Jeremy McQueen shines in a pas de duex he dances and choreographs alongside lush Alexis Convento.  Offering a loose interpretation of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, they demonstrate the binds love often brings by intertwining their wrists in thick rope.  These binds cannot conceal their artistry as the two move with extreme fluidity throughout the piece.  A warm spotlight illuminates their body of work – extremities that can make anyone jealous.  Their ability to create substantial, heavy movement – running parallel to the emotional content of the piece – followed by light, airy accents acknowledges McQueen’s lens as an artist and skills as a performer.  In Convento, he chooses a true counterpart. She embodies the vulnerability of a true Juliet while also showing the strength of someone in deep desperation.  Watch out for McQueen – you won’t be sorry!

Perhaps paying homage to their own post college beginning’s, PCDC selects LeeRoc Dance Project – in good taste!  The collective work of recent UMass Amherst graduates, Andria LaRocco and Beth Liebowizt, reflects a mature choreographic voice in “De ja vu (I Think I’ve Been Here Before).”  Dancers are joined by live piano accompaniment that proves their true partnership with both music and movement.  As the largest piece in the festival, LeeRoc pushes the envelope with layered phrasing, remarkable synchronicity and astute action.  Between the music and mesmerizing movement, LeeRoc brings the audience into their world with fierce fluidity.  LeeRoc shows that a college dance degree is a piece of paper worth having!

PCDC ends the festival and deservedly so.  Their newest take on “Ancient Bruises” features Artistic Director, Melissa Gendreau, as lead soloist.  Her athleticism is nuanced with soft hands and ethereal phrasing.  On top of organizing the entire festival, she organizes her entire body in a way that brings awe to the audience.  The specificity of her movement speaks to the specificity she has as a director, choreographer and true movement artist.  PCDC dancers also travel the delicate line of athleticism vs. nuance – making sure to land in the middle.  Haunting music provides a soundscape worthy of the movement I mull over in my head for days.  Musical selections include “Sea Lion Woman” – Christine & Katherine Shipp, “She Began to Lie” – Greg Hale Jones, and “Field Below” – Regina Spektor.

Other performers include Anahata Dance Company, JKDance – Jaclyn K Walsh, Jennifer Buzzotta & Nicole Sao Pedro, Lauren Withharte, LeeRoc Dance Project, Sarah Sadie Newett, Trio Dance Collective and Vanessa Rea.  Gendreau states, “The first Perceptions Dance Festival was a huge success, and we owe it to the amazing participants, volunteers, and supporters.  I am thrilled to have been able to provide this opportunity to artists around the country, similar to those opportunities that helped my artistic growth.  I hope to continue this tradition for years to come, and with the support of the community the Perceptions Dance Festival can grow to become a staple to artists around the country and beyond.”  Sounds like a done deal to me!  Stay on the lookout out for PCDC performances – you won’t want to miss them!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Eileen Elizabeth
Performance:  1st Annual PCDC Dance Festival
Compay:  PCDC and Guests
Venue:  Manhattan Movement and Arts Center
Show Date:  September 18, 2010
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The American Dance Guild’s performance festival is an evening of choreography with a feature by Donald McKayle.  This evening is filled with ups and downs… or shall I say downs and ups? We encounter the first “down” when the box office opens directly at show-time, causing a 20-minute-or-longer pre-show delay.  Ah well, that was forgivable, but as for the rest of the evening……I’m working on it.

The evening begins with a tribute to Erick Hawkins through a presentation of his piece “Cantilever.”  This piece had the same structure throughout with no real highs and lows.  Instead of being consumed by the dance, I often find myself looking over at the musicians who are working it out!  The percussionist in particular is working more than the dancers!  The music is a complex pattern of randomized noise, running back and forth between symbols, xylophones, and other instruments – even a board that he uses to make an interesting sound.

The movement pays homage to American architecture, which is kind of ironic to watch, after one of the three pieces (that hangs as a backdrop) falls towards the start of the piece and is hanging by one string for the remainder of the piece… I can feel the audience gasping in- holding their breath because at any moment the piece is about to fall and knock someone out!  ”Dancer down!  Dancer Down!”  Luckily this doesn’t happen.

A highlight of the evening is Ursula Payne’s piece entitled, “In Her Solitude: Lest We Forget.”  She is a good sport, considering the wrong music plays for her piece and she very comically begins to improv while telling the technical staff, “This is the wrong music!!!”  It makes the whole audience laugh.  And to top that, she still manages to grab my attention when she actually gets the chance to perform to her REAL music, “Prospectors Arrive“ composed by Jonny Greenwood.  Her piece comments on a woman and her relationship with a rocking chair.  It seems to make a comment on the strength of the womanly figure, mothers and grandmothers, who go through so much internally but manage to still be our saviors.  Her choreography is interesting as she mimics the rocking of the chair, climbs on, over, and through the chair, and even picks it up and dances with it in her arms.  I am intrigued by the subtle fact that she keeps the chair rocking through the entire piece.  She finishes a move and then rocks the chair,..jump twirls, drops and then rocks the chair as she passes it…. Nice.

“Migration” is an interesting duet choreographed by Christine Germain in collaboration with Slater Penny.  The couple perform to live accordion music played by Ofir Uziel, and almost never leave contact with each other in a piece that seems to be about the simplicities of a couple being in each other‘s presence.  This piece uses complex lifts and circus-like balancing moments as both dancers, Germain and Penny, lift each other equally.  It is always interesting to see a woman lift a man on stage as it breaks the assumptions that the eye is used to seeing in dance.

The most eclectic piece of the night is “Splitter”, a comical piece that explores the human body, choreographed by Bert Gstettner.  The dancers start by performing a song with lyrics that are body parts.  “They scream, “Head, head, shoulder, chest, elbow, elbow, knee, leg, arm, teeth!”  At the beginning I am thinking “what the…” in my head but by the end I am slightly entertained as I realize it is supposed to be comical.  The movement is very limited but appropriate for the theme as they allow each body part to lead them as they shout its name.

“Et Tu” choreographed by Kyla Barkin, a duet performed by Barkin and Aaron Selissen, uses the music, “Looking Through You” performed by the Wallflowers and “Cocoon” by Jack Johnson, which is a nice emphasis to the VERY energetic movement.  At times it seems as Barkin is TOO energetic as they dance a story commenting on the highs and lows of a relationship.  I mean, I am literally watching a couple “go through it” on stage.  He throws her, she smacks him -leap, turn, drop, roll then she pushes him, then they are in love again..whew!!  The choreography is very intricate and well-rehearsed, as I know they would have to be to not smash into each other or smack each other in the face…lol.

And of course, last of the evening, but DEFINITELY not least was Donald McKayle’s “Angelitos Negros” performed by Nejla Yatkin…She is BEAuuuuuTIFUL!  … Just an all-around gorgeous dancer- you know, the type that can walk across the stage and flair her fingers and make you want to go back to class!!  Her presence is remarkable.  It was originally choreographed in 1972, and I watched a recording of her perform it when she was younger in the lobby after the show, but obviously the magic is still there and she works it out.  Bravo!

At the end of the night, YES- there were pieces that looked under-rehearsed, backdrops falling, incorrect music, oh and I forgot to mention some occasions of lighting mishaps and a TWO-and-a-HALF HOUR SHOW!  But, I can thankfully say that the dancers were good sports and remained professional, always giving their best, as all of us dancers do!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by JoiLynn
Performance: American Dance Guild Performance Festival
Venue: Manhattan Movement and Arts Center
Show Date: Thursday, September 10th, 2009
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