I saw Complexions Contemporary Ballet at The Joyce twice this season. They presented three programs of ballets over the course of two weeks. The Company is made up of an excellent crop of young dancers, a majority of whom joined this year. They are exceptionally skillful technicians who are bursting with passion and charisma. I was pleased to see more focus on the women during the performances. The last time I saw Complexions, the men took center stage wowing us with their athleticism, while the women sort of kicked and spun around them. I was excited about the return of Wendy Sasser White, but was promptly disappointed to find that I would not see her on stage this season. Hiroko Sakakibara and Natalia Alonso were the most exciting of the newcomers to watch, while Christina Dooling commanded the stage with her presence. All of the men were beautiful, particularly Phil Orsano and D. Gary W. Jeter, II (who both have unbelievable bodies).
The closing piece, choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, Rise was set to the music of U2 and featured an incredible array of concert lighting that blew me away--by now you'll have guess accurately that I'm a total lighting geek! I felt like I was at a rock concert with the dramatic moving instruments and dazzling light effects. I especially loved the image of silhouettes against a back lite cyc. It was a high energy piece that made me want to dance and sing along. I loved it!
Another piece choreographed by Mr. Rhoden and performed on both evenings, was I Will Not Be Broken featuring a pas de deux and breathtaking solo by Desmond Richardson with live song and text by S. Epatha Merkerson. On the first evening, the duet was performed by Sabra Perry and Juan-Antonio Rodriguez. On the second evening, Cristina Dooling and Edgar Anido danced. While Mr. Richardson was on fire both evenings (he is remarkable), it was the Dooling/Anido pairing that made me enjoy the piece. I found Perry to be technically fierce, but her performance was dull compared to glare of Desmond and her partner. Ms. Dooling, however, handled the emotion expertly and better matched Desmond's raw projection.
On the evening I saw them, Rhoden's Ave Maria (performed by Hiroko Sakakibara and Simon Sliva) and Jae Men Joo's Surface (performed by Jeter & Orsano) were two of the moving and best cast duets in the season. While Mr. Rhoden's Routines, the Forsythe pas de deux and Igbal Perry's work were forgettable.
The evenings were exceptional. I quite admire the Company's versatility and they're technical prowess. Go see for yourself! Two thumbs up!
30 November 2008
Complexions @ The Joyce
23 November 2008
Urban Bush Women & Companie Janti-Bi @ BAM
I'm confident in saying this is the best dance of 2008. Hands down. The collaboration between Urban Bush Women and Compagnie Jant-Bi was seamless, powerful, provoking, exquisite, and absolutely beautiful. I apprenticed for Urban Bush Women in the fall of 2007 just before they set out for Senegal to begin the process of creating Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory) with Germaine Acogny's Compagnie Jant-Bi.
In the Artist Talk just before the performance, the choreographers discussed their creative process, citing their immersion in the harshest, most blatent evidence of African and Afro-American history to develop a truly awesome work. When asked what each had thought of the other's homeland prior to their collaboration and what they'd learned after the project, Germaine stunned me when she said, while slavery was always a part of African culture, she and her Company never imagined the horrors suffered by the Africans brought to America. She learned of the harshness of America's brand of slavery after visiting a museum in Tallahassee, FL last year. It never occurred to be that Africans wouldn't know our side of the story. The two also talked about how much they enjoyed the creative process of the project because it was a collaborative effort. They felt they were joined spiritually and they truly admired and respect each other as artists. They talked about traveling to slave dungeons, rehearsing in Germaine's open air studio overlooking the savanna and how the creation of the work was a healing experience for all involved.
The piece is filled with incredibly powerful imagery. And while Jawole said there wasn't a narrative, I did sense that it was moving with history. I'm currently reading a book by dance anthropologist Lynn Fauley Emery, Black Dance: From 1619 to Today. In the beginning chapters, she discusses the earliest recorded dance history of African slaves and she mentions that slaves were forced to dance to maintain their health. She also mentions the emergance of the Black bourgois and slave dance parties, their structures, and their importance. I found these images, among others, in Les écailles de la mémoire. It isn't surprising that Jawole would take an anthropologic approach to this work. Her last work was inspired by the life of the famed dance historian, Pearl Primus.
The piece asks questions of identity. I think these 14 dancers have come far in answering them.
Two thumbs up.
Continuous City @ BAM
I haven't seen a stage play a some time and when reading the synopsis of Continuous City, now playing at BAM, I was game to check it out. The play tells interlocking stories of four characters, told simultaneously via irregular sized collapsing screens and comments on humanity's speedy approach towards digital media as our primary mode of communication, while first person contact becomes obsolete.
What Continuous City gains in gorgeous multimedia display, interesting videography, and fun techno stuff, it loses in content. The story is lazy. I won't spoil it, but I wish they'd spent as much time developing the play as they did the set.
One thumb up.
14 November 2008
La La La Human Steps: Amjad
Sigh.
As fanatic as I am about Amelia, I can't say I feel the same about Amjad, the newest work by La La La Human Steps presented at BAM this week. First I'll say it was remarkable to see first hand the incredible speed, precision, and power of the dancers. What I'd fallen in love with in Amelia is real. Amjad, however, was pretty boring. In the Artist Talk prior to the show, choreographer Édouard Lock described his work as a deconstruction of two iconic ballets, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. He's lost me there. At no point during the evening did I see a clear storyline or clear roles. I think that dance doesn't necessarily require a narrative. While it can be difficult to be both interesting and non-narrative, I think it's quite possible to dance for the sake of dancing and be compelling. It doesn't happen here. Further, the gigantic sculptures on both sides of legs, incests inspired by the forest scenes according to Lock, lowered and raised at random it seemed. Three large circular projection screens with images of pearls, branches, red fabric, blood and sleeping women seemed to be vaguely related to the stories, but also appeared at random. Without a storyline, all that lightning fast movement became pretty dull to watch; there really was no dynamic change in the dancing. Just fast. And the dancers are so thin. I mean scary thin. I'm still working on making a connection to the name. Amjad, a popular Persian name. Maybe I need to do more research.
What I did love was the music. Distorted and remixed, I was happy when I found familiar music, but I was really intrigued by the sections of stranger, newer takes on it. The musicians, two violas, cello and piano offered a really dark incarnation of Tchaikovsky's masterpieces. The harsh minimal lighting complemented the sinister feel of the evening, fast cutting from one extreme angle to another, casting bright white on the sickly pale dancers as they flittered around .
I hadn't seen anything by Édouard Lock prior to Amelia and I assumed that Amjad would, of course, have that familiar fast paced movement style. I just didn't expect him to take one aspect of his vocabulary and give me 100 minutes of it. There are moments throughout Amelia in which Lock plays with slow motion and stillness. I wish he had gone in a similar direction with Amjad.
One thumb up. Now, I go watch Amelia.
08 November 2008
Les Sept Planches de la Ruse @ BAM
I bought a ticket to Les Sept Planches de la Ruse [The Seven Boards of Skill] without really understanding what I was going to see. Promotional material described the show as nouveau cirque and a large scale take on a popular children's game, Tangram. The name actually refers to the seven block pieces of Tangram, a game in which the player can create an infinite number of figures and shapes with blocks. In Les Sept Planches, French Director Aurélien Bory collaborated with actors and acrobats from China's Peking Opera to bring the childhood humor and imagination of the game to the stage.
The huge pieces (the largest is 500 lbs) slide across the stage forming the scenery (mountains, pedestals, playgrounds, etc.), while the dancers moved on, off and through them, often traveling in that quick gliding fashion we associate with Chinese theater. I was quite impressed by the skill of the performers. There were several moments during the evening when I gasped as a block teetered and swayed into place, an actor balancing on top. Singers in the group sang Chinese songs while sliding down the blocks and a Chinese lute player appeared and disappeared with out warning throughout the evening. I enjoyed the lighting which was minimal, mostly cast incredibly beautiful shadows on the performers and on the blocks.
I went to the Artist Talk with Mr. Bory just before the show in which he revealed his obsession with geometry. He also talked about the collaborative aspect of this project's creative process and how important it was for him to also use older performers and non-dancers.
Two thumbs up! I want to go purchase a Tangram game!
Drumadics: Constructing a Masterpiece
I met Will of the Drumadics at the first Broadway Underground I lite. Will is a bucket percussionist and Musical Director of the Drumadics. He invited me to his show at the American Theater for Actors. I caught the concert on Thursday night, opening night. This is weekend's show was the first of three phases that will eventually become a full evening work that will comment the diverse arts community in New York City as a microcosm of America with dance, theater and live music.
This evening's show was about the music. The Drumadics is essentially a "Band of Buskers". So, it doesn't really matter that the stage was bare (Will sited a technical mishap for the lack of planned visuals to accompany the music) or that the theater's lighting options were practically nonexistant and could hardly capture to essence of the sound. And I won't mention that a smaller stage would have been more appropriate for this kind of thing because black box theater with narrow riser seating isn't really condicive to shaking your ass. The music is vibrant and funky and you just want to dance to it. Even the musicians couldn't help by one-two-step the whole evening.
I remember the first time I heard them at BB Kings, I had a blast! I threw up oranges and reds, made it hot like the music. Oooohweee! I wish this youtube clip did them justice.
Two thumbs up! Go forth and listen!
02 November 2008
The Movie Music of Spike Lee @ NJPAC
Naturally, this was an incredible event. Composer Terence Blanchard hosted an evening of music he created for some of Spike Lee's greatest films, including Malcolm X, Girl 6, Jungle Fever, and Miracle at St. Anne. The evening featured the Terence Blanchard Quintet, Patti Austin, Raul Midon, Bilal and the NJPAC Orchestra. Spike came out at the beginning to say a little something. Clips from the films flashed on a large screen as the musicians played. It was a powerful evening. It's nights like this that I wish I had a date. I do enjoy going out alone. But this would have been a lovely event to have enjoyed with a companion.
There was an Artist Chat afterwards that wasn't very interesting, but the food was on point! Sangria has found its place again at the top of my list of the few drinks I'll drink. They had these little cheese quiche things and these tiny little chicken pie jawn... yummmm. I wish I had the forsight to bring a little baggie. Then Bilal let me take a picture with him. Scrumptious.
Two thumbs way up.
30 October 2008
Meeting with Bodhisattva @ BAM
I saw Meeting with Bodhisattva at BAM his week and despite my fatigue, I was so happy I went. Meeting with Bodhisattva tells the story of the the Buddhist figure, Bodhisattva, through music, martial arts, and dance. I was in awe at the ease and precision of the performers. The music and the movement was very powerful, yet graceful and mesmerizing.
I read in the program that The U Theatre's director, Liu Ruo-Yu, requires his students to first learn meditaion before learning drumming, theater and dance. I think this explains the performers incredible calm throughout the piece and even when receiving a standing ovation during their bows. They were so peaceful.
Two thumbs up.
Jo Strømgren Kompani, "The Society"
What began as a delightfully confusing evening, developed into kind of funny and then into just plain dumb. I visited Abron Arts Center in LES last night to see Jo Strømgren Kompani, a Norwegian dance theater company. Their latest work, "The Society" was raved about in the papes, so I went to check it out. Here's the Times review that hooked me.
I left a little miffed, but wouldn't not recommend this show. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't my taste of humor.
26 October 2008
ODC/Dance + Bangarra + Steve Reich Evening
I've had a pretty eventful week in terms of seeing dance. I bought tickets to see ODC/Dance at the Joyce and a pair of tickets at BAM to see Bangarra's Awakenings and Steve Reich evening. Here are my thoughts.
ODC/Dance is a San Francisco-based contemporary dance company who are quite influential in their local dance scene. They have their own school and theater; they do a lot of outreach and art-in-education programs; they pay and insure their dancers; they're mission is simple, but realistic. They're the Company to be in if you're a dancer in San Fran. With all that said and after reading the dancer's bios, I thought I would be in for a real treat.
In as few words as possible: I was completely unimpressed. Unimpressed with the dancing. Unimpressed with the choreography. Unimpressed with the costumes, lighting, and staging. While I was impressed by a few of the dancers (particularly Daniel Santos), I felt that the whole evening was predictable, mediocre, amateurish, boring.
I love to watch dance that's based in the roots of a particular culture and incorporates modern and contemporary styles to create something newer. I saw Bangarra Dance Theater at BAM this week and really enjoyed it. They performed their newest work, Awakenings, stories of rites of passage in ancient Aboriginal culture. The Company is made up entirely of Aboriginal/mixed Aboriginal dancers.
I was struck by how seamless the movement felt and how honest and sincere the performers were. I admit some of the choreography wasn't awesome, but the commitment the dancers gave to the movement drew me in. I was especially floored by the lighting and the set.
I was first introduced to the music of Steve Reich while studying dance at CalArts. It once occurred to me that his was Music for Intellectuals and it made me feel good to be truly into it; that I could find the soul in it. I understood it and was intrigued by it. It's very mathematical and pendulous. Rhythms are established then mixed and lost and found again. I went to see Steve Reich Evening at BAM as part of a city-wide celebration on the composer's 70th birthday.
While this wasn't the best collection of his work, I was mesmerized by the musicians. I'd never seen Reich music played live and I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect. Most of he dancing was dynamic and excited and matched Reich music wonderfully. And while a lot of the dancing was repetitive and kind of dull, I enjoyed the precision and commitment the dancers provided it. My biggest problem with the whole evening was the arrogance of the artists and the producers. Exhibit A: Poems symphonique pour cent metronomes by Gyorgy Ligeti, in which a hundred metronomes are set off onstage and slowly wind down. Further, I found it more than slightly annoying that the dancers were so casual on stage, chitchatting, removing costume bits, lackadaisical technique and I got the strange feeling several times during the evening that everyone was marking.
A more thorough, less biased review may be found here.
Next week, I return to BAM for Meeting with Bodditsavah and then to NJPAC for the Movie Music of Spike Lee. Raucous soul clapping for me and my cultureficationizing. View blog reactions
13 September 2008
Dali @ MoMA
I went to MoMA last night to see the Dali exhibit with my friend Sodi. Despite the rainy weather and the inevitable crowd (Free Fridays at MoMA are always a pain), I was happy to put my membership to good use. I'm not too familiar with Dali's less popular work, so it was really interesting to walk through the exhibit and see bits of his film work. I'm drawn to narrative art or art that I can find logical patterns and meaning in. He's got an excellent sense of humor and I especially enjoy Dali's darker, more twisted pieces. Though I wouldn't consider myself an art buff, it feels good to feel like "I get it".
I hardly get to see him anymore, but Sodi is one of my favorite people. We had awesome conversation about art and dance and cutlture vultures; why I'm not a fan of M.I.A and why I should stan for Santogold; why his art aesthetic is his and why mine is mine. A professor put it in my head that if I'm unable to say why I like or don't like something, my judgment basically has no weight and that being able to add to the discussion of a critique makes me a better artist. I don't get to flex those muscles as much as I would like to, so it was nice going back and forth with Sodi.
Twas a lovely evening indeed.
10 September 2008
Lighting Broadway Underground
I light a show at BBKings last night! AAAAHHHHHH!!! I'm beside myself! Jared Grimes, an incredible choreographer, teacher, and creator of Broadway Underground needed someone to fill in last minute and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I know I said I'd given up production work, but this could not be passed up. BB Kings has moving lights dude! Are you kidding?! AHAHAHAH! I'm still beaming from it. The whole night was perfect, stressful, but everything I always loved about lighting. It's similar to dance for me. You breath with the board. You move with it. You plan and perfect. Ah, I had a blast!
The line up was sick too! Jared's choreography has always impressed me. He has phenomenal vision and as a tapper/hip-hop dancer, he's just effing talented! He invites musicians to perform as well. The Drumadics blew me away! And I loved the jam at the end where audience members get to come onstage to show their shit. Had I been able to relinquish my place behind the board, I woulda been up there too heheh!
Man! The perfect start to a new week. Check out the Broadway Underground website at www.broadwayunderground.org. Next show is happening soon!
25 May 2008
La La La Human Steps: Amelia
My sister put me on to this a few months ago and I'm so in love with it. It's absolutely ingenious. The movement, the costumes, the set, the lighting (my God the lighting!), the angles and editing... all of it is perfect. I've found the entire movie in 10 parts on youtube. This is my favorite section.
La La La Human Steps is an incredible contemporary dance company based in Quebec, Canada. See their website to learn more http://www.lalalahumansteps.com/
29 October 2007
B(ack)logging: the weekend & what have you
So, I've been trying to be diligent about posting regularly and keeping this thing updated, but lately, I'm wondering what it's purpose is. I first approached it as a personal diary, but this blog is out for public judgment and I'm a generally private individual who's not interested in becoming less private... but it feels good to express my thoughts and ideas candidly (I've kept a journal of some sort since I was in elementary school)... but I've felt the sting of private thoughts exposed and secrets revealed. To be honest, I am not expressing myself fully in these entries. I would really love to post all the truly awful things that float around in my head. But I have no idea who reads this blog and I feel that it wouldn't really be in the best interest of anyone, especially myself, to rant and rave haphazardly about my life. So, what is the purpose of this blog? I guess to have a record to refer to that won't get lost (I tend to lose my journals regularly).
Onward. Many things to discuss:
It was Phil's birthday on Friday. I didn't call. I didn't go to his gigs. I was bummed, but I had a great weekend avoiding thoughts of him. Lenée was in town belatedly celebrating her berfday at Bembe. I passed through for a about an hour and headed home at around 11p, which was a shame because her peoples were so cool and had it not been for my 8:35 train the next morning, I would have enjoyed their company for a little while longer. There was one girl I really connected with. I can't remember her name, but I'm gonna try to get in touch with her. She lives in Philly and doesn't have a network page, but I added her to my mailing list so she can have an excuse to come back to New York soon :) I really am proud of myself for going out. I let loose without the aid of alcohol and I truly enjoyed myself. I picked up some Dumpling Man on the way up to Penn Station as a reward and promptly polished off 10 of those chicken jawns before my transfer at Jamaica :)
Saturday was a completely perfect day. I finagled my way into a six-hour teaching workshop with Urban Bush Woman that was so unbelievably valuable! I made some great new friends and I feel more prepared to consider an education in Dance Education. I finished all my prep work for Monday CPU in just a few hours and had time for a little online shopping on Etsy (I'm obsessed with this site!).
Sunday was a cold and I tried to do everything. I got some errands done. I finally trimmed my ends, about an inch everywhere. My fro looks much healthier now. I'm planning on putting twists in as soon as this apprenticeship is over and I have the time to work for the money to pay for it (:P). Then I went into the city to take class at DNA -- yoga with Constanza who is beautiful and powerful and has great smile. I recommend her. I then went to see ABT at City Center which was both annoying and inspiring. The first ballet, a Tudor work, had me nodding off through most of it. I haven't been so bored at a show since that LA incident (You don't wanna know... Ugh!). The corps was so unimpressive and the movement so dull, I considered walking out right then. But the next piece seemed much more promising. The Lar Lubavitch work starring Julie Kent was breathtaking. Kent is absolutely electrifying, though the corps, again, was seriously, remarkably boring. I don't get it. You're in the nation's top ballet company. How's about a little umph!? Capped the night off with a double order of Dumpling Man, seven of which were in my belly before my Jamaica transfer. What can I say, those things do something to me.
Now at some point this weekend, Phil called and left a message. I have a habit of forgetting my promises to myself. Sometimes, I can't remember why I need to be disciplined about some things. Like in this instance, I've spent a good part of today playing with the idea of returning his call, seeing him again and justifying it to myself by saying that this will be the absolute very last time that I see that man. And then, then, then I'm done. For sure. But that's what I always say and I always feel like a fool in the end, because it's the affection and the attention that I really crave. I think, I'm not that fond of sex, actually. What I love is the feeling of being wanted and feeling irreplaceable, which is what I feel in the few hours that we're together, but then that fades when we part ways the next afternoon and I don't hear from him for weeks. The whole thing's out of balance. He gets exactly what he wants and I trick myself into thinking that making him happy makes me happy, which is a lie and a nontruth!
I don't want to call him. I want a relationship. I want a boyfriend. I want consistency and effing consideration! And I know deep in my heart that this man is not able to give me what I want and I'm cheating myself by letting him just do whatever the hell he wants with me and my emotions. Bump that mess! I'm done. For reals.
25 October 2007
On: Benefitting The Tyler Dunn Foundation
The Tyler Dunn Foundation is an organization named after the ten-year-old son of a NYPD Officer who accidentally shot himself with his father's gun. What the Foundation aims at is supporting families who have dealt with a similar struggle; the organization raises money to assist with the financial burden that a a tragedy such as this would incur. Last night, the Foundation presented it's First Annual Benefit Performance at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College in New York City. Yours truly acted as stage manager, and I want to use this blog post to pat myself on the back for being the organized, calming force that made the show run as smoothly and as successfully as it did :)
Hoorah to me!
Not only was the theater donated, but so were the crew and staff! All the performers also volunteered their time and talent for the event, drawing a lively, supportive audience that raised over $2,000 for the cause! Though I can account for at least one diva (you know I can't handle no divas -- knock 'em right out of the sky), the artists were both humble and professional, showing me nothing but respect and kindness, and being just plain easy! I enjoyed myself. I saw great work. And I knocked an item off my 43things: to volunteer my time to an organization :) I hope I'm lucky enough to work for this wonderful Foundation again next year.
15 August 2007
On: My first Stage Managing Gig!
I answered a call on Dance/NYC for volunteers for a short dance piece choreographed by Isabella Bruno to be featured in The American Living Room Festival. I was actually meant to audition for the choreographer on two separate occasions, but that never happened. Soon, she sent a request out for someone willing to stage manage the piece. Course, I've never actually done this, in the traditional sense, but I've run many a board and I assisted Ashley for Launch, so I figured I could learn quick and make it work.
So, we met and Isabella is cool. I came to a rehearsal and I thought her idea for "Quirk" was great, though it could have used some refining and more rehearsal time with the volunteers. The whole concept centered around the individual habits and daily routines of ordinary people. She rehearsed for three months with a group of four dancers around whom the piece revolves. They mime everyday activities like making coffee, getting dressed, and applying makeup. The 20 or so volunteers act as background bodies, filling the space for the quartet to move around, fight through, to instigate and be provoked. The bulk of the piece is inspired by the subway; the way people isolate themselves in a crowded box. I loved the way she contrasted the close-knit relationship between the quartet against the sort of removed and independent "chorus". She set the work to a soundtrack, comprising a handful of songs by The Books, which I enjoyed immensely. I think the music doesn't always have to make the piece. In "Quirk", the music accompanies the piece.
So, stage managing is such a rush. Different than the rush I might get while performing, but the adrenaline is there. It's more of a cerebral buzz. The excitement of the countdown to show time; the moment when house opens and the audience begins to pour in (both nights were sell outs!); "house out", "music go", "lights go".... and they begin and it's nonstop from there. A good SM is on it. She knows the movement and the music by heart. She know when to do what and how to fix what goes wrong. She is calm under pressure and never transmits her anxiety to her crew or the choreographer or the performers. She's cool as a cucumber. That is I. I had a blast and I can't wait to do it again.
