Some thoughts on Ballet Hispanico for AmNews
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The promise of a new Dance Theatre of Harlem is more real. For their second season (April 23-27 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater), the company danced challenging and varied works with particular drive. They were (are) on a mission. Particularly outstanding was their performance of Ulysses Dove's contemporary work, Dancing On The Front Porch Of Heaven, a decidedly difficult ballet in that it is jam-packed with Dove's signature juxtaposing of modern dance styles, but en pointe. Bridging deep 2nd position pliés (legs wide and bent at the knees) with precision turns that end smoothly, is one example. The last section where each dancer begins or completes each other's movement sentence in solos that weave in and out of a large circle is another example, and it is especially lovely because they are able to finish big after this episodic and technically demanding work. Ingrid Silva, Ashley Murphy, Jenelle Figgins, Da'Von Doane, Samuel Wilson and Dustin James gave an exceptional performance. There were also the classics: Marius Petipa's Pas De Dix, and Swan Lake (Act III Pas de Deux) by Petipa and Nicholas Sergeyev. These ballets call for measured precision and breath all at once. Without doubt, the women, Silva, Figgins, Lindsey Croop, Stephanie Rae Williams, plus Murphy, partnered beautifully by Doane deliver what is necessary. New-comer Nayara Lopes melds the same precision and breath in Swan Lake with her smile, her form and her coyness which bring the splendor of the ballet to life. Gone are the ballet buns and classic tutus in Donald Byrd's Contested Space, as they switch gears, partnering or contorting their bodies with a sharper edge. Robert Garland's clever melding of social dance with classical ballet in New Bach and Return round out each program. Where else can we see Giselle-like walks (parallel, en pointe, dragging one leg in front of the other led by the hip), the hustle, the bump, the “Harlem Shake” and so much more, danced to Johann Sebastian Bach, James Brown and Aretha Franklin? Garland does this well and, especially in Return, the dancers deliver. Stay tuned for more from the new DTH! Wildcat! May 2 -3, 2014 John H. Wallace American Legion Post in Long Island City, Queens The members of Wildcat! Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, Eleni Zaharopoulos, and André M. Zachery will premiere their evening-length work, I DO MIND DYING - Danse Précarité for two nights only. According to the release, this work "...is an experimental labor ballet [and] Wildcat!’s response to precarity as a constant condition for the majority of people in society. The collective's motto, Solidarity in Precarity, is the basis of examining the creative and unique ways people are collectively working to survive and operate in their financial uncertainty while being conscious of how race, gender, class, economic conditions, and geographic location factor into this dynamic." This is first major project constructed by Wildcat! The name of the performance - I Do Mind Dying, is the title of a blues ballad by Detroit musician, Joe L. Carter. It is a working class anthem about the toils of trying to “make it”. The collective’s name is taken from the wildcat strikes that occurred in the auto plants of Detroit throughout the 1960's and 70's. A deliberate decision was made to place the work outside of a traditional “art/performance” venue, and engage the public within the confines of communal space with certain societal bonds. Being within a veteran’s post has allowed the collective to examine their individual relationships between themselves and their respective communities. From these sources of inspiration, a performative score has been developed reflecting the exhaustive, repetitive, and at times harsh circumstances endured mentally and physically through a life of economic precarity. Wildcat! was formed in September 2013 by three interdisciplinary artists: Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, Eleni Zaharopoulos, and André M. Zachery. The collective formed out of a mutual interest in exploring how people organize and support each other in an unstable and imbalanced world. Thus far, the scope of their collaboration has included performances, community gatherings, youth workshops, silent boycotts, and one manual on tactical self-enfranchisement. Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/92590198 Please click to the following links to get a greater reference for the content of the performance. Book - Detroit: I Do Mind Dying Film - Finally Got the News Organization - League of Revolutionary Black Workers Organization - The Invisible Committee Text - Precarity as Capture Text - The Four C Model of Creativity |
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April 2024
AuthorI am a performer, historian, consultant and dance writer. I am a Empire State College's online program Center for Distance Learning. I am also a former faculty member at The Ailey School and the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University dance major program, Hunter College, Sarah Lawrence College (Guest), Kean University and The Joffrey Ballet School's Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program. I write on dance for The Amsterdam News, Dance Magazine and various publications. Click below to read more about me at my home page - "About Me." |