Produced by David LaChapelle in collaboration with Fred Torres

Updated: May 25, 2011 – Choreographer John Byrne presents the world premiere of his first full-length dance work, Transcending Form, this summer at Theatre 80. A work for eight dancers, Transcending Form is set to an eclectic mix of music, and incorporates a figurative photo installation by artist David LaChapelle. Performances run Thursday through Saturday, June 2–4, at 8pm; and Wednesdays, June 15 through August 24, at 8pm. Preview performance on June 2; opens June 3.

An original dance fable, Transcending Form explores ideas of life, afterlife, and the transcending soul. Created and choreographed by Byrne, this 70-minute narrative work conjures archetypal images and themes in purely contemporary terms. Transcending Form is set to the music of Schubert, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, as well as folk and gospel music, and features live performances by vocalist Gina Figueroa and other musical guests. The work will be performed by dancers Debra Zalkind, Soetkin Jacobs, Ryan Braun, Vincent Marra, Lior Shneior, Rob Laqui, Farrah Olieri, and Kimberly Mhoon. Lighting design is by Stephen Petrilli. Transcending Form is produced by David LaChapelle, with whom Byrne has worked on a variety of film, art, and stage projects over the last ten years.

Performances will take place at Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark’s Place (between First and Second Avenues), in New York City. Tickets can be purchased for $15 online at www.theatre80.net and are also available at the box office for a $15 suggested donation. One hundred percent of the ticket sales will be donated to Education In Dance and the Related Arts, a not-for-profit organization that brings an integrated movement, music, visual arts, and nutrition enrichment program to preschool through high school students in over sixty New York City area outreach schools yearly.

John Byrne is a New York City-based choreographer. He received his formal dance training as a scholarship student at the Juilliard School, The School of American Ballet, and The North Carolina School of the Arts, where he performed works by choreographers George Balanchine, Lar Lubovitch, and Twyla Tharp. At the age of 18, Byrne was the youngest member ever to join Taylor II, with which he toured the United States and Europe, performing and teaching the works of Mr. Taylor. He later originated a role in Promethean Fire with the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the American Dance Festival. Byrne has also performed with Erick Hawkins Dance, Battery Dance Company, and Corbin Dances.

As a choreographer, Byrne premiered his solo piece Bridge in Los Angeles in 2004, and for the past seven years has been honing his craft as a choreographer, creating a style and new vocabulary of movement inspired by the influences of Eliot Feld, José Limón, and house dance. As an educator, Byrne has been teaching dance in the New York City Public Schools for the past 10 years, working with disadvantaged populations and children with special needs through Education In Dance and the Related Arts.

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The curtain rises, and any doubt in the room dissipates with an exploding big bang as Dwight Rhoden’s Moon Over Jupiter takes shape over Rachmaniov’s score.  A meteor shower of momentum and dynamics, the ballet showcases the extreme unique talent and technique of all the Complexion dancers.  Like an orbiting solar system, the dancers move in organized chaos into an eclipse of synchronization.  Metallic, spider webbed leotards and shorts expose the dancer’s thoroughbred, horse-like muscularity, direct proof that these dancers are pushing their physical means.  Clifford Williams, the shooting star of the ballet, demands attention with phenomenal extension and effortless fluidity of movement that only the trained eye would understand the extreme complexity and challenge of the choreography.

On Holiday opens part duex of the evening and relies on the show business aspect of dance.  Slightly reminiscent of Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, On Holiday is danced by four couples expressing four stages of love.  Each couple embodies the lyrics of Billie Holiday, but Christina Dooling and Edgar Anido really transport the audience to a Love-Hate relationship. Intensity and heartache emanate through the audience as Doling and Amide manipulate each other to provide a heart wrenching performance.

Originally, to follow On Holliday, is Richardson to dance A Goldberg Variation, but instead, Christie Partelow and Mark Caserta dance Rhoden ‘s Spill.  Entering with abandonment in a grand jete lift, Partelow and Caserta leave you with no regret from missing Richardson’s performance.  In complete unison, they dance in a continuous stream of intricate and exhilarating partnering.  Like riding a rollercoaster of constant excitement and unexpected turns, Rhoden’s Choreography escapes all predictability confirming his much revered status in the realm of today’s contemporary choreographers.

A fun and lively Moody Booty Blues is like the after hours employee dance scene in “Dirty Dancing” where Baby meet Patrick Swayze for the first time.  The dancers dance fearlessly with grounded movement and soulful rhythm.  Moody Booty Blues showcases the young talent of Complexions;  Gary W. Jeter II sets a very high bar with his opening solo of insane syncopations and intricate isolations and Peter Chursin and Stefano DeMartino match Jeter’s energy.  Chursin is especially captivating with his flawless technique and exquisite lines.  After grabbing my attention, I couldn’t stop watching Chursin in the finale piece Rise.

Rise, which Rhoden choreographed to various songs by U2, opens with the song “The Streets Have No Name” and one man running in the spotlight.  High impact choreography plus Bono and the Edge guarantee an awesome performance.  I have seen U2 live in concert several times, and the Complexions Dancers even give Bono some competition.

Complexion dancers are a dynamic breed of physicality that is unparallel to most contemporary and ballet companies.  The dancers elevate the choreography and provide a powerful performance of non-stop impressive feats.

Complexions Fall/Winter season continues to run through November 28^th at the Joyce Theater.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Katherine Gibson
Performance: Complexions
Choreographer: Dwight Rhoden
Venue: Joyce Theater, New York, NY
Show Date: Tuesday 16th, 2010
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Her first full-length show, In Transit, demonstrates how technical prowess can meet child-like playfulness.  Throughout, dancers play their bodies like musical instruments as they weave intricate formations and portray comedic/disturbing narratives.  They seem to make games of spatial patterns as they move like scattering marbles or jumping checkers.  All is accomplished with outstanding precision and ease.  These ladies are not only capable of great feats of agility, but also of an honest connectedness to each other on stage.

All hailing from SUNY Brockport, company members Erin Johnson, Caroline Nelson, Jessica Reidy, Jenny Showalter, and Lyndsey Vader are a fox-force-five to be reckoned with. Lyndsey Vader’s sense of control, for example, in her solo “Pulse/Apology”, is breathtaking to watch.  What astounding technical abilities she has with her brilliant execution of delicate balances and sharp, quick movements, all while speaking about the sound of her pulse.  My heart stops, like her narrative describes, as she rocks in-and-out of warrior III, flips around to relevé and halts deftly on a dime.  The disturbing last image, a fist under open palm, looks like a heart with splayed aortic valves.  Oh, Treeline, you’ve kindled my inner-child’s imagination!

Immediately following is another energetic solo performance by Jessica Reidy, in “The (un)Natural Art of Dating.”  This rousing jaunt into 1950’s dating has me enchanted from the get-go.  Reidy instructs her audience members on the do’s and don’ts of catching a mate by winking, batting her lashes, and, my favorite, wetting her eyebrows!  She explains the importance of holding a longing gaze as she performs an Exorcist-like head rotation.   Absolutely brilliant!  Her ensemble, Erin Johnson and Caroline Nelson, are perfect.  The threesome dance-on together with the subtle pin-up sex-appeal of the Andrews sisters.  The characterization is complete as nostalgic music plays and house-wife aprons sway, leaving me all giggles and smiles!

“Traveling to Recall A Becoming Of,” choreographed by Jenny Showalter, is another heavy weight champ in this choreographic line up.  Here, the playfulness comes forth in the port de bras, as the girls use various arm gestures to draw lines in space.  They make pulsing gestures with the hands, long reaches of the fingers and very specific movement like poking, jabbing, threading-the-needle, etc.  Here, Showalter carves out space on stage by having the dancers spin in circles and run in diagonals.  She also creates the image of hallways as the dancers run upstage to downstage.  If Jeffy, from Family Circus, were dancing, he’d leave one helluva dotted-line map on stage!

Beautiful spatiality also appears in the opening piece, “Caged Until”, which is, in my opinion, the most outstanding piece of the evening.  This piece represents Treeline’s sense of play perfectly.  Audience members are greeted by the upstage right violin trio, whose diagonal bowing movements seem to inspire the entering dancers whose outstretched arms oppose outstretched legs in an off-balance tilt.  Lovely!  They move in and out of unison, using musical phrasing and quick level changes to create a gorgeous symphony.

Again, Showalter is a master at choreographing spatial arrangements.  I find myself so entranced by her patterns that I fail to notice how suddenly, the dancers are lined up at the stage’s edge with their backs to the audience.  A musical change happens, as the fourth wall is broken, and my experience shifts from spectator to insider.  I become engaged in their game.

Yes, the rest of the piece is like a game.  A series of place-switching follows as they stir up space like in a game of tag.  This leads to another line-up, but this time, a wall line-up for picking teams on a playground. There is a persistent theme of odd-man out, which is perhaps representative of playground politics.  Signature to Showalter’s style, specific hand gestures are repeated in motifs, i.e. a head cradled in a partner’s hands, and, most memorably, the fist meeting the open palm as when rock meets paper in “rock, paper, scissors”.

Favorite moment in the entire show: a dramatic lift where one dancer grabs hold of another’s waist and hoists her own lower body into the spot where bodies should collide, but the third dancer ducks in the nick of time!  Shocking and yet not shocking at the same time because this is so characteristic of how fabulously these femmes dance together.  They dive into near-miss lifts and athletic floor phrases, as fearlessly as a five-year-old does a flying dismount off the swing set!

The playful nature continues well into the second act.  In Jenny Showalter’s solo, “Kilter”, weight-play rules. With the music reminiscent of a French bistro or circus, I imagine Showalter as a mime on a tightrope at times.  There’s an off-balance circular section that conjures the image of a spinning top as it begins to lose steam.  Unfortunately, the rest of the second act begins to lose steam as well.  I notice an overwhelming music trend throughout the evening: strings.  And while nice to start, I find the use of violins and/or cellos (in over half the pieces) to be a bit tiresome by the end, and soon crave something different.

While the music DOES support the playful style—switching drastically from slow and meditative, to speedy and virtuosic—it can be on the verge of melodramatic as is the case with “A Shell of Herself.”  In this text duet, Lyndsey Vader and Caroline Nelson pounce around like ferrets, squeaking out lines barely audible above the intense music, which is building unnecessarily.  I feel as though I am watching a soap opera, one where the actors are clearly reading cue cards.  The text seems superimposed and not at all connected with what the dancers are saying with their bodies.  If we put the whole piece on mute, as Lindsey does to herself in the beginning of the piece (a moment I actually love), then the message would read something like this:  “Look at this.  Look at me.  Look at all this dancing.  See these tricks?  My leaps and kicks?  I’m flexing, pointing, leg-extending, rolling and panting…  all in my undergarment dressings.”  Perhaps this is all intentional, referring back to the title, “Shell of Herself”. The one time Nelson says, “I don’t know what that means,” face-to-face with Vader, I finally believe her.  But then, the movements quickly return to that familiar dance/yoga/Pilates vocabulary, and I’m even more anxious to see something different.

Similar are my feelings on the last piece, “Unearthed Moments.”  Playful still, it begins with counting, like a young girls’ hand-clapping song.  I adore the choice of all heads looking up at the first number, “four.”  This reminds me of the attention-catching word “fore” used in golf.  But the movement is still all so akin to what came before, and at this point, I’m desperately waiting for them to produce something outside the choreographic sandbox:  to get away from codified dance for a moment and explore moving more pedestrian or with more subtlety.  The moment of saving grace happens when Caroline Nelson sits perched atop supporting bodies and does a slow pan across the audience.  Yes!  Slowness.  Stillness.  A moment to reflect and digest.  In fact, I love the subsequent slow motion movement wishing I could see more of it!

Overall, Treeline does a beautiful job of painting the canvas with lots of detail and activity, but one doesn’t necessarily have to show all one’s cards at once.  I think they can afford to do less, in some respects.  Going back to “Pulse/Apology”, the silent score supports Vader’s moments of suspension beautifully, and I find myself wishing it would last longer when jarringly, a background score of medieval chants is introduced.  Although the sounds are haunting, they are also distracting from the text.  Perhaps if the music were more sparse, I’d be able to decipher the text better.

In Transit marks a choreographic rite-of-passage; the event where artistic directors Jenny Showalter and Lyndsey Vader show form a synthesis of what they’ve gathered over the past few years—from schoolings at SUNY Brockport, residencies in New York and Chicago, and mentors such as Pamela Vail, and Don Halquist (guest choreographers in the program).  What an appropriate title indeed!  Congratulations to them as they make this daring  transition from the classroom/studio into the professional dance world.  And while there are always points to work on, there are outnumbering points of interest that give this company much success!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Teresa Lynn
Performance:  Dance by Treeline Danceworks
Venue:  Center for Performance Research, CPR
Show Date:  November 6, 2010
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The evening opens with Drowntown.  Amazingly athletic and energetic, this is a powerhouse.  The dancers weave and dodge one another without missing a beat, yet join each other to prove a point at different times.   It is inspiring…  Imagine walking through Time Square at rush hour.  Watch out or you will get left in the dust!

Next on the program is Wraith. Danced by Michelle Pellizzon and Danielle Schulz, this piece is hauntingly beautiful.  With costumes by Tonatiuh Otero, they look like beautiful red Nymphs.  Showing their clean and pure technique, they dance in tune with each other ever so effortlessly.  Nymphs in a time of loss, they are still, however, hopeful for what is to come…  Beautiful!

Moving on to The Polarity, danced by Gierre Godley and Dillon Honiker, all I can say is WOW!!!!  Showstopper.  They both dance with power and masculinity; it is refreshing.  Throwing themselves on each other without a care in the world, they are out to kill!  I am immediately put in to the frame of thought of watching “The Matrix”, a wonderful fight scene with all the special effects coming to life right before me.  This (The Polarity) is wild abandon at it’s best!

The Missing, danced by Michelle Pellizon, is next and what a shocking surprise…  She is a revelation in this piece shaking, twisting, and contorting her body into oddly beautiful positions.  It’s really amazing. Merging her beautiful technique with the oddest of moves it is like watching a drug addict fight through withdrawal.  Happiness, sadness, longing, and cravings she is going through all the emotions right before your eyes.  I am happy to report she wins in the end!  Congrats!

And finally, Terminus, wraps up this wonderful evening.  Danced by the company, they save the best for last taking complete command of the stage and not being afraid of it.  The power of the dancers fill the floor bringing the audience to the edge of their seats.  Their movements are faster, sharper, and clean, as if to put the final stamp on the evening.  Wearing costumes by Keiko, they leave the audience wanting more and ready to stand up and join in!   Eryc Taylor Dance is one company not to be missed.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Devin Pullins
Performance  Eryc Taylor Dance
Venue:  Joyce SoHo
Show Date:  November 13, 2010
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Take for example the opening section, which brings to light the status-quo obsession with looks, and body image.  We see dancer, Johnni Durango, enter and stand center stage amongst the inanimate columns and vases.  Suddenly, she is no longer a dancer, but an object: a thing to be looked at, studied, and critiqued… like a piece of art —like a vase!— and perhaps like a candid celebrity beach body shot in US Weekly.  Thanks to a humorous recorded narrative by Ruth Draper, “A Class in Greek Poise,” the words guide us further into this judgmental state of mind. As we look at Durango —tall and slender— we hear Ruth say “214 pounds?…oh its 241 pounds? Bloomers please.”

“Ladies, line-up” Ruth continues.  And Durango assumes a pose on relevé, hands behind back and elbows bent…  like the wings of an exotic bird. (well with plumage like that of her loud, patterned tights, she’d have to be exotic!) Perhaps some abstract ode to Barbie? Or…as Ruth gabs on and on about poise, Durango starts strutting around with delicate, toe-pointed steps; she circles the column-confined area, and I feel as though I’m watching a peacock parading round its pen at the zoo.

Neil Greenberg, who by this point has furtively entered and placed one vase at each column’s base, begins clapping.  It’s not, by any means, directed at Durango, but because of her spatial arrangement, the model strut she just gave, and what transpired in the narrative, I connect the dots, and interpret that he is, indeed, applauding her.

Here’s the unique thing about Neil Greenberg’s choreography:  many of the goings on—the score, the dancers, the set, the musicians—have the strength to operate independently from one another.  But when they do sync-up coincidentally, they suddenly seem intentional… and then there’s meaning in them thar hills!  So although Neil’s clapping at that exact moment may seem intentional in relation to Durango, as the piece goes on, clapping returns in other moments as part of the phrasing, and by contrast we see there may be no meaning at all:  it’s just a neutral gesture.  How about a dancer taking a sip of coffee, followed by a sip of water off-stage?  It appears to be a pedestrian gesture of no meaning.  But take the same movement, and have two dancers do it in unison, and suddenly, I notice myself trying to “figure it out”.

This is Neil’s other obsession, which now has become mine too:  “tensions created by the seemingly inescapable human desire to create meaning.”   The eccentric movements may coincide with the score, and by default, I can’t help but draw a connection for them.  Ruth says “swing your weight forward” and the dancers do swinging movements with their arms.  As musicians, Zeena Parkins and Shayna Dunkelman, tune up the harp and other instruments, the text speaks of using one’s breath like a “musical instrument.”  Another cue, via the text:  Ruth is “prancing through the forest” with the hypothetical fat girls she is coaching.  Greenberg and Luke Miller are prancing about the space too…  in the most laugh-out-loud-funny way!  And later, Paige Martin’s vibrating palms begin as a move all-their-own; but once paired with the echoing sound of the harp, it looks as though she is struggling to cage the sound between her two hands.

I am tickled by my ability to connect the dots and create meaning.  We all are…  everyone giggles with delight at the sight of two dancers sipping coffee in unison.  We all love to feel like we “get it.”  But we also love to be challenged.  Several times throughout the show, a dancer brings a microphone stand on-stage, taps and blows into the mike, but says nothing.  Hmmm…what does that mean?  I question.

Similarly, a move may be repeated several times throughout the show, but in different contexts; the audience is prompted to question why they felt a certain way about it the first time, and differently the second. I watch Mina Nishimura introduce a head tapping solo far upstage left, behind the musicians, and partially obstructed by the light booms.  She is clearly lit, so I am clearly drawn to watch her, and yet this is the first time I give my full attention to a dancer who is not dancing on the white marley, “pedestal” stage.  Shortly after, Collin Stillwell does this same movement on stage, and I wonder:  is it the status-quo to label movement on the marley as “dance,” and movement off the marley as “not dance?”  Does placement determine what something is and isn’t?

The exquisiteness of Greenberg’s work is his ability to provoke such philosophical battles.  Also noteworthy is his ability to give dimension:  the simplicity of his movements, the repetition, the sparseness on stage alternated craftily with crowdedness…also the sparseness in the score alternated with lushness.  There is time for movement, and time to digest.  Repetition occurs, and we reflect once more; contemplate and re-contemplate.  The openness of his dance score allows audience members time and space to think… feel…  and ponder…..  all while experiencing something truly beautiful!  What a wonderful gift!

A cornucopia of beauty, in fact,  besides the dancing, there’s a beautiful set to behold!  Four black vases are lined up in a row:  their stark silhouettes in contrast to the white marley floor.  Also prominent are four white columns, arranged in a square, and a giant turquoise harp upstage.  This scene harkens to Greco/Roman classical art…a Michelangelo painting perhaps.

The harp is obviously functional:  also creating beauty for the ears to hear, thanks to the ingenious musings of harpist and composer Zeena Williams.  In this city where time and space are hot commodities, I rejoice in the moments of inserted breathing time to bring notice to all elements…. even the musicians themselves.  For example, there is a long instance where no dancers are on stage—just the musicians playing their instruments—and I am perfectly content watching them do their thang!

The openness of Greenberg’s dance score lends itself to be pondered, questioned…  and personalized to tastes of the individuals watching it.  My neighbor may see one way, and I another.  Neil’s work doesn’t limit itself to one definition, and that’s part of the gift as well. Greenberg’s passion for artistic statement is strong…  but even stronger is his passion for the audience.  He makes his work accessible, choosing to include the public on his exploration of social norms, as opposed to alienating them with high-brow airs.   How considerate and generous! (like a Vase) is really like a gift: an hour of pure, thought-provoking stage play, handed to the New York public like a delicately wrapped piece of ceramic art.

So little pilgrims, the thanks-giving season is upon us; and now is as good a time as any to remind ourselves the importance of thank you notes.  You may not have liked those pajamas Aunt Millie gave you last year, but you will definitely like Neil Greenberg’s multicolored, psychedelic saggy-crotch tights!…  and even more so, his work (like a vase).   It is a masterfully crafted gem, certainly worthy of the pedestal he puts it on for all to enjoy.  Please thank him by seeing this show!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Teresa Lynn
Performance:  Dance by Neil Greenberg
Venue:  Dance Theater Workshop, DTW
Show Date:  November 9, 2010
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Zena Rommett, who has been credited with expanding and extending some of this century’s great dancers and athletes, died Wednesday November 10 at 1:26 PM in New York City. The cause was recurring cancer. Ms. Rommett was 90.

Memorial services will be held on Sunday November 14 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Perazzo Funeral Home at 199 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village between Sixth Avenue and McDougal Street.

Immigrating to New York from Italy in 1925 at age 5, Ms. Rommett went on to dance on Broadway in Billy Rose’s "Seven Lively Arts" under Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, for USO in Europe with the Radio City Ballet Corp. She also toured as with the Rutloff Trio worldwide.

After teaching Ballet at Robert Joffrey’s American Ballet Center, Zena Rommett opened her own studio on 3rd Street and originated Floor-Barre®, training dancers lying flat on their backs on the floor, which replaces the wooden bar dancers hold onto at the beginning of each day’s preparation. Her studio from the late ’60’s into mid ’80s became an oasis of dance, attracting actors, athletes, skaters and dancers from ballet to Broadway. Zena Rommett began teaching herself at Steps on Broadway in the mid-80’s until 3 months ago. More than a decade ago Zena Rommett initiated teaching training of her Floor-Barre® every August in NYC, projected to continue after her demise in order that the principles and copyrighted verbal instructions can be passed on with renewal, vitality and growth. A list of qualified and current Floor-Barre® teachers are on FLOOR-BARRE.ORG

Zena Rommett is survived by daughter Camille Rommett, sister Lilias, and grandsons Alex Young and Austin Young.

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Well, what’s there not to say about Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet?  A diverse repertory company of exquisite technical beasts would be dream and playground for any guest choreographer; or, so it seems, based on the three works on the bill (Sunday Again, Unit in Reaction, and Hubbub) for one of their evenings at the Joyce Theater.

The evening opens with Jo Stromgen’s Sunday Again, a lighthearted, whimsical portrayal of a collection of lovers all dealing with the usual feuds and qualms of being in a relationship paralleled to back and forth quality experienced in a tennis match.  Literally.  Props used include a tennis net, raquet, and plastic shuttlecocks that randomly appear from underneath clothing.  All this in place is a quaint and neat set-up for a perfectly boring piece.  However, Stromgen infuses stark humor via unexpected male/female moments of roughness, lesbian eroticism, and other social behaviors such as spitting and gossiping amongst themselves.  Overall, these nuances work well together in Strongen’s choreography to keep the audience in tune and alert to fleeting moments of wit.

The dancers shift into a much darker and somber mode in the next piece, Unit in Reaction, choreographed by Jacopo Godani.  In this adrenaline-driven suspenseful piece, the dancers seem to operate as if they are all apart of a machine, or better yet a group of lab rats under experimentation and our surveillance.  The dancers create luscious lines and move intricately between each other in breathtaking duet and solo work. Godani’s work digs beneath the surface and accentuates all that is juicy in this company and just uses technique as icing on the cake.

The evening closes with my favorite work, Alexander Ekman’s Hubbub.  Now although the concept of the piece has been done before (there is no such thing as a new idea) Ekman took it to a new level!  This is one of those pieces where no amount of words can do it justice.  You just have to see it for yourself.  But here are a few personal highlights:  the suspended typewriter, rhythmic breathing phrase, accumulation, and a perfectly cute duet performed by Nikemil Concepcion and Harumi Terayama in which we hear a recording of the dancers personal thoughts as they execute each step.  Hubbub is one of those pieces that is difficult to walk away not just liking, but also, finding yourself talking about for the next few days!

You’re probably wondering how I can critique Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and not highlight any dancers.  Simple.  They are all ridiculously good looking and beautiful artists.  So here we go: Jubal Battisti, Jon Bond, Nickemil Concepcion, Gwynenn Taylor Jones, Jason Kittelberger, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Navarra Novy-Williams, Oscar Ramos, Matthew Rich, Acacia Schachite, Harumi Terayama, Vania Doutel Vaz, Manuel Vignoulle, Ebony Williams, and Golan Yosef…  You Rock Fierce!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Simone Sobers
Performance:  Cedar Lake Contemporary Dance Company
Choreography:  Jo Stromgen, Jacopo Godani, Alexander Ekman
Venue:  The Joyce Theater, New York City 
Show Date:  Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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The evening opens, as it always does with this company, with Fagan’s opus Prelude.  The piece begins with Pennewell leaping onto the stage in complete silence and hanging still with one leg extended behind him in an almost balletic attitude.  He balances for an amazingly long period of time, then, with a flurry of arms, a turn and a somersault, he finds himself casually balancing his leg aloft again.  Thus begins our lesson on Garth Fagan’s technique.  The number is intended to introduce Fagan’s unique style, and for anyone who’s ever been in a dance class, it reads like…  well,…  like you’re watching a dance class.  Not the most exciting piece of theatre.  For those who haven’t been in a dance class, apparently it’s fascinating, at least judging from the rambunctious applause at Prelude’s conclusion.  But to me, it is plodding and pedantic.  I appreciate the technique of Pennewell and the others, but then I want them to let go of it.  Dancers go to class to focus on technique, but when we go to see dance performed, we want to see dancers in whom technique is so ingrained that they are able to soar. Unfortunately, in Wednesday’s program, I rarely saw that happen.

Prelude is followed by an sensual duet from the company classic Griot.  This intricate, slowing-moving duet between the leggy, muscular Pennewell and the equally leggy and muscular Nicolette Depass is one of the highlights of the evening.  As disappointed as I had been with the first piece, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the dancers in this slow, inventive duet of shifting shapes set to a luscious soundtrack by Wynton Marsalis. Here, in the capable hands (and arms and legs and even chins) of two of Fagan’s senior dancers, you see an intensity that overrides the pedantic of the first piece.

Pennewell’s choreographic debut, Hylozoic, once again hits you over the head with the Fagan technique. But Pennewell has proved himself to be an excellent at jumps, and this piece gets off its feet– literally– in a more exciting manner than Prelude.  Set against a backdrop of a single curtain, the dancers defy gravity as they twist, leap and twirl through the space. Nicolette Depasse shines once again on a stage full of lithe, athletic dancers.

After those two highlights and a brief intermission, the program once again descends into a very formal, repetitive exploration of the Garth Fagan technique. Thanks, Forty seeks to honor the company’s anniversary, but it isn’t until the fourth movement, entitled Fete-Joys, that you get to see the heart and soul of the company.  When the three original dancers come out and dance without restraint, you begin to see how this might have been an explosive company twenty years ago.

Still, Garth Fagan is a must-see for any enthusiast of modern dance. Their historic ascent of the New York City dance ladder has become legendary and inspiring for dancers of all ages.  The newest members of the company show great promise, while the older ones amaze us with their dedication to and mastery of Fagan technique.  Each year they return to The Joyce Theater to make their indelible mark on the dance scene.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Molly Sorohan
Performance:  Garth Fagan Dance
Choreographer: Garth Fagan, Norwood Pennewell
Venue:  The Joyce Theater, New York
Performance Date:  November 10, 2010, 7:30 pm
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Sunday, Again, which premiered in Oslo in 2008, explores the combative nature of relationships using the slightly random metaphor of badminton. (Who among us doesn’t relate to badminton?) However, quite a few of us can relate to dysfunctional relationships and the emotional life of each couple is earnestly expressed with fluent, graceful lines and breathtaking partnering.  The opening duet between Jason Kittelberger and Acacia Schachte is particularly elegant.  Likewise, Harumi Terayama’s playful interlude with partner Jubal Battisti showcases her lightning feet and youthful vitality.  But while themes of loneliness and ostracism weave in and out, the piece never really comes together.  For all the exacting technique and effortless duets, one is left thinking, "But why should I care?"

The world of the second piece, Hofesh Shechter’s The Fools, contrasts sharply with Stromgen’s world of badminton and refined aggression.  Shechter’s darkly lit set creates a menacing atmosphere, and the opening sequence immediately catches your interest, with eight dancers, or Shadows, clothed in what appear to be black straitjackets, dancing wildly to a series of drumbeats.  Then the Fools enter:  seven characters in their underwear, hunched over, stepping deliberately in riveting slow motion.  By part two, the Fools are fully dressed in clone-like office wear, and the choreography becomes more stilted and mechanical to reflect their inner life.  Schechter’s choreography retains a sense of the unexpected, with breakouts by the Shadows interwoven with the Fool’s choreography, which, as the piece progresses, becomes more desperate and absurd.  Soloist Manuel Vignoulle steals the show with his gut-wrenching, athletic solo.

In the third and final piece, Didy Veldman’s frame of view, nine lithe, sinewy dancers glide between a series of three rather flimsy doors, designed by Miriam Buether. The doorways are meant both literally and figuratively as passageways to happiness and tragedy.  Though enjoyable overall, the ballet leans towards the latter half of the term "artsy-fartsy," due mostly to Veldman’s tendency to incorporate spoken word into the soundtrack, which in this case was distracting and annoying.  Still, several vignettes resonated deeply: the lonely, sexy ballerina dancing a duet with a faceless figure through a rubber-paneled door, a slow-motion fight where Terayama’s features and technique are used to maximum comic effect, and two lonely souls sharing a turtleneck in a lovely, pitiful duet.   frame of view had the most personality of the evening and offered the most humor, insight and catharsis.

Does Cedar Lake live up to the hype?  Not with this program, no.  But they certainly proved to be a risk-taking company full of beautiful, powerful dancers.  I am curious to see what their next steps will be.

 iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Molly Sorohan
Performance:  Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Venue:  The Joyce Theater, New York City
Show Date:  November 2, 2010
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If height were measured in spirit, Ms. Brown would be 50 feet tall.  Instead, this petite woman walks into a room commanding the presence of a giant with her sparkling eyes, her articulate phrasing (words and dance) and a proud, lifted heart chakras.  Every time Camille speaks, fireworks seemingly burst out of the top of her head (for an image, just think of her awesome, colorful firework-like hair) because not only does she put passion into every little thing that she says to the class, but she also does this as a proud, strong dancer with energy bursting in different directions as she speaks.  I already knew of her incredibly inspiring performances, but now I know that she inspires just as much as a teacher, which in turn will create the tradition of passing her teachings on and on and on.

A couple of years ago, Ronald Brown taught a master class series at Steps, and a philosophy that this master drills hard is "do the exercise correctly the first time and do it with soul".  In a nutshell, he explains that you plain and simply don’t need to work as hard if you do it full out, correctly and with feeling immediately.  Having danced under Mr. Brown in his company Evidence, it‘s clear that she has integrated Mr. Brown’s philosophies into her teachings and preaches them in her own style.  I can’t say that Ms. Brown has a short warm up (her warm-up is 1.5 hours of the 2 hour class), but she sure does keep things simple and emphasize that we should milk every movement with resistance and spirit. 

Of course, to be able to rise to the level of adding artistry to the exercises, you have to know the phrase well.  Don’t worry, Ms. Brown will be sure that everyone has the combination by thoroughly answering questions before dancing each exercise and emphasizing vocabulary by repeating not only each exercise many times, but also integrating several of her signature African and Limon style steps into several of the exercises!  I’ll confess that my upper and lower back is very tender after this Camille Brown repetition ritual.  This constant succession of steps helps the dancer get to the point of muscle memory so that the mind isn’t working on remembering the steps, but on adding the icing on the steps that makes them sparkle just like Camille Brown’s movement does.

It is really great to get to a point of effortlessness when studying with a “master” because this is the point when your body truly has begun to absorb the information (the vocabulary) and most importantly, the style.  What we really want is for the teacher to transfer a bit of her spirit to us, and I truly believe this can only really happen if the student really understands the vocabulary so that he/she is open to accepting the gift of the teacher’s true artistry.  This artistry is what made the teacher so great in the first place and, hence, rise to the place that they’ve risen. Isn’t this one of the main reasons us poor dancers dig deep in our pockets to pay the high master class rate? ($19 at Steps on Broadway!)  The answer is, yes, and Camille Brown delivers 100%!

Her warm up begins with a heavy focus on port de bra and upper body contractions and undulations.  Ms. Brown thoroughly warms up a dancers each and every vertebrae with her intense focus on torso.  Once your torso is warm, elements of African and Limon start to creep in. At one point during the warm up, after having learned several dynamic warm up progressions (including  ones that combine a hard hitting charleston and "the wop" with gentle contraction progressions), Camille splits the room in half and has us repeat different exercises back and forth.  Not knowing which of the 8 bar combinations the following group would be asked to do next, everyone in class is forced to be alert to everything that is happening in the room.  Camille is showing us here that being totally aware of the teacher and the other dancers in the room may be something that’s a bit foreign to a lot of dancers.  It’s so easy to get caught in your own head by looking in the mirror at your body or thinking about something that happened before class that day, but Ms. Brown reiterates that you must be wholly present in class.  As one half of the room is finishing up a phrase, Ms. Brown hints at what phrase she wants the other half of the classroom to do next by quickly doing the first step of the phrase 4 counts before we need to begin.  Each time she demonstrates, the class’ energy is rising.  Her energy is so infectious as her eyes fill with fire with every word of advice, and her body shoots fire when she demonstrates. I cannot wait to see this fire onstage at The Joyce this week!

After the 1.5 hour warm up in the center, we move to the side of the room to do a few short progressions across the floor that are heavily rooted in African.  Ms. Brown stops the class twice to pick on a young girl who obviously has potential, but is not giving the class her full focus.  Ms. Brown sternly explains to the class that this student is doing the steps in the way that feel most comfortable on her body and not the way that is being taught.  She reprimands her like a child saying, “You better start opening your ears because you can’t just go around doing the steps however you please.”  This is the second time that this particular student has been singled out in class in a negative light, which highlights the fact that Ms. Brown will not stand someone walking away from her classroom with a misunderstood version of her teachings.  This could have been a real life-changing moment for this singled out student! (I know that’s something I’d carry with me forever.)

Right before we exit class, Ms. Brown emphatically encourages everyone in class to join her Facebook page, get on her email list and most importantly, come to the show at The Joyce this coming week featuring her choreography along with Andrea Miller, Kate Weare, and Monica Bill Barnes.  As everyone beat the ground in praise in time with her two drummers, I realize that Camille Brown’s drive to communicate with the world through dancing, teaching and choreography has built incredible momentum that is delivering her goods to a vast number of people.  Most importantly, I see a genuineness of heart in her teachings and choreography, from which the people in her class and in her audience will reciprocate by readily absorbing her poignant messages with open arms.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Adrienne Jean Fisher
Masterclass Teacher: Camille Brown
Venue:  Steps on Broadway
Class Date:  August 6, 2010 
www.iDANZ.com

A Note from the iDANZ staff:   This piece got lost in the iDANZ internet abyss, and FINALLY has been discovered.  Yay!!!  iDANZ Staff truly apologizes for the delay in posting this wonderful piece and hopes it brings timeless inspiration and joy.

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