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Conservator

Tania Perez-Salas Compania de Danza
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
September 29, 2010

by George Jackson
copyright 2010 by George Jackson

Found objects fascinate some people, whether they are practicing artists or not. The young Mexican choreographer Tania Perez-Salas collects movement she has experienced in life and examines how it looks on different dancers, against music by different composers, and in varied theatrical settings. Yet keeping the original essence intact seems to be her priority rather than polishing, developing or transforming the found motion. 

Significantly New

"Namouna", "Estancia", "Luce Nascosta" and Established Repertory
The New York City Ballet
Koch Theater
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
New York, NY
September 22 - 24, 2010

by George Jackson
copyright 2010 by George Jackson

Programming for New York City's Ballet's September season made it practical for the company's out of town followers to catch up on current casting and recent additions to the repertory. Seeing something really new happens rarely when watching dance, but one of the latest ballets, "Namouna",  struck me as a milestone work.

Yes and No

Bayanihan
The National Dance Company of the Phillipines
Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall
Berkeley, CA
September 24, 2010
by Rita Felciano

Copyright 2010 © Rita Felciano

The latest appearance by Bayanihan, the Philippines' long-established major folkloric company, left me torn exactly the way it did four years ago: delighted at the visual spectacle and charmed by some of the dancers. It also beautifully suggested sheer richness of indigenous dance genres, leaving the impression that just about every little town or region had its own festival or way of celebrating its uniqueness. Yet the paucity of choreographic imagination or arranging of these dances left a lot to be desired. It should be pointed out that the audience primarily consisted of Filipinos and Filipino Americans who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show.

To the Max

"Singular Sensation”
Yasmeen Godder
The Kitchen
New York, NY
September 23, 2010

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2010 by Martha Sherman

The problem with portraying excess is that it gets, well . . . excessive. Yasmeen Godder’s rich, wild “Singular Sensation,” in its New York premiere at the Kitchen, communicated the message and suffered the consequences. Along with Godder, a rugged cast co-created movement that was both physically intense and psychologically cacophonous. The challenges for them included not only remembering where to be and how to twist their faces and bodies, but doing so when almost nothing seemed to make any sense or to have any parallel or linkage. Challenging to the cast, it was exhausting for the audience.

 

Maa

Maa: A Ballet by Kaija Saariaho
Miller Theatre, Columbia University, New York
September 22, 2010
by Tom Phillips
Copyright 2010 by Tom Phillips

Ballet dancers rarely go barefoot, but they often wear socks in class, especially at the barre, as the lack of resistance from a shoe makes sliding and pointing the foot easier. But I never saw socks on stage until the world premiere of "Maa", a new ballet choreographed by Luca Veggetti to music by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. I mention it at the outset because the dancers’ sliding moves, and the extraordinary pointed feet of one, were among the few interesting things to see in this portentous, pretentious, overhyped production.

Fadeout

“Sans-titre”
Raimund Hoghe with Faustin Linyekula
Dance Theater Workshop
New York, NY
September 16, 2010

by Leigh Witchel

copyright © 2010 by Leigh Witchel

Raimund Hoghe is an artist who, like Pina Bausch, improves in memory. What I recall about his performances last year is a great deal more positive than what I wrote at the time. What mercifully faded in the interim were the doldrums – the long periods of nothing doing that make up the bulk of what Hoghe does. 

Long Live Spring

"Zéphyre and other ballets by Jean-Philippe Rameau"
The New York Baroque Dance Company
Symphony Space
New York, NY
September 21, 2010

by Mary Cargill

copyright 2010 by Mary Cargill

 

 

Nymphs, muses, and goddesses invaded Symphony Space with the New York Baroque Dance Company, led by Catherine Turocy, and the New York premiere of Rameau's chamber work "Zéphyre".  According to the detailed program notes, there is no record of this at the Paris Opera, and may have been written for the court of Versailles and Madame de Pompadour.  The somewhat Spartan Symphony Space evokes nothing of baroque elegance, and the casual, appreciative audience was a far cry from French courtiers, but the evening was elegant, sprightly, and uplifting.

Less is More

Festival Twenty Ten
Dance Theater Workshop
New York, NY
September 8, 2010

By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2010 by Carol Pardo

Ten dances, even at seven minutes per, is a hefty helping of dance to consume at one sitting. Perhaps that’s why charisma and comedy shown most brightly on opening night of Festival Twenty Ten.

Fall Forward

"Serenade", "Grazioso", "The Four Seasons"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center, New York
September 14, 2010

by Mary Cargill

copyright 2010 by Mary Cargill

The first, presumably of many, fall season for the New York City Ballet (made possible in part by the unfortunate financial problems of the New York City Opera) opened with a festive note.  The theater opened an hour early, there was a jazz trio on the promenade serenading the audience enjoying the new seating arrangements, and free champagne was flowing during the intermission.  Peter Martins' gracious opening remarks honored the principal dancers, and reminded the audience that will the New York City Ballet has always featured choreography, it also depends on its principals, and the program featured a number of them.  The opening bars of "Serenade" with it plangent and everblue atmosphere, seemed to sweep the audience away.

We Are Family

"Confined"
Emily Berry
Dixon Place
September 10, 2010
New York, New York

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2010 by Martha Sherman

It ought to be enough that three of the core elements of “Confined,” Emily Berry’s many-faceted new production at Dixon Place, work so well together: a fine, passionate group of dancers, a dynamic score on solo violin composed and played by Daniel Bernard Roumain, and an effective video backdrop. It isn’t enough. These elements are also confined by an almost non-stop dramatic reading. The stories, a combination of memories and poetry, were inspired by the performers, but were overwritten and over-performed, ultimately throwing the piece out of balance.