“Little mortal jump”, “Fluence”, “Pacopepepluto”, “Casi-Casa”
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 17, 2013
by George Jackson
copyright 2013 by George Jackson
No, it’s not the US Government’s shutdown and re-opening that makes me fume but timid choreography. In any event, the Kennedy Center was totally available again on Thursday, and not just for performances. One could walk out onto its terraces for views of the city, the river and a sky with aircraft rising or descending. Inside, Chicago’s Hubbard Street troupe had arrived with four works, none familiar here. Presumably all the pieces were in a popular vein for which Hubbard Street is known. Indeed, they had in common a scenic device – vapor on stage. In Mats Ek’s “Casi-Casa” the visible gas illustrated something specific – an apartment appliance turned on and about to burst. In the other dances it was just atmosphere, something to placate the eye when movement didn’t suffice. Crucial, though, was the choreographic difference between what Ek on the one hand and, on the other, Alejandro Cerrudo and Robyn Mineko Williams had done or hadn’t.
Popular, as exemplified by Cerrudo and Mineko Williams, seems to mean the casual, the avoidance of rigor, the appearance of comfortable movement at any cost. In “Little mortal jump”, Cerrudo does begin with a bit of daring. Will the single guy who starts the action by running thru the audience and clambering up onto the stage, do a dive from scenery on high? Better yet, will he dance a solo that explores his stature? He’s short, strongly formed, and seems capable of precise effort. An inviting glimpse of his potential is all we get. Cerrudo spends the rest of this ballet on ”dreamlike” encounters among the ten dancers of his cast. The four female performers have less interesting movement than the men. When the women balance or navigate, more stretch and true turn-out would give them urgency. That, though, would be counter to casual. Even a bit of pointe work mightn’t be out of place. It could pepper the proceedings, but anything stringent is avoided like poison. At least Cerrudo’s men are allowed to display stamina in “Little mortal jump”. In his other piece, “Pacopepepluto”, three males (Johnny McMillan, David Schultz, Jonathan Fredrickson) actually get to show off . There are bravura steps but they have to be performed bluntly, unballetically, acrobatically. Cerrudo teases the audience that might welcome seeing preparations, polish and princely demeanor. He also teases by almost undressing the trio but then underlighting them. They take no curtain calls, not even clothed.
Robyn Mineko Williams also bypasses ballet in “Fluence”. Four women and five men are supposed to alternate between being vulnerable and automatic. The contrast remains minor. However, the stepping and repositioning these women do has a more detailed vocabulary of legwork than do the maneuvers of Cerrudo’s females. “Fluence” has no real resolution. It ends with a snowfall of sticky bubbles – reminiscent of Washington Ballet’s “Wunderland”.
The final work on Hubbard Street’s program, “Casi-Casa”, had strong character. The dancers were solidly planted in stances that expressed traits such as perseverance, punctuality and diligence but also compassion, desire and dalliance. Their steps had the clarity and sufficiency of folk dancing. In addition, whatever movement was needed – whether from acts of labor or love – became choreographic material. Formality, too, received its due. Ek does go on too long with his screening of modern domestic life (originally “Casi-Casa” was two separate pieces) yet some passages pluck the heartstrings. He shows the tenderness of a trio, then duo, of men and then the yearning of a she/he pair. It is done with great economy, even as the feelings emerge, astonishingly, from mere foreplay. Eleven of the company’s dancers took to the Ek choreography with gusto.
Ek used a recording by the Fleshquartet as soundtrack for “Casi-Casa”. It may not classify as music, but it did become part and parcel of the action. Cerrudo and Mineko Williams linked their movement to scores in quite casual ways.
Photo: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Casi-Casa by Mats Ek. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.