FALL FOR DANCE PROGRAM 4

Review by Mary Seidman

A packed house welcomed City Center CEO Mike Rosenberg on the stage as he introduced the Fall for Dance Series and PROGRAM 4.

This evening presented a range of choreographic talents, from the traditional opening piece, Suite from a Choreographic Offering, by the José Limón Company, to The Birmingham Ballet’s gender fluid US premiere Interlinked – ending with The Center Will Not Hold, a world premiere, created and directed by tap artist Michelle Dorrance and break/house/hip hop artist Ephrat Asherie. 

José Limón described the entire A Choreographic Offering as “..a memorial bouquet which I present to my great master Doris Humphrey.” Originally created in 1964 to Bach’s A Musical Offering, this Suite was restaged by Logan Frances Kruger. Thirteen dancers color the stage palette in bright red, orange, yellow, brown, and tan unitards, (costume design by Caitlin Taylor) linking arms in connected circles, and groupings.

Generous swooping arms wash through space to low lunges to the ground. Swiping, shaped arms atop leaps and turns create a landscape and range of exquisitely performed Limón technique (and Humphrey’s) that embodies the vitality and vibrancy of his vision and the life force. Subtle lighting by William Brown shades and surrounds the solos, duets, quintet, and group configurations, adding up to a playful, light opening piece. 

The Birmingham Royal Ballet, under the Artistic Direction of Carlos Acosta, is known for its technical excellence as well as its commitment to pushing the boundaries of ballet, showcased seventeen provocative women and men in choreographer Juliano Nunes’ 2022 Interlinked.  Luke Howard’s score begins the piece;  the curtain opens to reveal the entire company dressed in shin length tulle-like skirts and leotard tops, in shades of pale golden-yellow, peach, tan, and brown.

Impeccable unison movements suggest flowers in a field, or a flock of exotic birds opening arms and flapping wings. Space opens between the seventeen dancers, eventually revealing five or six men also in skirts. camouflaged among the women. Duets, trios, sextets, shift and change as the music becomes more dramatic. Two lusty male dancers engage in an equal weight partnering duet, strong yet romantic.  The piece ends as a male/female duet suspend a lift that is captured in stillness before cascading off stage, 

The Center Will Not Hold, choreographed by Dorrance, Asherie, and eight others, starts with the two women dressed in black suits standing in camaraderie at the front of the black stage, lit from above, fans into numerous clever special effects by Kathy Kaufmann. The music by Donovan Dorrance offers intermittent squeaks as these two capture the sound with staccato gestures, running in place, flexing feet to a blackout. Dancers enter, strobe lights showcase various duet groupings, until the original duet reappears.

Dancers enter in different paced walks and direction changes, until ten dancers form a line with undulating hips, torsos, and shifting legs.  Dorrance joins the percussionist, building a competition with her tapping, as they accompany more dancers on stage featuring breakdancing, clapping and stomping, fast paced hip hop steps, body percussion, all lit with blue club light atmosphere.

The entire group is onstage at the end, clapping and stomping, but the piece seemed to end before there was an arc or climax to the work. Rather, it felt like a series of imaginative and soulfully danced sections created by the collaborative group added together to make a whole that is not yet fully developed. 

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Mary Seidman