO, returned in triumph to The Joyce stage. Choreographer Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, using a collage of music that veers from propulsive to sensuous, evokes Magritte’s bowler-hatted men in this vastly pleasing ballet; and again the costumes (Ms. Ruettiger) and lighting (Mr. Preston) show off both the dancers and the dance to perfection.

Six men – Christopher Bloom, Jamal Rashann Callender, Alexander Duval, Mario Ismael Espinoza, Johan Rivera Mendez, and Marcos Rodriguez – move with vibrant authority thru the sexy, witty ensembles which include some sleight-of-hand passing of the hat and a bit of bowler-Frisbee. The men are jaunty, playful and ironic. Last year Christopher Bloom looked like a rising star, and now he’s shining brightly in the Big Apple’s firmament of dance: a man who moves with a particular energy that keeps our eye on him whenever he’s onstage. Both here and in EL BESO which followed, Chris served notice that he has arrived.

Ballet Hispanico in fact have a particularly strong contingent of male dancers and in SOMBRERISIMO each man has a chance to shine; the ballet drew a whooping ovation from the packed house as the boys stepped foward for several bows. And now someone needs to make a new and special piece for Hispanico‘s gorgeous women!

Above: Ballet Hispanico‘s Kimberly Van Woesik in EL BESO, photo by Paula Lobo

After watching a studio rehearsal of Gustavo Ramiriez Sansano’s new ballet EL BESO (‘The Kiss’) I was very curious to see how it would look onstage. In contrast to the dazzling colours and stately rhythms of the music (drawn from the enchanting scores of the zarzuela), the setting was much darker than I expected. I had imagined costumes of scarlet and canary yellow, with black lace and golden filagree, but instead designer Angel Sanchez has put the dancers in rather utilitarian outfits of black and dark blue. The stage lighting could be just a notch brighter so that the subtle interplay of the dancers and their many kisses becomes clearer. Some of the intimacy of the work has been lost in the move from studio to stage.

Once I adjusted to the unexpected black-and-blue setting, there was much to enjoy in this piece, for the choreography has wit and sparkle. EL BESO opens with Johan Rivera Mendez alone onstage, looking a bit shy. He is soon the object of Kimberly Van Woesik’s flirtatious affection. The ballet goes on to explore many variations of relationships and many varieties of kissing, including a passionate smooch for two men (Mssers. Bloom and Callender). A big unison ensemble heralds the finale, but at the last moment everyone rushes away leaving Mr. Mendez alone onstage as at the start.

April 15, 2014
FIVE MINUTES: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre

Saturday June 25, 2011 – Coming down to the wire after my busiest few weeks ever, I spent the afternoon watching some of my favorite NYCB dancers at Tom Gold’s studio (more about that later), then headed downtown to experience a new company: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre. I hardly ever get a chance to try something different because my calendar is so full, but the publicist who invited me to Selwyn cunningly attached photos by Paula Lobo (above) and Christopher Duggan to her invitation. Both the dancers and the stage images caught my fancy. I’m glad I went: FIVE MINUTES was 100% enjoyable.

As my friend Tom and I found our seats at Dance Theater Workshop, the projection of a large digital clock onstage was ticking down the seconds til the performance began. It started on the dot and ran in a series of finely-paced scenes for exactly 55 minutes.

Working with a compilation score, each movement of which lasts five minutes, Selwyn presents her six dancers in ten seemingly un-related short works each with different costumes, lighting, projections and moods. The underlying theme is the passage of time and how we spend it; some of these vignettes flew by, others took a more leisurely pace. Working in various combinations (solo, duo, trio, ensemble) Selwyn’s very attractive dancers each have ample opportunity for both technical and personal expression. The dancing was excellent, the ever-changing musical and visual settings giving each dancer the possibility to explore many moods.

As the evening unfolded, there were some particulary luminous moments such a the sustained, lyrical duet for Robert Vail and Joori Jung (above, Christopher Duggan photo). Later, two strikingly beautiful men, Francisco Silvino and Louie Marin, dance conjoined solos in pools of light, the musculature of their torsos set aglow.

Throughout the evening the lighting and projections created dreamlike settings (Paula Lobo image, above) which wrapped the dancers in colour or created chiaroscuro effects. Each five-minute segment held the imagination. There were moments of wit but they never descended to cuteness; the dancers did speak briefly: “You have five minutes…”

Paula Lobo image, above. In less than an hour, Amanda Selwyn and her troupe had given us dance that was entertaining and lovely to watch along with a reminder that time is fleeting: use yours wisely.

We came out into the Chelsea evening where the streets had a special energy: on the eve of Gay Pride Day 2011, the New York City gay community and their suppportive friends had much to celebrate.

Dancers: Jenny Gillan, Ashleigh Gurtler, Joori Jung, Louie Marin, Francisco Silvino, Robert J. Vail

Sound Design for Five Minutes by Joel Wilhelmi. Costume Design is by Anna-Alisa Belous. Lighting Design is by Dan Ozminkowski. Projection Design is by C. Andrew Bauer. Scenic Design is by Tom Gleeson. Stage Manger: Tiffany Tabatchnick.

June 25, 2011
Jennifer Muller: THE WHITE ROOM

Above: Mariana Cardenas of Jennifer Muller/The Works photographed by Matt Murphy.

Friday March 25, 2011 – THE WHITE ROOM is an evening-length creation by Jennifer Muller/THE WORKS which will premiere at the Cedar Lake Theater on June 22nd. We have been following the creative process of this piece since April 2010 when we were invited into The White Room for the first time. In October 2010, Kokyat and I went back to Jennifer’s studio again to see how the work was evolving.

Today I asked photographer Matt Murphy to join me for a third visit as Jennifer prepared to show us newly-created scenes from the second act of THE WHITE ROOM. This dramatic dancework, to a score compiled from various works featuring the cello, runs an emotional gamut from violence to tenderness. Power (and the corrupting influence of power), deceit, passion, despair and the myriad facets of human relationships are depicted by Jennifer’s brilliant ensemble of dancers who move with a distinctive combination of raw physicality and spiritual grace thru her demanding steps and often harrowing dramatic situations.

One of the most exciting aspects of a visit to Jennifer Muller’s studio is that her dancers go into full performance mode, giving unsparingly of themselves both from a technical and an emotional standpoint. Above: Elizabeth Disharoon and Pascal Rekoert. Since I began blogging I have had many wonderful experiences of getting close to dance both figuratively and literally. That is especially true at Jennifer’s studio where the intensity of the atmosphere seems to put the viewer in the very center of the dance.

Matt produced a beautiful portfolio of images from the rehearsal which I think reflect the generosity of spirit that the choreographer and dancers of Jennifer Muller/The Works always evince.

The men of the Company

Seiko Fujita

Abdul Latif, Elizabeth Disharoon

Jen Peters

Gen Hashimoto

Rosie Lani Fiedelman

Elizabeth Disharoon, Pascal Rekoert

Ensemble with masques

Elizabeth Disharoon and ensemble

Pascal Rekoert

Rosie Lani Fiedelman

Dancers watching dancers: Mariana Cardenas, Duane Gosa, Jen Peters, Mario Bermudez Gil and Seiko Fugita.

Jennifer Muller.

All photos by Matt Murphy.

June 22, 2011
THE WHITE ROOM: A Paula Lobo Gallery

A gallery of images by photographer Paula Lobo from the premiere presentation of Jennifer Muller/The Works’ THE WHITE ROOM. Read about the evening here. Above: the dancers are Elizabeth Disharoon, Pascal Rekoert, Alvon Reed, Mario Bermudez Gil, Abdul Latif, Duane Gosa and Jen Peters.

Click on the images to enhance the view.

Hsing-Hua Wang, Duane Gosa and Seiko Fujita

Alvon Reed, Rosie Lani Fiedelman

Hsing-Hua Wang

Gen Hashimoto, Hsing-Hua Wang and Susanna Bozzetti

June 22, 2011