THE AILEY SCHOOL NAMES TRACY INMAN AND MELANIE PERSON
AS CO-DIRECTORS

LONG STANDING FACULTY MEMBERS HAVE OVER 20 YEARS EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

 
(New York) August 26, 2010 – Today, the Ailey organization announced that Tracy Inman and Melanie Person have been named Co-Directors of The Ailey School.  Since the passing of Denise Jefferson, the beloved long-time Director of The Ailey School, Inman and Person have served as Acting Co-Directors.  Both have long-standing careers with the Ailey organization and have previously been Co-Directors of The Junior Division and Associate Directors of The Ailey School.

“Tracy and Melanie have been an invaluable part of The Ailey School over the past decade, working closely with Denise Jefferson and sharing her loving dedication to our educational mission,” stated Artistic Director Judith Jamison.  “Denise and I agreed that they are well-prepared to guide The Ailey School’s legacy of excellence and build upon our tradition of training young well-rounded dancers.”

Inman’s history with the Ailey organization began in 1981 when he auditioned and was awarded a scholarship to study at The Ailey School.  Two years later, he was selected by Sylvia Waters to become a member of Ailey II and in 1989, was invited by Judith Jamison to join The Jamison Project.  After Jamison became Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in December 1989, Inman followed her and enjoyed a five-year career with the Company.  He began teaching the Horton technique at The Ailey School in 1999, was named Co-Director of The Junior Division in 2001, and Associate Director of The Ailey School in 2009.  “Since my time as a student at The Ailey School, under Denise’s direction, I have been groomed and nurtured,” Inman shared.  “I’ve always believed this was a special place and it’s where I really grew up, both professionally and personally.  I’m grateful for this terrific opportunity to be a positive influence in our students’ lives, following the inspiring example set for me by Ms. Jamison, Ms. Waters and Ms. Jefferson.”

In the fall of 1999, Denise Jefferson asked former Dance Theatre of Harlem dancer Melanie Person to join The Ailey School faculty as a ballet instructor.  Shortly after being named Co-Director of the Junior Division in 2000, she became chair of the ballet department and joined Ms. Jefferson on the School’s annual audition tours across the nation.  “Denise Jefferson taught me that directorship is not about the four walls of an office, but how you connect with people beyond them,” acknowledged Person.  “Tracy and I will join in upholding the high standard that Ms. Jefferson set for this prestigious training institution, furthering the opportunities for gifted students from all backgrounds to benefit from the extensive programs at The Ailey School.

“Both Melanie and Tracy have a deep understanding of the unique needs of the young developing dancer and the talent, experience, and commitment to be wonderful Directors of The Ailey School,” affirmed Executive Director Sharon Gersten Luckman.  “I am proud of their past accomplishments and confident in their future leadership of Ailey’s world-renowned center for dance education.”

As Co-Directors, they will continue to supervise the Junior Division, which has tripled in size in the past decade.  Mr. Inman will be responsible for the Fellowship and Certificate programs, Pace Actors classes, and the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) partnership.  Ms. Person will oversee both the U.S. and International Independent Study programs.   Ana Marie Forsythe has been named Director of the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, which she helped initiate, through her planned retirement from that program on June 30, 2011.  After that time, Melanie Person will assume responsibility for the Ailey/Fordham BFA program as part of her Co-Director duties.  Ms. Forsythe, a noted expert on the Horton technique, will continue her long affiliation with The School by remaining chair of the Horton department, a teacher of technique class, and the leader of Horton Pedagogy instruction programs for dance educators from around the globe.

###

Tracy Inman is a native of Washington, D.C. and a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he majored in music.  1981, He changed his artistic course from music to dance and moved to New York City where he auditioned and was awarded a scholarship to study at The Ailey School.   After completing two years of study as a scholarship student, Tracy was invited to join Ailey II by Artistic Director, Sylvia Waters.

Tracy is a former cast member of the Vienna, Austria company of CATS, and has performed in the Antwerp, Belgium company of CATS as well.  Tracy was personally invited to join The Jamison Project in 1989 and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1990 by Ms. Judith Jamison. He toured nationally and internationally with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for five years working with choreographers such as Ulysses Dove, Jerome Robbins, Donald Byrd and Louis Johnson.

Following his five-year tenure with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, in 1999 Tracy began teaching the Horton technique at The Ailey School.  Inman was named Co-Director of the Junior Division in 2001 where he along with Melanie Person grew the program from 350 students to its current enrollment of over 900 students. Mr. Inman serves as Director of the Ailey Athletic Boys Dance Program, is a faculty advisor, Rehearsal Director for Ailey/Fordham Student Dancers and conducts several auditions around the country for The Ailey School.   In 2009, he was appointed Associate Director of The Ailey School and Co-Director in 2010.  Photography by George Larkins 

Melanie Person was born in Greenville, North Carolina. She began her early dance training in Jackson, Mississippi at the age of six. Upon moving to Columbia, South Carolina a few years later, she continued her dance training at the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance while performing with the Columbia City Ballet. In the winter of 1976, by recommendation of her teacher Ann Brodie, Ms. Person auditioned for the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) Summer Intensive and was offered a full scholarship. Upon completion of that summer program, she became an apprentice to the professional company and in 1979, became a full member after graduating from the Professional Children's School. For twelve years, Ms. Person performed with DTH traveling around the world performing a diverse repertoire.  She later went on to earn her BA from SUNY Empire State College. 

In the fall of 1999, Denise Jefferson invited her to join the PPAS ballet faculty at The Ailey School and later that year, in the spring of 2000, Ms. Jefferson appointed her as the Co-Director of the Junior Division alongside Tracy Inman.  Shortly thereafter, Ms. Person was made Chair of the ballet department and President of the Emergency Fund for Student Dancers.  Person has served as a judge for Seoul International Dance competition and Japan’ Grand Prix.  In 2009 she was named Associate Director of The Ailey School and most recently Co-Director with Tracy Inman after Jefferson’s passing.  Photography by Martha Swope

Ana Marie Forsythe received her formal dance training at the Newark Ballet Academy under Fred Danieli and her Horton training under Joyce Trisler. She began her professional career with the Garden State Ballet company at age 13 and with the Joyce Trisler Dance Company at age 14. She also performed with the Sophie Maslow Dance Company as well as her own company. Ms. Forsythe began teaching the Horton technique in the 1960’s and has devoted more than twenty years to documenting the Lester Horton technique. She is an internationally-recognized master teacher of the technique and has been invited to teach in more than a dozen countries. In preservation of the Horton technique, she co-authored The Dance Technique of Lester Horton, and was artistic director of three Horton videos documenting this important modern dance technique. In 2010, Ms. Forsythe was named the Director of the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Program at The Ailey School where she has taught since 1973 and has been the Chair of the Horton department since 1979. She conducts an annual Horton Pedagogy Workshop at The Ailey School each summer.  Photography by Dorothy Shi.

ABOUT THE AILEY SCHOOL

Guided by the belief that dance instruction should be made available to everyone, Alvin Ailey founded The Ailey School in 1969. The Ailey School offers aspiring dance students in its Professional Division and Junior Division Programs a curriculum of diverse dance training of the highest caliber and makes dance accessible to young people and adults through dance training, innovative community outreach, and arts in education programs.

The Ailey School offers one of the most extensive dance education programs in the world, training approximately 3,500 students and offering over 300 fellowships annually, as well as a pioneering Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program with Fordham University. Now under the direction of Tracy Inman and Melanie Person, The Ailey School has a faculty of 75 dance specialists and has attracted students from over 93 countries.

Many graduates from The Ailey School have gone on to careers with the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Ballet National de Espana and the Ailey Company itself.  Over 85 percent of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s current members were trained at The Ailey School.

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

For years artists have bravely performed with the ballistics of balls and have awed audiences.  Jugglers, rhythmic gymnasts, and street performers entertain with the suspense of dropping the ball.  Welcome UBA bounce to this group of performers!  UBA Bounce’s performance, however, is like watching the 3D movie version of the other performances- more eye popping color, speedy unexpected acrobatic feats and of course, chaotic challenges of controlling unpredictable balls.  UBA bounce dancers interact with the balls as if they are fellow dancers. Each ball is personified and possesses its own quality and quirks.  Yes, Eva Dean’s UBA Bounce is an innovative and ingenious idea- she is absolutely breaking boundaries with balls.

Appropriate for the lazy, sweaty days of summer, the balls do not bounce during the performance, but rather roll and relax like they are vacationing in the Hamptons away from the bustling bounce of the city.  A variety of balls appear amongst five dancers in ten works choreographed by Eva Dean and you question who controls the movement:  the ball or the dancer?

Of my favorite pieces, Pearl showcases the sophisticated skill of Dean’s choreography.  Dean and Zoe Schieber dance with two other pearl balls that adopt the persona of Charlotte’s “Sex and the City” Park Ave personality.   The fluidity and harmonized movement created the allusion of synchronized swimming.  

Continuing with the water theme, Bounce Surfing channels the audience to an aquarium in three parts.  In “Wave,” George Hirsh and his counterpart, a blue buoyant ball, bring the audience into waves with watery, continuous flux.  While in “Dolphin” the ensemble cast mimics the playful, fluent movement of dolphins.  Like the spectacular at Sea World, dancers flip and balance balls with the agility and grace of dolphins that are always awarded with a huge splash of applause.  The final section, “Surfing,” brought me immediately to the tobogganing penguin exhibit.  The slippery silver balls propel the dancers across the stage and back demonstrating the dancers’ teamwork throughout a piece of slipping and sliding fun.  

In Bounce 09, UBA acts as the main character of the work as a big, bright orange ball.  A kaleidoscope meteor shower of color from supporting actor balls bring the dancers into a Wonka Land experience where bubbles and carefree play transform the stage into a playground.  

The final piece, Samba Poi, utilizes twirling, psychedelic neon light poi balls that immediately transport the audience into the Latin flavor nightlife of Miami Beach.  The sexy samba dance along with the glowing lights is like watching a tropical festivity along the palm tree lined Ocean Drive. 

Throughout the performance I marvel at the dancer’s strength, control, and especially their balance.  Ms. Shieber seems to never touch the ground, constantly balancing and walking on the ball like a tight ropewalker.  The dancers’ work with the ball is like a full fitness regime in itself!  If anyone has exercised using a physio ball, you know it is a killer ab workout!!   The abs of the UBA Dancers definitely give Jessica Biel’s Hollywood washboard abs some serious competition.

Join UBA Bounce in a spectacular show where dancers and balls impress and excite your expectations and imaginations. 

UBA Bounce continues to perform at Dixon Place on:
THUR 19 @ 7:30 pm
THUR 26 @ 2:00 pm
FRI 27 @ 5:30 pm
SAT 28 @ NOON

Photography by Yi-Chun Wu

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Katie Gibson
Performance:  Eva Dean's UBA Bounce
Choreographer:  Eva Dean
Venue:  Dixon Place
Show Date:  Sunday, August 15, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

A hot night of dance at Central Park Summer Stage begins with audience-thrilling performances by winners of this year’s DRA, Dancers Responding to Aids Competition.  Nine women and one male dance with passion and conviction, conveying silent fury within.  Seated in silence at a table, the dance dialogue begins with the women’s white dresses twirling as they spin out of their chairs to the floor, rising and falling in record speed.  A male soloist shows his individual strength by powerfully taking the women up in the air with lifts and turns.  Gesturing of the hands specifically express what otherwise could be spoken or felt between women and men as they strike out above others on the table.  In a piece called Awkward Silence, there is nothing to be silent about it.  Intensity and precision is felt as the music ends, but the dancers continue to move powerfully in unison.

New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble immediately follows this performance with dancers rushing forward with explosive jumps first in a trio then all.  An emergency and freedom bellows out from the music that the dancers react to in pain.  They walk slowly to the percussive beats then repeat a sequence of intricate fast movement in unison.  All rise and fall in a circle then collapse to the floor in an exciting finish leaving the audience in awe.

Dwight Rhoden greets an excited audience with his introduction of Complexions Contemporary Ballet.  Complexions opens the show turning Central Park Summerstage into a cathedral with Mercy.  The dancers are angels in white who dance to various spiritual chants, rhythms, and gospel.  First four women then five men enter and exit through red streamers.  A male soloist in red makes a striking presence as he pleads for mercy with clear technique, extension, and passion.  He acts as a man knocking on the door of heaven.  Men exit lifting him above their heads as women enter with fast bourées.  Large booms in the music signal the climax when the men fall from grace, and the dancers return with black buckets beneath them while circling, rising, falling, and extending into beautiful balletic lines.  At the sound of bells, a soloist woman enters in a purple corset with her long curly hair flowing as she promenades á la second into precise turns and jumps in second position.  On "boom," all run and explode while men fall to the floor before rising into forward attitude swings.  Lines run through each other.  Women dig heels into the floor as a fire-like intensity rises from the earth to above that shakes their upper torsos in a trance.  All of us have experienced mercy-the audience is clearly relating as they sit on edge of seats.

The stage lights lower to black out, and the mood immediately changes.  Summerstage is now a smoky club scene with a solo performance of Moonlight by the extraordinary Desmond Richardson.  He enters with a chair and sits as the audience eagerly awaits his next move. His fluid movement articulates every word and expression of the vocalist. “What color is my soul if loneliness is black,” are the lyrics of the song.  Showing strength and passion, he powerfully extends muscular limbs reaching a leg in extension and an arm in presentation of a red flower to the audience.  His turning inward to contract and releasing out to reach to the audience is beautiful poetry in motion.

The mood remains intense with feelings of love and the blues as Billy Porter and a jazz trio accompany the dancers on stage.  Four couples seductively stand together in hues of red, blue, green, and purple.  Each couple dances their love story expressing a different feeling and interpretation of the songs of Billie Holiday.  Each movement shows the perfect blend of jazz ,contemporary and ballet vocabulary.  The dancers evoke feelings of despair, love, rejection, anger, and the resolve of being together again with a significant other.  It is a beautiful premiere of a new work by the company.

The dancers of Complexions close the show running in place. One dancer starts then others join in filling the stage with excitement and the sounds of U2. Rise, a popular audience favorite, causes immediate response with people standing, clapping and singing along.  Dancers now invite all to enjoy the power of movement for the finale.  Bright hues of red and orange light up the stage as dancers jump, leap, turn, run forward, pass through one another and stop to boogie down and rock.  Complexions finishes brilliantly with several rounds of applause.  What a delight to see the audience leaving in celebration continuing to clap out and dance to themselves as they exit!  It is a “Beautiful Day” for Complexions Dance Company and a perfect night for dance at Central Park Summerstage.

All Photography by Michael Seto

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Carmen M. Carriker
Performance: Summer Stage Presents Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Venue:  Summerstage in Central Park 
Show Date: August 10, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

I will be keeping an eye on two refreshing new choreographers debuting at The Joyce this week.

From August 9th through the 14th, Kate Weare and Monica Bill Barnes share a marquee with Camille A. Brown and Andrea Miller.  The latter two are both mentioned in Dance Magazine's "25 To Watch" list, and while I love watching both sets of choreographers gain ground, I only have tickets to see Kate Weare and Monica Bill Barnes.  Nothing thrills me quite so much as witnessing fantastic talent emerge, and the two companies could not have been better matched.

Kate Weare Company premieres Bright Land, a series of dances set to the live music of San Francisco-based folk band The Crooked Jades.  Seeing live musicians on stage as the curtain rose is enough to make me cheer, but, given that I am at The Joyce and (supposedly) am sophisticated, I restrain myself. (If there had been a gut bucket, things might have turned out differently.)  The dancers enter after the first number, dancing in silence for the first few minutes, punching elaborate rhythms with their breath and their bodies.  Weare's artistry is genius in its simplicity:  the dancers create, and are ultimately swept up in, the cultural "rhythms" of life that folk music encompasses.  Throughout the piece, layers are literally stripped away as her talented ensemble tackle judgment, envy, love and death.  Kudos to dancers Adrian Clark and Douglas Gillespie for what surely is the most bruise-inducing series of choreographed push-ups ever crafted.  The overall effect is amazing.  Regardless of your appetite for folk music, however, you can't help but think, "Kate Weare is one fierce choreographer."

Smart, witty Monica Bill Barnes, on the other hand, engages her audience on an entirely different level.  No one goes to a dance concert for the comedy. But I haven't laughed this much at a dance performance since I watched Tandi Dupree drop from the ceiling into a split on You Tube. (Google it, people.) But while Miss Dupree induces shock mixed with hilarity, MBB's dancers mix awkwardness with a painstaking desire to please.  Four skinny white girls walk onto the stage in frumpy turtlenecks and woolen school girl skirts and dance to James Brown.  Obviously, this is a prescription for comedy.  They know that you, the audience, are watching.  In fact, they're trying desperately to entertain you.  In this recently reworked piece, Another Parade, Barnes lampoons the relationship between the audience and the performer.  The girls shimmy and shake, mugging and bopping through Bach and Bacharach alike.  At times dark, at times heartbreaking, and at all times unexpected, Another Parade is a smart, inventive evening of dance.

Check out Kate Weare and Monica Bill Barnes this week at The Joyce Theater.  These two companies are not to be missed!


iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Molly Sorohan
Show:  Kate Weare Company and Monica Bill Barnes
Venue:  The Joyce Theater
Show Date:  Tuesday, August 10, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

Pilobolus has absolutely perfected performance art!   After thirty-nine years, Pilobolus still brings innovation that challenges their artists and thrills audiences, which I got to experience first hand this past Monday evening at The Joyce Theater in New York City.  This evening, Pilobolus adds to their superior athletic and dynamic reputation by flaunting their fluidity and grace on top of their ability to tell a story. 

The opening piece, Lantera Magica, takes the audience to a fantasyland of enchanted creatures.  Appealing to the family audience, fireflies drift your imagination into a mythical land.  The colorful costumes and brilliant lighting perfectly complement the graceful dancers, which moves the audience into a tale of fairy like creatures and discovery. 

Pseudopodia, a male solo choreographed to pounding drums, diverts the focus away from the show's theatrics and toward some gravity-defying technique!  This is an amazingly dynamic juxtaposition of music and movement.  The hard, pounding drum is paired with the fluid, flame-like movement of Jun Kuribayashi.  His gasp-inducing solo begins as Jun Kuribayashi somersaults on stage like a fireball, his body rolling like a continuous flame.  Not once does the audience hear his body touch the stage.  He flows with effortlessness, while commanding the stage with complete control.  Bravo!

The first act ends with the much anticipated Contradance, a new work that's a collaboration with Grammy winner Dan Zanes. Contradance continues with the family and story telling theme of the evening by showcasing the ensemble's subtle strengths and talents to portray sweet characters, who convey a moral story.  (Yes, dancers, you better act!)  Even though this piece isn't a momentous, gravity defying piece that is often associated with Pilobolus’s reputation, I appreciate the softness and sweetness of the characters and the company’s embrace of magical stories that really appeal to a younger audience.

The evening is arranged much like a double feature at the movies.  The first act is a G rated movie for families while the second more is a sophisticated highlight of the extreme strength and power of the company.  Upon entering the stage in the fourth number, Gnomen, four intertwined men roll onto stage, demonstrating a huge feat of weight and balance.  The men showcase extreme endurance, but execute it with much sensitivity.   Arial lifts and arm balances make the audience gasp in awe, but more impressive is the emotional execution of the movement.  Choreographed by Artistic Directors Robby Barnett and Jonathan Wolken as a dedication to fellow dancer James Blanc, I also sense that the dancers pay tribute to Wolken, who passed in the spring.  The somber and inward mood of the piece creates a division between the performers and audience.  As a viewer, you observe the pain of loss and devotion to relationships, but also admire the beauty of graceful physicality and emotional strength. 

Megawatt, the finale performance, demonstrates strength and physicality, but in the most raw and abandoned manner.  It is truly an underground piece choreographed to the music of Primus, Radiohead and Squarepusher.  The dancers enter head first in upside-down army crawls (like my new dance term?), which sets the tone of organized chaos.  Creating a full spectacle for the senses, Wolken's killer choreography directly mimics the music.  The audience sees, hears, and feels melody and tempo through a non-stop exhilarating display of high energy and seemingly impossible tricks.  Although constantly impressed by the insane acrobatic stunts of all the members, I am most thrilled by Eriko Jimbo.  One of the smaller members, she moves with fearless abandon and well matches the physicality of the "Lebron James size" men.  Work Eriko!  Megawatt leaves the audience rocking out in there seats.

Pilobolus is performing at The Joyce Theater until August 7th and provides a show that will entertain all ages and artistic preferences.  Go see it! 

Photography by Sara D. Davis


iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Katherine Gibson
Performance:  Pilobolus
Venue:  The Joyce Theater, NYC
Show Date:  July 19, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

---

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

Waking into Joyce SoHo for the performance of Deacadance Theater, I am immediately massaged by the sounds of Hip-Hop beats.  Creating the vibe on the ones and twos is DJ Henry C, spinning the joints that hype everyone to get crunk.  Finally the house lights dim and the crowd erupts into thunderous applause, and we are ready.

The first piece on the bill, choreographed by Jennifer Weber, The Cage (inspired by Jerome Robbins), takes hip hop dance soaring to heights as high as the Empire State building!  Brilliantly danced by the ladies of Decadance crew (Ann-Sylvia Clark, Lucile Graciano, Nadia Lumley, & Taeko Koli), these X chromosomes take complete control of the stage like a well-oiled machine.  Their movements are fluid and smooth, a hot knife through butter, and I am ready to be SLICED!  I watch with awe in suspense as they move from slow to fast with ease like waiting for a YouTube video to buffer and load.  Once they get going...   oh how satisfying it is!  These b-girls are highly athletic and strong, flipping through the air and spinning on their heads as if they are Olympic gymnasts.  I score them a 10!

The next piece, The City Breathing, also choreographed by Weber, is an imaginative triumph.  The dancers are on stage dancing in jogging suits, the lights go out, and then, out of nowhere, their costumes light up!   Immediately, at first I think,... hmmm...  "Walt Disney World's Main Street Electrical Parade."  However, delightfully it turns out to be a piece I only WISH they'd march through Walt Disney World!  They seem to disappear and reappear out of nowhere, floating through space.   These dancers are amazing doing steps you would only see men doing and at a speed that would make anyone shout,  "WORK!"   Overall, another perfect score 10.

The next and final piece on the bill is a total slam-dunk:  the world premier, When The Sky Breaks.  For Weber, this is the most ingenious and ambitious piece on the bill that even I would want to get up and join.  All I have to say is “Step-Up 3D”...  That’s right, folks, put on your 3D glasses and pop some popcorn.  With an integrated 3D video created by multimedia artist, Holly Daggers, you feel like you actually are in the middle of the dance.  Weber incorporates a little house dancing, more awe inspiring moves, and the most intricate, isolated, fast-hand choreography I have ever seen.  Weber almost seems to take a page out of The Matrix and Madonna’s Vogue video.  So, I guess you can call this a little Vogue Matrix 2010...  The Decadance dancers are athletic, musical, and beautiful, and I am very pleased with the final product.  Once again I’ll give them a score of 10!

Wow!  Just like the Olympics, 3 perfect 10’s....   And the gold medal goes to...  DECADANCE THEATER!   All the evening’s pieces are masterfully directed and choreographed by Jennifer Weber.  Watch out “So You Think You Can Dance” Decadance is HERE.  A must see! 

iDANZ Critix Corner 
Official Dance Review by Devin Pullins 
Performance: Decadance Theater 
Choreographer:  Jennifer Weber 
Venue:  Joyce SoHo 
Show Date:  July 17, 2010 
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member 
of iDANZ.com Today! 
The More Members We Have, The More We Can 
Make a Difference. 
It’s Free! 
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

Sunday Brunch---Indulgent. Leisurely.
Satisfying...

Sunday Brunch is a series of dance presentations---artists selected through submission process -- to keep the dust off the stage and something fresh in your snack box.  This smattering of delectable dance bites offers everything from the breaking-in, on-the-brink, & up-and-coming choreographers…sure to please even the most discerning palate.

In addition to the Brunchers, each show has a special guest artist......kind of like......a perfect dessert. 

With pleasure and excitement, The Rover presents to you the following artists...

@The Rover Soho
41 Wooster Street
2nd floor

 
Get there early to enjoy the pre show frolicking and fire escape gazing.   Please hang out after for gathering, slow drinking and quick talkbacking.   For more info on The Rover Soho, how tosubmit to Sunday Brunch, and for bios on the special guest artists go to www.TheRoverSoho.com.

Broadway Underground brings down the house on Monday night at BB Kings in Times Square. This show is full of non-stop raw talent, amazing live music, and lots of complimentary comedy that keeps the show rolling with laughter and fun.

Produced by Jared Grimes and Cheryl Cutlip, the performance displays the work of a fresh scoop of young, talented performers in the industry performing innovative works of their own or by other talented artists.  What makes Broadway Underground such a stand-out production is that they really get to the heart of entertainment (rather than just skimming the surface-like most shows of this kind).  Hell, they even have their own band keeping the beat throughout the show and hypnotizing you with a theme song that you leave the theater singing at least for the next two hours.

The show opens with a hot hip-hop and tap fusion choreographed by Jared Grimes. This high-energy piece set to the deconstructed car sounds of Wade Robson’s I Question Mark is full of tight technique, syncopated rhythms, and an unforgettable tap solo.  But this is just one of Grimes' three pieces for the evening.  In Ladies Throwdown, performed by the wonderfully versatile dancers of Tadah, these women really go hard in this sick tap number that displays their precision in sound, timing, and technical prowess. Grimes and Tadah are definitely a talent to watch out for.

Next up we meet Jay Stanton in his performance of Ray Mercer’s The Music In My Head.  Given the size of the stage and length of Stanton’s legs, I must admit that I was a little nervous about the ambition of the piece at first.  However, Stanton moves with a liquid musicality, seamlessly balancing Mercer’s contemporary and funk styles.

Juson Williams and company grace the stage in both the first and second half of the evening singing their soulfully witty rendition of classics For the Love of You and Lonely Avenue.  Expect the unexpected with Williams.  The level of his artistry allows him to take risks and use improvisation in a way that leaves you thinking one thought…WORK!

Speaking of musical artistry, William Johnson and the Drumatics blow up the stage at the end of the first half with a set of rhythms that make you want to get on your feet. This unbelievable all-male band dominates the trumpets, saxophone, djembe drums, and even paint buckets. That’s right William Johnson was drumming on paint buckets. Now that’s talent!

Now, my favorite and closing act of the evening is the BU Session, an open stage portion of the evening where artists in the audience are welcomed onstage to freestyle whatever talent they wish to share. What is most inspirational about this moment is seeing the diversity of races, generations, gender, and talent showcased.  There are even kids up there holdin’ it down right next to their teachers and mentors.  The session ends with two lengthy yet mind-blowing tap solos by Jared Grimes and Dewitt.  This pair, who also are the hosts of the show, delightfully serve as comic relief throughout the evening, and, putting all jokes aside, successfully leave the audience with a lasting impression of what "Broadway Underground" is really all about.

I’m not sure about when we will see this group again, but what I do know is that they will have a sold out house leaving you fully satisfied, and, I will make sure that I’m there again!  Broadway Underground: revolutionizing the definition of entertainment in New York City.  Go see them!

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Simone Sobers
Performance:  Broadway Underground
Choreography:  Jared Grimes, Ray Mercer, Juson Williams,Tadah, William Johnson and the Drumatics, Dewitt, BU Band, Adam Shenk, Reggie
Venue:  B. B. Kings
Show Date:  Monday, July 5, 2010

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

"Keep SLYDE Alive! . . . with a Y."

Performance:  Savion Glover's "Sole Power"
Venue:  Joyce Theater,  www.Joyce.org
Run:  June 21 - July 10, 2010

Listen to Interview NOW.....

Definitely an inspiration to all young tappers and future Broadway dancers... Savion Glover takes the theater world by storm with youthful zeal as a 12 year old prodigy performing in his first Broadway show, The Tap Dance Kid.   By 15 years old, Savion performs in Black & Blue, in which he is nominated for a Tony, and by 18 years of age, Savion stars in Jelly's Last Jam.   By age 23, Savion solidifies his place as the "Son of Sound" (coined by our very own iDANZ Critic, Martine Quigley) by starring and choreographing his own Broadway show, "Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk,"  co-directed by George C. Wolf, which Savion wins the Tony for best choreography.  Savion continues to perform as a featured guest artist, in addition to performing his choreography in his own full-length productions showcasing his artistry to audiences worldwide. 

On Monday night, June 28, I had a chance to interview Savion Glover in his dressing room at The Joyce Theater immediately following the performance of Sole Power, an intergalactic show that pays homage to the greats such as Jimmy Slyde and Gregory Hines and showcases the versatile feet of the great contemporaries such as Mr. Glover and Marshall Davis Jr.  In this interview, Savion expresses the importance of always being a student of life and developing relationships with "old people" in order to gain wisdom and constantly grow as an artist... His message, "Keep Slyde Alive!"  Moreover, Savion talks about his "dark period", after which, he felt like a new man whose reasons for performing changed dramatically. 

On a lighter note, Savion talks about the tap shoes he's been wearing for years and also talks about the process leading into the famous Tony Award Winning show Bring in Da' Noise, Bring in Da' Funk. 

Enjoy this fascinating peek into the life of Mr. Glover!  -Adrienne Jean "AJ" Fisher, iDANZ Critix Corner

Check out Savion Glover's Sole Power at The Joyce Theater June 21 through July 10.  For more information, visit www.Joyce.org.

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

With a clever mind, his heart on his sleeve and a pair of supernatural feet, Savion Glover, the artist, unleashes mind-boggling rhythms in his current production, “Sole Power” at Manhattan’s mecca for exemplary dance, The Joyce Theatre.  In the footsteps of tap legends, Savion Glover pays homage, one beat-filled rhythm at a time, to those of the past in a futuristic format.

With feet from another galaxy, Savion poses the question, "Can you see sound?"  Sound had better stock up on Red Bull before meeting the likes of Savion Glover’s fast and furious feet...   They move at light speed!

Act one begins with an intergalactic soundtrack and backdrop.  Mr Glover, facing upstage for a good five to ten minutes, jams away.  Instantly the focus in on the sound.  We don’t see his face, yet, I am transfixed.  Savion Glover has me at hello.

He is understated, donning a loose t-shirt with tuxedo pants.  Savion is comfortable right there on the stage in his tap boots.  He is comfortable in his own skin.  The effortless manipulation of tap sound is interwoven with spoken word by Savion, (who has a remarkable voice by the way).  He even kills the lights and dances in the dark, further highlighting his magical beats.  This first half of the show is heavily in remembrance of those great, pave-making tappers, highlighting the improvography of such legends as Jimmy Slyde and Gregory Hines.

Act two is futuristic, comical, sassy and jamming.  Although there are some truly extraordinary moments,  I am just not as fond of the second half as nearly as much as the first.  Unfortunately, some of Savion’s less-experienced counterparts fall flat.  The costumes are fiercely outlandish and say, Project Runway; however, based on performance alone, let's just say that... some models may need to be sent home.  Fortunately, this is not true of Mr. Glover and his two main men, Marshall Davis Jr. and Maurice Chestnut who are all powerful and technically aggressive.  Dance ya'll...  Savion rocks Jay-Z level swagger!

Although the corny dance-off session and an anti-climactic ending does little for me, I still leave completely dazzled by the mastery and artistry of Savion Glover, a brilliant man who marches to the beat of his own drum. 

In “Sole Power,” the light of dance transcends what we simply see on stage to a broader, more intellectual, and soul-filled moment in history.   It hosts a passing of the torch and an embracing extension to the future.  The dance is the father and Savion Glover is the son – of sound.  

See Savion Glover's, "Sole Power" at The Joyce Theater June 21- July 10 and be inspired... Keep Slyde alive!

To hear the exclusive iDANZ interview with Savion Glover, CLICK HERE.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Martine Quigley
Performance:  Savion Glover's "Sole Power"
Venue:  The Joyce Theater
Date:  June 28, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

DanceNOW [NYC]–Festival Twenty Ten

September 8–11, 2010

The annual DanceNOW [NYC] Festival celebrates New York City’s vibrant dance community. Produced by DanceNOW [NYC] and presented in partnership with Dance Theater Workshop, this year’s festival features 40 choreographers, from young innovators to mid-career and established artists, in a lively showcase format. Continuing its signature “short takes” programming, the Festival offers audiences an opportunity to experience a wide range of dance by some of New York’s most innovative and dynamic artists.

“We are always looking for ways to inspire today’s dance makers, to challenge and support the creative process, and to provide artists with new resources to develop their craft,” says Artistic Director and Producer Robin Staff. Now in its sixteenth season, Festival Twenty Ten is taking the DanceNOW “less is more” policy to task, challenging Festival participants to create a new work or present a repertory work seven minutes or less, that offers a concise, clear, and complete artistic statement. The artist that best meets the DanceNOW Challenge will be awarded a week-long residency at Silo at Kirkland Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, along with a $1000 residency stipend and a paid teaching opportunity at DeSales University, with whom DanceNOW has partnered since 2006 to bring New York City-based choreographer/educators to Bucks County/Lehigh Valley, to teach and perform. The artist will be selected during the Festival by a panel of administrators, educators, and peers.

Performances are at Dance Theater Workshop, September 8–11 (Wednesday through Saturday) at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 in advance/$25 at the door, and can be purchased by calling 212-924-0077, or online at www.dancetheaterworkshop.org. Dance Theater Workshop is located at 219 West 19th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in NYC. Subway: 1 train to 18th Street; A, C, E, L trains to 14th Street/8th Avenue.

Program / Festival Artists:

Wednesday, September 8

• Abraham.in.motion /Kyle Abraham
• ad hoc Ballet /Deborah Lohse
• The Bang Group /David Parker
• Bridgman/Packer Dance
• The DASH Ensemble /Gregory Dolbashian
• Jamal Jackson Dance Company
• Kawamura the 3rd
• Khaleh London
• Skybetter & Associates
• Dusan Tynek Dance Theatre

Thursday, September 9

• binbinFactory /Satoshi Haga
• Erica Essner Performance Co-Op
• Independentdancemaker /Kara Tatelbaum
• Roger C. Jeffrey /Subtle Changes
• Nicholas Leichter Dance
• Inmixedcompany /Maura Nguyen Donohue
• John-Mark Owen
• Iain Rowe
• Amber Sloan

Friday, September 10

• Camille Brown
• Daniel Charon
• Jennifer Chin
• Gina Gibney Dance
• INSPIRIT dance company
• Stefanie Nelson Dance Group
• Riedel Dance Theater
• small apple co /Makiko Tamura
• Christopher Williams
• Ellis Wood Dance /Ellis Wood

Saturday, September 11

• John Heginbotham
• Sara Hook Dances
• Malcolm Low
• Pengelly: Projects /Fritha Pengelly
• PORTABLES /Claire Porter
• Race Dance /Lisa Race
• Marta Renzi
• Singh & Dance /Paul Singh
• Misnomer Dance Theater
• TAKE Dance /Takehiro Ueyama

DanceNOW [NYC] is produced by Directors Robin Staff, Tamara Greenfield, and Sydney Skybetter.

Bending the rules and defying the standard, DanceNOW [NYC] has followed its own path for more than two decades, seeking new means to promote, challenge, and develop the artistic careers of a wide genre of choreographers and connect new audiences to dance. Embracing its signature short-format programming, DanceNOW [NYC] offers cultural events that are distinct, accessible, and reflective of the new direction and passion of New York City dance makers. The DanceNOW [NYC] vision is directed toward developing relationships with New York City dance makers via year-round performance opportunities through the annual Festival at Dance Theater Workshop and the Dancemopolitan series at Joe's Pub; promotion to new audiences to increase visibility; and creating opportunities for career advancement. Additionally, DanceNOW [NYC] supports artists through its artist-in-residency program at Silo at Kirkland Farm. For more information, visit www.dancenownyc.org.

DanceNOW [NYC] is supported, in part, with funds from the Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, Jerome Robbins Foundation, Edith C. Blum Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Image: PIERDUO, The Bang Group, Photo by Nicholas Burnham

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

New York is about laying it all on the line..'if you can make it here you can make it anywhere' and Perceptions Contemporary Dance Company throws their hat in the 'if you can make it here you can make it anywhere' ring of NY with their explosive evening length premier at Teatro LA TEA Theater last Friday.  Relocating from Boston to NY 7 months ago, PCDC boasts fourteen highly trained and expressive dancers - including Artistic Director Melissa Gendreau and Assistant Director Molly Fletcher Lynch.  Gendreau believes that because 'Perception is experience' you should 'experience Perceptions' and this statement earns its clout throughout their work.  Pieces that showcase PCDC's promise as key players in NY were Gendreau's Magnetic Affixion and Ancient Bruises.  Guest choreographer, Natalie Teichmann, of Anahata Dance's Apres Moi shows that same promise.

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
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

the ROVER

PROGRESSIVE, EXPERIMENTAL AND INNOVATIVE

ARTISTS, DANCERS AND PERFORMERS HAVE A NEW HOME IN SOHO, New York City

With the ever shrinking shortage of rehearsal space available in New York City, a sweet glimmer of hope in affordable rehearsal space has begun to shine over the horizon.  Rani Welch, founder and art director, along with Bradley Scott, co-art director, open The Rover, a multi-functional art space focused on the expansion of creative expression.  The Rover is wandering, searching, on a journey for original thought and unrestrained creation.

The Rover will present various dance performances, art exhibits and film screenings in hopes of being a catalyst in not only the progression of art but also in the progression of societal perceptions on a whole.  Most recently, The Rover presented Plump Reverie, (May 28-30), a surrealistic journey through the dreams and nightmares of the main character, Abby Powell, a beautifully curvaceous opera singer lounging on stage. The talented guerrilla cinematographers, Peru Ana Ana Peru, augmented the show with a custom-made film art. The reverie progressed with highly stylized characters, dance, performance art, and live music.  Resident company, Tribe of Human, along with Sidra Bell Dance New York were the headlining dance companies performing in this piece.  Other talented performers included Julie Fotheringham, Jarryd Lowder, Matthew Chiu, & Ehizoje Aseke.  Dance movement undulated from modern, ballet, voguing, African, and Hindi and was joined together with live opera, electric guitar, ongoing performance art from nightlife personality Ajoshua and model Mari Malek and coordinating works of art hanging on the walls by Eryn Lefkowitz and Aehee Kang Asano. This wide range of creative expression was wonderfully combined into one large-scale piece of installation performance art. 

The art directors of the Rover state,

"We boldly and confidently assert that the city is thirsty as a result of an artistic drought and thus we break the proverbial dam and happily allow the creative waters to rush forth." 

The Rover is here for us NYC dancers to perform, to create, to collaborate...  Come check out the space and explore your expression.

###

For more information on The Rover, please visit our website: www.theroversoho.com. To schedule an interview with Rani Welch and Bradley Scott, please email press@theroversoho.com.

I'm a Jersey boy, loud and proud.  It wasn't until I moved to London at 19 to study dance did i begin to question or understand my heritage.  I would tell people,"oh ya know, I'm 1/4 French, 1/4 Italian, a little German etc.. and my English friends would say, "Are you baking a cake? A little of this a little of that? What are you talking about? YOU'RE AMERICAN!"  

So what is it to be American?  Martha Graham asked this question over 80 years ago, and never found an answer.  The Martha Graham Dance Company revisited this question with their newest work in collaboration with SITI Acting Company, American Document (2010) and through this mind blowing, brave new work came to many beautifully interesting and thought provoking conclusions that Martha herself would have been proud to see come to life.

The stage is bare except for a drum and a briefcase.  The curtain is raised long before the house lights go out, and, without warning, an actor walks on stage directly to the briefcase, takes out some paper work, dons a pair of glasses and begins to read to the audience as actors and dancers begin to harmoniously fill the stage with the all too familiar shapes and floor patterns specific to the Graham vocab.  You can barely tell which are the actors and which are the dancers.  The execution is totally flawless.

American Document (2010) unfolds through poetry of Walt Whitman, writings of Jack Keroac, letters from soldiers of the Iraqi War, being followed by gorgeous selections of choreography that intertwine each monologue or conversation, seamlessly flowing from one minute into the next until you reach the emotional end of a very probing ride.

American Document (2010) makes you surrender to the hidden thoughts we all have, surrender to answering questions maybe we're too afraid to ask ourselves, surrender to accepting that, good or bad, Americans are a people of a rich diversity with blood on our hands and love in our hearts. We are a social contract and we are a melting pot of immigrants.  Illegal or not, we are all American.   Quite honestly, I am afraid to say anymore about some of the sections without giving too much away.  American Document (2010) is absolutely not to be missed.  It is a PHENOMENAL and important contemporary work.  It is sure to be a new masterpiece for the Graham repertory.

The next selection of the evening is Sketches from 'Chronicle' which I discovered from the artistic director, Janet Eilber's post intermission speech, is a piece that was created in a response to an invitation to perform in Germany during the turbulent pre WWII era when so many of her friends, people she knew and artists she respected, were being persecuted.  She declined the invitation...  Well this season at the Joyce, this work ferociously stands up to its meaning and its devastatingly reverent history.  I have never seen such power, such unity, and such strength as I see in these women. Jennifer DePalo is fiercely insane in her control and abandon; not to mention, her army of women are nothing short of Goddesses of dance in Steps in the Street and Prelude to Action.   Watching these ladies perform this piece, I can only imagine that it must be a real privilege to be apart of such beauty, power, and grace.  Their artistic interpretation and scientific precision is incomparable!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

What is it to be an American?   What is it to be a Graham dancer?  The answers can only be found by experiencing WHAT IT IS in which this outstanding company has to offer.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Dante Puleio
Performance:  Martha Graham Dance Company
Venue:  The Joyce Theatre
Show Date:  June 8, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

---

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!

 

Armitage Gone's World Premiere of Three Theories at Cedar Lake on Thursday June 3rd undoubtedly proves their staying power.  Impetus for this work came from choreographer and artistic director Karol Armitage's reading of Brian Green's best selling book on theoretical physics, The Elegant Universe.  The book focuses on the conflict between Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics vs. the newest String Theory.  This piece, using dancers as physical icons for this conflict, breathes stunning clarity into otherwise less tangible concepts.  Had physics class been this intriguing in high school I would have been a far more apt student.  Armitage's confident dancers have no limit to their physical prowess, and in moments of silence, hearing a pin drop would have echoed loudly in the packed space.  

Armitage describes the first piece Relativity as 'twisting traditional vertical and horizontal lines of dance to expose the poetry of Einstein's theory.'  Gorgeous strings pierce the echo of appreciation's silence as Kristina Bethel-Blunt and Leonides D. Arpon ooze sensuality.  In their duet limbs intertwine with care so certain it's as if they're handling a time bomb.  This piece favors exposure of sinewy lines with the women donning black bikinis and the men black boxer briefs.  Concave shapes perforate the bulk of Armitage's work in this piece.  When 10 of the 11 company members disperse into duets their undulating qualities lead into writhing that transfixes the audience.  When Bethel-Blunt and Arpon return to reprise their duet, their connectivity stands tall with Bethel-Blunts Amazon qualities and Arpon's strong grounded command.  The piece ends with a unison section so mesmerizing I barely notice William Isaac's downstage presence as he performs a solo over the undercurrent of the company.  A pre-cursor to his exemplary role in Quantum, the second piece, a second viewing would lead my eyes to his limbs immediately.

In Quantum, the time bomb Bethel-Blunt and Arpon handled so attentively explodes in a fashion that makes destruction seductive.  At the crux of this are Isaac and Emily Wagner in a duet thickly infused with sexuality and a 'don't you dare look away' attitude that cannot be denied fruition. Wagner is a snake en pointe with piercing eyes, Princess Leia buns, impeccable technique and with her head permanently cocked forward on her spine, she has an uncanny ability to get as close to the audience as possible.  The duet comes down center at one point and Wagner nearly leaps onto the lap of a front row viewer - and not to his disappointment in the least.  Clifton Taylor's lighting drowns them in fluorescent light only to switch to a blackout - and when the lights return the dancers are found in a new position across the stage as if controlled by a switch.   No detail goes forgotten as Wagner and Isaac's ooze about the stage with acute sharpness and exaction.  Rhys Chatham's original score features 100 drums and guitars whose cacophony give way to exclamatory extremities that gain momentum with every moment.  Best described as magical, the crazy orchestral crashes fuel the tenacious take-no-prisoners-prowess of every dancer.  Dubbed the "Punk Ballerina" by Vanity Fair, Armitage demands the same attitude of her dancers and each delivers.  Prim holds no bearing in this work that uses volatility like air to get their message to the masses.  Another highlight is watching Mei-Hua Wang being held in a straddle above Marlon Taylor-Wiles head only to be turned 360 degrees at a crescendo's dictation.  Far outnumbered by the instruments that accompany them Armitage's dancers evoke the strength of an army.

Perhaps because this theory is the youngest, the final piece derived from String Theory is the most lackluster.  Largely due to the intense impression Quantum leaves, String seems to wane in the memorable arena.  The stunning Megumi Eda serves as "the one dancer consumed by big volumes of geometry influencing the company" as Armitage states in her intro speech.  Enveloping subtle movement with sinewy limbs the company supports Eda with largely unison phrases.  Settling into submissive poses on the floor, the heat created throughout the eve leaves beads of sweat dripping and flying through the air.  Melting into mellowness, the dancers are bathed in warm light revealing each pulsating muscle in the final stage picture.  The company circles around Eda with outstretched arms yearning for her.

In one evening, Armitage cultivates envy in the eyes of each person at Cedar Lake.  Rising simultaneously to their feet, the audience applauds through several rounds of audience bows.  Go see Armitage Gone! to connect to physics with the same desperation and transformative energy Armitage conducts, so generously, with her audiences.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Eileen Elizabeth
Performance:  Three Theories 
Compay:  Armitage Gone! 
Venue:  Cedar Lake
Show Date:  June 3, 2010
www.iDANZ.com

Have You Seen the iDANZ Social Network?

Click Here To Become a Member
of iDANZ.com Today!
The More Members We Have, The More We Can
Make a Difference.
It’s Free!
iDANZ – The Social Network Where Dancers Live!