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A Beatles Tribute For All

“Pepperland”
Mark Morris Dance Group
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
November 16, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

When I first heard Mark Morris had choreo- graphed a work to Beatles music, I was surprised and a bit skeptical. There are a lot of strong feelings about the Beatles. Some people believe it is a crime not to love their work. After seeing this show, I believe it is a crime not to gain some sort of enjoyment from watching Mark Morris’ new work, “Pepperland.” His tribute to the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album was enlightening, soothing, and chock full of humor. To paraphrase the creator himself, Morris claimed that this show is for people who love the Beatles, for those who hate the Beatles, and everybody in between. The work was not meant to place the Beatles’ groundbreaking album on a pedestal nor demean the iconic collection of experimental songs by poking frivolous fun at its themes and melodies. Instead, Morris developed a remarkably witty and subtly clever hour-long dance. Decked out in neon, the dancers unraveled like a collection of Crayola crayons released from the confines of their brand new box.

Photo: Mark Morris Dance Group in "Pepperland". Photo by Gareth Jones.

A Choose Your Own Dance Adventure

National Dance Day at the REACH
Featuring "Fela! The Concert"
Main Stage at the REACH
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
September 21, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

In December of 2018, Netflix released a new interactive film called "Bander- snatch." The psychological thriller was inspired by choose-your-own-adventure novels, requiring the viewer to make decisions throughout the movie that fundamentally altered the plot of the story. This unusual type of viewing experience gained popularity rather quickly, as each person who encountered the film discovered a different story line, experiencing a separate chain of events. The Kennedy Center's National Dance Day celebration was — in many ways — the "Bandersnatch" of dance programming. Countless performances, classes, and informational events were free and open to everyone. With so many visual spectacles and music coming from just about every direction, this National Dance Day was not about being impressed by a single professional performance company. Alternatively, the festivities centered around how much dance one could see, learn about, and practice all in a single day.

Photo: Tiler Peck teaching the crowd at the Kennedy Center's National Dance Day. Photo by Jati Lindsay.

 

Getting Up Close at the Kennedy Center

The REACH Opening Festival
Featuring the Syncopated Ladies
Studio K at the REACH
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
September 8, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

Just outside of Studio K —  a new rehearsal and performance space recently minted as part of the Kennedy Center's REACH expansion project — hangs a sizeable, two-dimensional collage by Fred Tomaselli entitled "Flipper." Looping ellipses define the work, weaving in and out of one another, but these balanced optical designs only represent the bigger picture. If you walk up and get close enough to the art, you begin to notice that something concrete and ordinary makes up the intricate patterns of Tomaselli's work. You discover that what lies at the heart of his masterpiece is not abstract shapes offering little more than aloof, academic recognition. Instead, natural figures like dainty beads, delicate flowers, and a diverse array of hands all come together to form neat rows, making up the bigger picture that is so easy to casually admire. What does this random piece of wall art hanging on the lower level of the REACH's Skylight Pavilion have to do with The REACH Opening Festival, you might ask? I believe this in-depth, investigatory look at what art is, where it comes from, and how it develops, is what the REACH expansion and opening festival are all about.

Photo: Crowd at The REACH Opening Festival enjoying DJ Flying Lotus perform on the REACH's outdoor stage. Photo by Jati Lindsay.

A Troupe of Soloists

New Works and New Productions
“Easy”, “In the Night”, “The Runaway”, “Something to Dance About”
New York City Ballet
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
April 5, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
Copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

The dancers of New York City Ballet are artists in their own right. They may not be the masterminds behind the locomotive patterns in which they travel or the original composers of the movement they exude, but in the end, they decide what happens on the stage. Every tilt of the head, every extra inch of indulgent extension, and every breath expelled to propel their bodies through space (while guided by artistic directors and choreographers) is ultimately theirs—and it shows. The autonomy of the City Ballet dancers manifests itself in the way they own the repertory for which the company is so renowned. These potent artistic minds hiding behind the unassuming title of ‘dancer’ coupled with NYCB’s institutional yearning to invest in the future of contemporary ballet, while simultaneously honoring the dance makers responsible for its past success, informed the second program that NYCB presented at the Kennedy Center this past weekend.

Photo: Taylor Stanley in Kyle Abraham’s "The Runaway." Photo by Erin Baiano.

 

A New Cinderella is Born

“Cinderella”
New Adventures Company
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
January 16, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
Copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

The New Adventures Company showcased a new appreciation for a well-known fairy tale at the Kennedy Center this past week, sparked by Matthew Bourne’s reinvention of the Cinderella story. With Bourne’s artistic vision and a cast of brilliantly talented and expressive dancers, the company took the iconic character ballet, while maintaining much of Prokofiev’s original score, and placed the popular story in a novel context — the city of London during World War II. Transplanting the story of Cinderella into an often romanticized time period was a risky move, making certain elements of the story a bit jarring when Bourne’s artistic decisions differed greatly from the traditional and expected. In the beginning of the performance some of the characters seemed more like caricatures than real people, and Bourne had Cinderella ride a white, celestial motorcycle instead of a horse-drawn carriage. Still, the choice to set Cinderella during WWII had its own payoffs due to the romanticism and intrigue of the era, making it the perfect setting for a fairy tale revamp.

Photo: Andrew Monaghan 'Harry', Ashley Shaw 'Cinderella' and The New Adventures Company. Photo by Johan Persson.

Remembering Before and Looking Beyond

“We Choose to Go to the Moon”
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium
National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
December 12, 2018

by Arielle Ostry
Copyright © 2018 by Arielle Ostry

For thousands of years, people have stared up at the night sky in wonder — naming constellations and tracking stars as the cosmic landscape changed with the seasons. The advancements made in science and engineering during the space race in the 1960’s only elevated humanity’s fascination with the uncharted territories of the ever-expanding universe. With the piece “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” Dana Tai Soon Burgess took on quite a lofty goal by investigating the connections between humanity and space, science and artistry, presenting a dance that couples the nostalgic idealism characteristic of the 60’s time period with the hesitance that has emerged over the years in response to the greater unknown uncovered by new discoveries.

Photo: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company in "We Choose to Go to the Moon." Photo by Sarah Halzack.

 

Steeped in Tradition

"Written in Water"
Ragamala Dance Company
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
November 3, 2018

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2018 by Arielle Ostry

In “Written in Water,” a menagerie of talented dancers, music- ians, and visual artworks joined together and intermingled to perform a sonically extravagant and visually alluring show. Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, the mother-daughter duo responsible for Ragamala Dance Company’s artistic direction, were informed by tradition and compelled by innovation to create a masterpiece respecting the sanctity of the present, exploring the boundaries of their culture, and celebrating beauty the in their journey. This show’s DC premiere last weekend at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theatre was intimate and charming, presenting a variety of dynamic movements and melodies.

Photo: Aparna Ramaswamy in "Written in Water." Photo by Bruce Palmer. 

A Peek Into the Dark

“Silhouettes”
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium
National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
October 30, 2018

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2018 by Arielle Ostry

Before photography was invented in 1839, silhouettes were pretty trendy. These simple, economical cut-outs of a person’s profile were easily available, so even people belonging to marginalized minority groups were able to get silhouettes made. As a result, those who study these underrated slivers of history are able to recognize America’s diversity. The concept of silhouette features the distinct difference between light and dark, and the National Portrait Gallery’s (NPG) new exhibit, “Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now,” is based on this simplistic art form, exploring the past versus present usage. All the while, Dana Tai Soon Burgess’s latest work, inspired by the “Black Out” exhibit, investigates the multiple abstract contrasts — good and evil, love and greed, remorse and empathy — occupying a person’s subconscious mind. The topic of silhouette provided a vast opportunity for subjective imagery and symbolism, and Burgess and his company capitalized on this chance to present an elaborate, revealing show.

Photo: from left to right, Joan Ayap and Christin Arthur in "Silhouettes." Photo by Matailong Du.

Beauty in the Simple Unexpected

“Make Believe”
Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre
Dance Place
Washington, DC
September 15, 2018

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2018 by Arielle Ostry

As a choreographer, Rosie Herrera never fails to surprise. Her past creations range from melting a chocolate bunny with a blowdryer to throwing a girl into a birthday cake. In her company’s most recent performance at Dance Place, an inflatable bounce house takes over as an unexpected but welcomed element, representing the innocent ease that characterizes a child’s ability to believe. This past Saturday, the Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre presented original imagery in "Make Believe," exploring how a relationship with faith can change drastically over time.

Photo: Rosie Herrera in "Cookie's Kid." Photo by Adam Reign.

 

A Feminism-Fueled Performance

"Snake Telegram"
Heart Stück Bernie
Dance Place
Washington, DC
July 22, 2018

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2018 by Arielle Ostry

When it comes down to performing about feminism, it is tough to get it right. Performances with this heated topic at the forefront can come across as malicious and accusatory, lacking a level of civility that can easily grow uncomfortable in a theatrical setting. Usually, the wants and whims of the spectators are the main concern of a choreographer. Nonetheless, if an artist wishes to successfully tackle the issue of feminism, their performance must be designed and implemented completely for oneself, not for the viewers. Only then can a feminist show be received as meaningful and sincere. This past Sunday at Dance Place, "Snake Telegram" managed to toe this fine line between authenticity and spitefulness with grace and comedy.

Photo: Sarah Beth Oppenheim in "Snake Telegram." Photo by Mark Costello.