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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Magnetic Affixion showcases sequential synergy at its finest.  Passing an itch that no one can seem to scratch, the piece reveals a charismatic quartet including Gendreau and Lynch where athletic prowess – and fashion conundrums are put to the test with sneakers and high heels in the mix.  The archetypical characters of a businesswoman, "dude," fashionista, and a running woman a la "Sporty Spice" in true NY fashion collide as the magnetic "affixion" sends each character into intense connectedness often channeling whirling dervishes.  In their exploration of contact, dancers find themselves stacked tall, held close, on their heads, hands and feet and then propelled away from each other only to be magnetized back until new configurations result.  Gendreau and Lynch’s intriguing extremities pair well with Jessie Cosentino and Kyung Joon Lee’s compact explosiveness.  

Ancient Bruises reveals the companies softer and more sobering side – showcasing stunning extension with tear jerking imagery in white, they unabashedly mesmerize.  Based on a  true story of domestic violence the company weaves the silver lining of a situation laced with a guttural and gruesome stigma.  Perceiving an opportunity to breathe beauty into a story wrought with grit – Gendreau’s perceptions shine.  Her physical storytelling features soloist Chihiro Shimizu as the clay to mold these visions.  Striking sculptural pauses of Shimizu’s musicality evokes artful upliftedness. Her navigation of connecting with fellow dancers and melting into her own limelight speak both to her clarity of the piece and to Gengreau’s direction.  Lynch’s artistic grasp of the choreography’s underbelly leads her to stand out immensely.  The soft concavity of her gestures emanates through vibrating hands – no detail of her dancing tale goes un-traversed.

PCDC company member Natalie Teichmann also Artistic Directs Anahata Dance and her work Apres Moi provides a complementary contrast to PCDC.  With a strong tongue in cheek presence, architectural precision and an enigmatic "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" charm, Teichmann and Lauren Rosenstein delight.  Their impeccable control of both physical and spatial connectivity is channeled through alert eyes.  In turn, their audience connection grows stronger with every second.  Using the stage as a dynamic playground, a sense of fun perforates any stuffiness residue left from the 9 – 5 crowd.  Sweeping to the floor, silently they communicate a sense of peaceful ease – one I know does not hold true but resonates clearly.

The raw materials of PCDC and friends have a home in NY – now their attention must be drawn to connecting the dots through quicker pauses between pieces and other details that have little to do with artistry.  I await their new works – Gendreau has big plans for the company on, off and behind the stage with the brand new Perceptions Contemporary Dance Festival this fall, and the PCDC Summer Youth Intensive Dance Camp in August. Be sure to get to the next PCDC show to see heightened humor, subtle softness, and enough passion to claim NY as home base. 

As Gendreau says, "Perceptions is Experience…Experience Perceptions!" 

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Eileen Elizabeth
Performance:  Perceptions Contemporary Dance Company 
Venue:  Teatro LA TEA Theater 
Show Date:  May 28, 2010
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