Koresh Dance Company’s Public Secrets
July 11, 2009
Asya Zlatina, photo courtesy of Koresh Dance Company
Last Wednesday evening, Koresh Dance Company performed Israeli choreographer and artistic director Ronen Koresh’s evening-length Theater of Public Secrets as part of SummerDANZ at Dance Theater Workshop. Throughout twenty dramatically compelling vignettes that occur in the privacy of homes, eleven characters reveal their tormented souls and rocky relationships. Although the movement is nuanced and the dancers extraordinary technicians (and many are fine actors, as well), the root of the characters’ problems is never clear. Perhaps Koresh is serving up a message: regardless of the source of anguish, everyone suffers behind closed doors.
With assistance from superb lighting by Robb Andersen and a variety of home furnishings that make up the set, the dancers hardly take any time to establish their tense situations. In fact, the furniture often witnesses and contributes to the characters’ struggles. Seated around a dining table, Amanda Lenox and Asya Zlatina are two desperate housewives wavering between civility toward one another and animalistic urges to attack. Later, Melissa Rector dances with wild abandon to convey sexual and emotional torment as she scurries under the table, writhes over it, and flings herself to the floor. The table becomes a battleground during her provocative duet with Jae Hoon Lim as they portray an achingly depressing love-hate relationship. In a plush, scarlet-colored armchair, a giggling, glowing girl (Jessica Daley) seems to be remembering an enjoyable romantic encounter. But loneliness lurks beneath her squirming satisfaction. Perhaps most disturbing is Fang-Ju Chou Gant’s self-destructive fit in front of an oval, vintage mirror as she interchangeably admires and abhors her image.
Theater of Public Secrets isn’t all doom and gloom. A flighty woman, Alexis Viator, attempts to change her clothing behind a folding screen as she runs amok and tosses dresses and hats about the room. And on a park bench, she giddily plays footsie with a reserved man (Eric Bean, Jr.) who, after much exasperation, eventually reciprocates. These silly scenes only serve as comic relief, but Koresh’s humor is too forced to be funny and the rest of the performance is too emotionally draining to be so easily forgotten. An intermission also allows the audience to take a breath, but it interrupts the piece’s flow and breaks the tension that the dancers and lighting effectively establish in the first half.
There is no shortage of technically demanding, full-throttle dancing in the work (with a few too many hyperextensions) and the cast performs with wonderful sophistication and precision. At the heart of Theater of Public Secrets, however, are the private emotional battles that are rarely seen by the public eye. They are painful, honest, and reflective, and no amount of humor can weaken their indelible impact.
Gallim and Cedar Lake at Jacob’s Pillow
July 7, 2009
Gallim Dance in Blush, photo by Christopher Duggan
Two of New York City’s finest contemporary dance companies head to Massachusetts this week to perform at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
Gallim Dance, founded in 2006, will perform artistic director Andrea Miller’s Blush, an episodic piece that investigates themes of intimacy, instability, fear, and tenderness through highly physical movement, delicate gestures, and a riveting climax. Blush features music by M.I.A., Radiohead, Joy Division, Wolf Parade, and Chopin. After seeing this work in January at the Joyce SoHo, I wrote, “The emotional impact of Blush leaves the audience as breathless and elated as the dancers.” Gallim will perform at the Doris Duke Theatre from July 8 through 12.
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet will perform the world premiere of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Orbo Novo (New World), an evening-length work set to a live, original score by Polish composer Szymon Brzóska. In a Jacob’s Pillow press release, Cherkaoui commented, “The piece tackles issues of freedom, contamination, perspective, loneliness, and enlightenment.” The company will perform at the Ted Shawn Theatre from July 8 through 12. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Orbo Novo, with commentary by Cherkaoui.
SummerDANZ: July 6 – 18 at DTW
July 3, 2009
Starting this Monday, Gotham Arts Exchange presents SummerDANZ as part of Dance Theater Workshop’s Guest Artist Series. Six different programs will be presented over twelve nights, will all performances at Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. $15 tickets can be purchased online or by calling 212.924.0077. Here’s the SummerDANZ lineup:
Emerging Artists, July 6 & 7 at 7:30 PM
A fresh, bold generation of choreographers, including Gregory Dolbashian, Sara Joel, and Sydney Skybetter, will present past creations and world premieres.
Koresh Dance Company, July 8 & 9 at 7:30 PM
In 1992, Israeli born Ronen Koresh fulfilled a lifelong dream with his brother Alon Koresh and founded the Koresh Dance Company. Making their NYC debut, they will present Roni Koresh’s Theater of Public Secrets, which examines the complexity of relationships by entering into people’s homes and zooming into their most private lives.
Nicholas Andre Dance, July 10 & 11 at 7:30 PM
Nick Ross presents an evening of repertory favorites and three premieres that showcase his innovative and athletic work. His ensemble will reprise Passio Nostri and Still Life, and anchoring the program will be the premiere of Until Blue, a sextet set to music by the Vitamin String Quartet. The evening will also include the company premiere of Passage.
PARADIGM, July 13 & 14 at 7:30 PM
This performance ensemble will present a world premiere by Gus Solomons Jr. and the New York premiere of Donald Byrd’s Dioscuri #2, an intense, sensuous twist on the myth of Castor and Pollux. The program also includes a reprise of Jonah Bokaer’s Player & Prayer; Dwight Rhoden’s stunning duet It All, and a recasting of PARADIGM’s signature dance, A Thin Frost.
CorbinDances, July 15 & 16 at 7:30 PM
Patrick Corbin’s Romantic Conversions examines the port de bras, expanded into full body movement, and his Reach tells a story through gesture, complex configurations, and wild athletics. The program also includes Nelly van Bommel’s Adele’s Skirt [Tsaritsa] and a world premiere by Jodie Gates, former principal with the Frankfurt and Joffrey Ballets.
ColleenThomasDance, July 17 & 18 at 7:30 PM
Known for her atmospheric yet physically demanding work, Thomas presents three dances from a period of collaborative work with composer/cellist Chris Lancaster, who will perform live. The program features Colleen and Chris in a new duet, Jane Can’t Connect (aka Open Arms), and the reprise of Winning You With Words (This is How We Fall). The evening will close with the premiere of when the earth was flat, it smelled like the color pink, and I believed.
Remembering Pina Bausch, 1940-2009
July 1, 2009
Pina Bausch, who directed and choreographed for Germany’s Tanztheater Wuppertal beginning in 1973, died yesterday at the age of 68, just days after being diagnosed with cancer. She was known for coining the term “tanztheater” – dance theatre – and creating a new genre that wove together dance and theatre in both form and content.
I first saw Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal perform in November 2004 at Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of an assignment for a dance course I was taking at Barnard. The nearly three-hour performance of Für die Kinder von gestern, heute, und morgen (For the Children of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow) moved me to tears, and writing a paper about my experience was both challenging and rewarding. After learning of Bausch’s death yesterday morning, I re-read and reflected on what I wrote back in 2004. What follows are some excerpts from the paper (it was nearly six pages, so I won’t post all of it). This was not meant to be a review of the performance, but rather an analytical piece about what I observed and experienced while watching Bausch’s work. Throughout the paper, I often cited Norbert Servos, author of Pina Bausch: Dance and Emancipation, an article I read before attending the performance.
…With Bausch’s For the Children of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, “passive reception is impossible” (Servos 39). Indeed, from the moment I entered the theater and saw the white walls and bright lights, my experience as an active viewer began. The stage didn’t look like a venue for entertainment. The white walls with entryways and moving windowpanes transformed the stage into a large room, a place where the dancers were not just performers, not just entertaining the viewer, but also sharing their stories and experiences. “While dance theatre is recounting the universal history of the body, it is also always telling something of the actual life story of the people on the stage” (Servos 42). The stage’s transformation from entertainment space to “real” space immensely contributed to the actual life stories of the dancers, and the ability to relate to them.
…“Dance theatre does not anesthetize the senses. It sharpens them for that which ‘really is’” (Servos 41-42). One of the most prominent senses I used in viewing Bausch’s piece was touch. Although I did not literally touch anything on stage, I could feel the necessity for the sense of touch. Unlike in other productions, where props are often on stage to add to the aesthetic value of the performance, the props in Bausch’s piece were integrated into the dancers’ actions and movements. They were critical ingredients for me in experiencing the work. A sand castle, a piñata, and a jump rope – all props that the dancers used to depict child play. When I saw the dancers use them, it stirred my own childhood memories of playing with and rolling around in sand on a beach, hitting a piñata at a friend’s birthday party, or having jump rope contests with my sisters in our backyard. Bausch succeeded here in making her work a “theatre of experience”, a personal experience.
…Servos wrote, “The key [to Bausch’s works of art] lies with the audience, who are asked to question their interest and their own everyday experiences…Dance theatre, with all its physical, mimetic, and gestural possibilities, again sets theatre in motion as a communication of the senses” (Servos 38). I am certain that if I were to see For the Children of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow again, I would have a completely different experience from when I saw it last Saturday evening. Likewise, the dancers probably have different experiences each time they perform the piece. This is the beauty of “theatre of experience”, a living and breathing experience that continually evolves and changes.
Working by Day, Blogging by Night
June 30, 2009
Several weeks ago, while chatting in a theater lobby before a dance performance, a publicist wanted to know how Dancing Perfectly Free started, and – much to my surprise – assumed that blogging is my paid, full-time job. I was both flattered and alarmed. I explained to her that from nine to five, Monday through Friday, I work for an environmental organization, and navigating around that schedule (meaning at night and on weekends), I attend performances and write for the blog. Watching and writing about dance doesn’t usually feel like work; after all, DPF started as a hobby, to share my passion for dance with the online community and engage readers and fellow bloggers. But I do dedicate a great deal of time to the blog, and when I don’t post for a few days or can’t make it to a performance, I feel like I’m depriving my readers and slacking on my obligation as a dance blogger. And then I remind myself that DPF is a not-for-profit endeavor. With the exception of my time and energy (and sleep), it costs me very little, and I don’t earn any income from it. I’m certainly not alone. There are plenty of other bloggers in the same position: working for money by day, blogging for free by night.
In another category are the journalists-turned-bloggers – individuals who have lost jobs or freelance work at publications and are now blogging for exposure (and hopefully because they love what they do). Laura Collins-Hughes, who blogs on ArtsJournal and ARTicles, the blog of the National Arts Journalism Program, wrote a compelling post about why it’s unacceptable for journalists to be blogging for free. She explains that it’s fine to use blogging for exposure, but firmly states that “exposure doesn’t pay the rent” and journalists who blog for free “debase journalism”. By blogging, journalists are providing a service to their readers, so it seems logical that there should be a monetary incentive while exposure should be an additional perk. But sadly, paid blogging is the exception, not the rule.
So what does this mean for the future of blogging and journalism? For individuals, blogging isn’t sustainable or realistic if it’s given away for free, while employers and publications that are suffering from budget cuts can look for journalists who are willing to volunteer their services. And it’s hardly worth mentioning corporate sponsors, which are fading fast. I wonder for how long journalists will blog for free before putting their foot down and demanding to be paid for their time and product. And at one point is blogging merely for exposure no longer worth it? How do independent bloggers like myself strike a balance between blogging for personal fulfillment and making a living? I seriously doubt Dancing Perfectly Free will ever be a paid, full-time job. But if it is, that publicist will be the first to know.
Jacob’s Pillow Wants to Know…
June 27, 2009
Jacob’s Pillow, home to an international dance festival since 1933, invites the public to respond to the following question: Why do you dance? Whether you’re training for a professional career or dancing alone in the kitchen, The Pillow wants to hear from people around the world by sharing their thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, or by emailing info (at) jacobspillow (dot) org. Everyone’s responses will be posted on the Pillow’s website throughout the summer. So far, the responses include: “It’s my drug”, “What else would I do?”, “I dance because it makes my entire body smile”, and “Pays the rent”. Join this community effort, tell the Pillow why you dance, and check back often to view the responses.
Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
June 26, 2009
MJ was an incredible singer and an iconic dancer. I still remember trying to master his moves while watching this performance, at the 1993 Superbowl, in my parents’ living room.
Be In the Gray With Me
June 24, 2009
Theresa Ling in "Be in the Gray with Me", photo by Yi-Chun Wu
There is nothing black or white about Pam Tanowitz’s newest work, Be In the Gray With Me, presented this past weekend at Dance Theater Workshop. Navigating the gray area between ballet and modern is tricky, but Tanowitz, who avoids labeling herself or her work, is an intelligent dancemaker. Be In the Gray With Me is full of elegant movement without excess. A narrative seems to be buried within the varied lighting, music, and thoughtful formations, but it is so subtle that it leaves the viewer wondering what, if anything, to make of it. Each of the four sections in the work is compelling, but each looks better on its own than as part of the whole.
Tanowitz’s movement is rooted in ballet vocabulary – arabesques, jetes, and fouettes are identifiable – and there are clear references to Balanchine works and the Rose Adagio from Sleeping Beauty. But the first section, set to Vladimir Martynov’s romantic score for strings, has the spatial awareness and unpredictability of Cunningham, while other, more richly textured sections refer to Paul Taylor’s strides and jumps. Tanowitz weaves history into her work, but she does so without simply rehashing what’s already been done. Be In the Gray With Me looks fresh and new, thanks in part to the nine gorgeous movers, especially Christina Amendolia and Ellie Kusner. Dressed in Renée Kurz’s sleek gray costumes with individual touches, the dancers have unique personalities. This is no cookie-cutter corps of swans.
Philip Treviño’s set design maximizes the space by hanging white plastic sheets along the sides and back, in place of the wings. Doors are cut into each sheet, eliminating the distinction between on and off stage and throwing into question where the piece begins and ends. The dancers can be seen starting a phrase behind the sheet before emerging, or calmly watching the others while waiting to enter. Treviño’s lighting bathes the dancers in shades of white, blue, and near the end of the work, a deep red. Just as varied is the music, which along with Martynov, includes Dan Siegler’s electronic score, the propelling rhythms of Pavel Karmonov, and an ambient composition by Alexandr Raskatov.
Ellie Kusner and Anne Lentz in Be in the Gray with Me, photo by Yi-Chun Wu
Moments of tenderness and intimacy among pure, imaginative movement hint at a narrative. There’s no clear arc, but something seems to be lurking. If a narrative exists, it’s hidden within the multilayered movement and spatial sophistication of the work, as opposed to being conveyed through gesture or facial expressions. Indeed, the dancers remain so serene (and at times reserved) and their phrase work so fluid that it’s impossible to see a story in their individual performances. Nothing about Be In the Gray With Me is obvious. The viewer has to look closely into the hazy, beautiful gray area to discover all of the work’s nuances.
Dancing with the Berlin Wall
June 22, 2009
The Berlin Wall, photo by James Starkman
Two of my friends just returned from a trip to Berlin, where they spent some time exploring the Berlin Wall and sent me the above photograph. It not only seems appropriate given this blog’s title, but also relates to the ongoing Berlin Wall Project, created by the German-born dancer and choreographer Nejla Y. Yatkin. The project reflects upon what the Wall and its removal meant to the world in its broadest sense. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Yatkin is creating a new work, Dancing with the Berlin Wall, about the emotional impact the wall had on its citizens and the world. The work will echo, embody, and subvert the dynamic interaction between individuals, movement, and the emotional impact of barriers.
The Project includes a short dance-on-camera film in collaboration with filmmaker Mike Rogers; a site-specific installation about the Wall to be performed on November 9th (the anniversary of the fall) at two gallery spaces at the Goethe Institute in New York City in collaboration with photographer Astrid Riecken; and a tour of Dancing with the Berlin Wall in New York City, Washington, and Los Angeles. This week, Yatkin and her company will head to Berlin to film their dance-on-camera piece, and on August 8th and 9th they will show a preview of Dancing with the Berlin Wall at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Learn more about the project at the Berlin Wall Project’s blog.
The AWARD Show: Opening Night
June 20, 2009
Gallim Dance in Blush, photo by Christopher Duggan
On Thursday evening at The AWARD Show - Artists with Audiences Responding to Dance – the sold-out Joyce Soho was not told to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Rather, the audience was charged with the task and responsibility of carefully evaluating each of the four works on the program and voting for their favorite. The choreographer whose work received the most votes would continue on to perform with the other finalists. On the final night (tomorrow), a panel of experts in dance and other cultural arts fields, along with the audience, will choose the winner. The recipient will receive a $10,000 cash prize to be used toward the development of new work. It’s a fairly straightforward format, but one that aims to engage choreographers and viewers in an open dialogue. In addition to voting on Thursday, the audience had the opportunity to fill out anonymous comment cards, which are delivered to the choreographers, and engage in a post-show discussion with them. Audience members not only asked questions about the work, but also willingly shared constructive feedback - ranging from what images or emotions the piece brought up to their opinion on costume choices.
Determining who should proceed to the finals was no easy task. All four choreographers – Vanessa Justice, Sidra Bell, Shannon Gillen/Elisabeth Motley, and Andrea Miller – presented intriguing, sophisticated works worthy of high marks using the Joyce’s suggested POEM criteria: Potential, Originality, Execution, and Merit. Perhaps an extra “E” could be added for emotion. The emotional substance of a work, and the way it resonates with the audience, is undoubtedly a factor that can place a dance in a league of its own. In fact, it often makes a piece more vivid and memorable, making certain works on the program stand out more than others.
Vanessa Justice Dance performed FLATLAND, an eerie, dream-like piece for three women that played with space, presence and absence, and collective and individual forces. Dark, ominous projections on the scrim often showed the dancers frozen in a position that the audience saw the live dancers perform moments before. In spite of the work’s title, the movement itself was wonderfully multi-dimensional, and sound from the 1977 film “Eraserhead” underscored the chilling, psychological texture of the work. One dancer used her chin to push the limbs of the other two into a forced embrace, creating a curious mix of violence and tenderness.
Vanessa Justice’s FLATLAND, photo by Ian Douglas
Shannon Gillen and Elisabeth Motley of DOORKNOB COMPANY also used film in their work, The Waiting Room. A television on stage showed segments from Fellini’s La Strata that served as background noise and a reflection of the segmented scenes occurring in a waiting room. Gillen and Motley stomped around in pink stilettos, sat impatiently in folding chairs, flailed about with National Geographic magazines covering their faces, and interspersed duets with moments of solitude. Despite the unique personalities that were subtly conveyed, the women were both dressed in maroon sweaters and skirts with pink stilettos. In the waiting room they were the same person, in the same frustrating situation: attempting to convey kindness and mask brutality.
Sidra Bell Dance New York in "Anthology"
In Anthology, Sidra Bell Dance New York showed disembodiment and embodiment through two extracts. In your distance kept, five dancers under spotlights created a circus-like atmosphere with their physically demanding movement and cold stares, set to the electronic sounds of Ezekiel Honig and Mokira. Troy Ogilvie and Gilbert Small explored each other’s bodies in your hands, portraying a scenario that involved gender dynamics and invasion of personal space. They reacted to the slightest of each other’s movements or advances, interchangeably pushing the other away or giving in to desire. Ogilvie seemed more powerful when wearing her red heels, while her cream-colored ruffled top suggested her character’s subtle fragility. Small was gorgeously bold and beautiful in a black, ruffled tutu.
Gallim Dance’s excerpt from Blush, choreographed by Andrea Miller, left the audience as elated and exhausted as the dancers. Wearing trunks and colorful tank tops, six dancers scattered about the space to the loud, pulsating sounds of Kap Bambino. Their limbs shook and torsos curled and stretched, but all in a controlled, digestible way. Just when it seemed like the dancers would never come down from their noticeable high, the music changed to Arvo Part’s otherworldly Fratres for Violin, Strings and Percussion. A duet for Dan Walczak and Bret Easterling was emotionally tumultuous and physically grueling as the two men tried to escape or catch one another. Tenderness, violence, intimacy, aggression, and vulnerability distinctly shined through as the landscape continually shifted. Eventually, they drained each other’s energy (and the audience’s, in a thrilling way) and ended alone as they came down from a high.
There was very little time after the show to rank the pieces before the open dialogue began. Head-scratching and lost-in-thought expressions on many people’s faces suggested that judging the dances was a challenging assignment. The dancers and choreographers were all well-prepared and fully immersed in their performances, not to mention being gracious competitors. But the audience undoubtedly had the toughest role of the evening.
Tune in for a live webcast of tonight and tomorrow night’s performances at 7 PM EST.
*On Friday morning, The Joyce Soho announced that Shannon Gillen and Elisabeth Motley of DOORKNOB COMPANY received the most votes on Thursday evening, and will perform in the finals on Sunday.
