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A Long Embrace

"Verona”
orange grove dance
The Green Building
Brooklyn, NY
April 21, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2010 by Martha Sherman

Passion. Pain. In orange grove dance’s “Verona,” a minimalist telling of “Romeo and Juliet”, the movement and story focused entirely on those two experiences. Choreographers/dancers Colette Krogol and Matthew Reeves created a highly physical duet that evoked the emotions rather than the dramatic arc of Shakespeare’s story. They were a convincing pair of lovers with powerful chemistry and a beautiful, personal vocabulary of lifts and embraces. What the choregraphers gave us was a single dimension of these characters, without shading or subtlety; what was missing were the story and context to deepen this familiar tale.

Ballet with an Edge

Balanchine Black and White in DC

"Square Dance," "Episodes," "Stravinsky  Violin Concerto"
"Concerto Barocco," "Agon," "The Four Temperaments"
New York Citiy Ballet
John F. Kennedy  Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
April 7 and 9 (matinee), 2011

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2011 by Alexandra Tomalonis

There were a lot of murmurs last year when the New York City Ballet's DC repertory was announced. A solid week of Balanchine ballets that we'd seen performed several times over the past few years did not seem particularly exciting to some. Yet the week was a huge success -- near sold out, happy houses; new casts, young dancers tackling the ballets with zest. One major difference was the timing. City Ballet usually performs here (as it did in the Good Old Days) in February after a long New York winter season. Both dancers and ballets often look very tired.  But this year, the company came on what is usually a break, and the dancers looked well-rehearsed and refreshed; the ballets, of course, are timeless, but it helps when you see them as clearly as most were shown here.

Dreams and Memories

"Mirrors", "Utopia", "Classroom Fantasy", "Dreamscapes"
Avi Scher & Dancers
Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, NY
April 23, 2011

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2011 by Mary Cargill

The young choreographer returned to the Alvin Ailey Theatre with a crop of new dances and an exciting group of dancers.  The performance last year was notable for its cast which included outstanding dancers such as Marcelo Gomes, Veronika Part, and Ashley Bouder.  This year Scher also had fine dancers from ABT and NYCB, including Tyler Angle, Ana Sophia Scheller, and Craig Salstein, but he also offered Carla Körbes and Seth Orza from Pacific Northwest Ballet, Sofiane Sylve from the San Francisco Ballet, and Misa Kuranaga and Jospeh Gatti from the Boston Ballet.  So often, New York only sees visitors in a gala format, whacking off one pas de deux or solo after another, so it was a welcome treat to see these fine dancers in complete choreography, especially since these works showed off the dancers performing as well as technical skills; Scher can use stillness and gesture to convey mood.

Socrates' Soubresaut

Wally Cardona's "Intervention #7: Silas Grant"
Dance Place
Washington, DC
April 23, 2011

by George Jackson
copyright 2011 by George Jackson

The performance started at 8 PM and it was now 8:45 yet Wally Cardona had not yet danced. He was only beginning to move significantly, to illustrate the dialogue in which he had engaged the audience. His topics were "space", "place" and, ultimately, the "persona" because expanses - whether they are endless stretches or limited enclosures - are experienced, defined and perhaps even created by individuals, by people in their minds. Some in the audience seemed to want the talk to continue. There were both civilians and dancers among the public who had to have their say. My left hand neighbor, though, became impatient and proceeded to disengage, pulling out her cell phone to check for messages. I looked at my wristwatch again guessing that Cardona - a trim, casually clad man with dark hair including a thin mustache and long sideburns that lengthen the oval of his face - would be rather precise about when to do more with his body. Perhaps this Washington audience would even get to see dance by Cardona and his "expert", community activist Silas Grant who had been sitting in the front row. London audiences have been known to take choreographers and presenters to court when they think they are being jipped of sufficient dance at what is announced to be a dance performance. What Cardona proceeded to do from about 8:50 to 9:30 PM partially involved Grant while it both met some expectations and held surprises. 

Road Show

Repertory Highlights
The Martha Graham Dance Company
Alden Theatre
McLean, Virginia
April 22, 2011

by George Jackson
copyright 2011 by George Jackson

Can the muscle contractions and willpower at the core of Martha Graham dances be excerpted? Can the guillotine of her mind flash without a frame? Ought those who repeat her steps and postures be devotees or troupers? There was a lecture-demonstration mind set about this one night stand by The Martha Graham Dance Company. Theater magic was in short supply.  

After Eden

"Dance"
Lucinda Childs' group
Kay Theatre, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
The University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
April 21, 2011

by George Jackson
copyright 2011 by George Jackson

One never knew what to expect when one went to see the Judson Church dancers in the early days - 1962, 1963 and perhaps still in 1965. One of them was Lucinda Childs and apart from moving with lucidity and an elegance that seemed a trifle shy, she too would surprise every time. The individuals who belonged to Judson were involved in defining themselves and reinventing dance. Such diversity, such discovery couldn't, however, and didn't last. By the later 1960s they had either ceased dancing and gone on to other activities or found themselves and developed a signature style of movement. Never mind that such a thing as a signature would have been considered a betrayal during early Judson. To survive, to flourish, a recognizable style became a life preserver. Childs came to be known for her pattern dances and it is the 1979, tripart "Dance" that she has currently revived. Expectation, which does not exclude surprise, is important in experiencing this thirty-two year old rhythmic construct of choreography for the body and the camera. 

Celebrating Now

"Paradigm Shift: Past, Present, Future”
Paradigm
St. Mark’s Church
New York, NY
April 14, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2010 by Martha Sherman

 St. Mark’s Church was packed with guests, fans, and celebrants of the groundbreaking dance troupe, Paradigm, and the 80th birthday of its queen, Carmen de Lavallade. Founded 15 years ago by de Lavallade, Gus Solomons jr (the artistic director of the group), and Dudley Williams, Paradigm is home to mature artists who perform well beyond the 20-40 year old range typical of most dancers. Their experience, grace, and intimate knowledge of their own bodies craft work in a riveting language. In “Paradigm Shift: Past, Present, Future,” the company has lured a remarkable group, including dancers Valda Setterfield and Robert La Fosse  and musicians Matthew Flory Meade and Kyle Olson, to share in the creative endeavor – and the celebration.

Youth's Promise

Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory Performance Project
Annual Spring Gala 2011
Symphony Space
New York, NY
April 16, 2011

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2011 by Mary Cargill

Valentina Koslova, the Bolshoi-trained former New York City Ballet principal, has a ballet school and showed off her dancers in the recent gala.  The most promising of these have done well on the competition circuit, but these dancers did not have the slick, brittle demeanor of so many competitors; the sheer joy of dancing shone through.  I could see into the wings from my seat, and saw the younger ones watching raptly and generously applauding their cohorts. It is of course, not fair to hold these students to professional standards, but the evening offered some very fine performances. 

Jerome Robbins and Heinz Spoerli share Zurich´s new Double-Bill

“In the Night” and “Song of the Earth”
 Zurich Ballet
 Zurich Opera House
 Zurich, Switzerland
 April 2, 2011
 
by Horst Koegler
copyright 2011 by Horst Koegler
 
 In the final premiere of his 15th and penultimate season as artistic director and chief-choreographer of the Zurich Ballet, Heinz Spoerli has double-billed Jerome Robbins´ Chopin based  “In the Night” with his own creation of  Gustav Mahler´s “Song of the Earth”. It is a programme which could be billed “Les Adieux”. For if the Robbbins materialized like some sort of after-thought to his preceding “Dances at a Gathering” – Spoerli´s creation of Mahler´s Lieder Symphony ends with the altist´s last words  ´Ewig, ewig, ewig…´  (Always, always, always…´),  sounding  like  the never ending echo of farewells in the night.

Strength in the Middle

"Ghosts," "7 for Eight", "Chroma"
Program VI
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial House
San Francisco, CA
April 7 and 9, 2011

by Rita Felciano
Copyright © Rita Felciano, 2011

Helgi Tomasson's elegant 2004 "7 for Eight" has never looked as good as when bracketed by two on the surface more adventurous pieces, Christopher Wheeldon's pleasingly scattered 2010 "Ghosts" and Wayne McGregor's joint-jarring 2006 Royal Ballet commission, "Chroma," which this year dropped by SFB for a hopefully eat-and-run visit.