7/25/16 O&A NYC REVIEW: The Fire Island Dance Festival 2016

By Walter Rutledge

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The Fire Island Dance Festival held their 22nd annual fundraiser July 15 through 17, 2016. The three-day four-performance festival presented emerging and established choreographers and companies in a stunning outdoor setting framed by the Great South Bay. In the last few of years the festival has felt more like a traditional summer outdoor choreographers showcase. This year the well-curated and focused concert series returned to its roots offering 8 provocative, sensitive and thought-provoking works.

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Many of the works revolved around the theme of love and relationship. Glenn Sims and Linda Celeste Sims opened the program with MATCH- The First Installment by Abdul Latif. The set, which resembled of an oversized two-tiered revolving “Lazy Susan”, provided a panoramic perspective of the top-tier duet. It also highlighted the artistic intensity of the two Ailey veterans and real life husband and wife. During the three sections the dance evolved from seated floor work to energetic, but cool jazz that framed the set. Dancers Eury German, Nik Owens, Jillian Roberts and Valentina Strokopytova assisted the couple on stage.

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Lasting Embrace choreographed by Ballet Contemporaneo De Camaguey’s Associate Artistic Director Pedro Ruiz had a profound affect on the audience. The adagio demonstrated a good use of theme and development that created a movement based love letter. Armando Gomez Brydson and Jesus Arias Pagues danced the thoughtful and well-crafted duet with strong emotional and technical prowess. Masculine, yet tender the supported partnering switched between the two dancers establishing a feeling of equality and camaraderie.

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Wendy Whelan performed the third duet First Fall with choreographer Brian Brooks. The work used momentum and shared body weight to develop a conversation with a distinct voice. Brooks’ designed a sophisticated work with visual innuendoes that clearly expressed his intent through subtlety and repetition than overt movement passages

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Larry Keigwin’s fun romp Episodes was set to a lively version of Leonard Bernstein’s On The Town. Members of Keigwin + Company performed the sextet with a good sense of athleticism and solid theatricality. Dancers Kacie Boblitt, Brandon Cournay, Benjamin Freedman, Kile Hotchkiss, Emily Schoen and Jaclyn Walsh danced the upbeat work with the proper amount of verve and playfulness.

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For Us by Madboots Dance, choreographed and performed by Jonathan Campbell and Austin Diaz became an immediate audience favorite. Choreographed in response to the Orlando Tragedy the work began with an eerily rendition of Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow and segued into a dialogue on love. Here the choreographer’s intent was so clear that the overall composition became more important than any isolated movement passages. The message of love and acceptance culminated with a protracted lip lock, titillating the audience and creating a theatrical crescendo.

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Choreographer Andrea Miller, in collaboration with Gallim Dance, presented a personal elegy entitled Mike and Harvey. A loving tribute to Miller’s close friends and long time Fire Island residents Harvey Alter and Mike Young. Set to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings the trio reflected loss and separation. Shroud in a black cloche Gwyn Mackenzie seemed to mourn and reminisce Austin Tyson and Paul Vickers, who moved with a special tenderness. At the end the men simply sat on the upstage edge of the stage, legs dandling over, and looking out on the bay as if at home enjoying the sunset.

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Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Equillibrium (BROTHERHOOD) setto a contemporary jazz score by Kenji Bunch displayed a good use of counterpoint. The choreographer’s musicality could be seen through his use of cannon, and sculptural geometric and asymmetric groupings. Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers Dylan Santos, Anthony Javier Savoy and Jorge Andres Villarini danced with a technical ease, effortlessly jumping, turning and kicking throughout the abstract work. 

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Gay Paree (inspired by Freddie Falls in Love) ended the evening with an uproarious vacation for two male travelers to Paris. Choreographed by Al Blackstone with Billy Griffin the ensemble dance narrative moved with the fast paced unexpectedness of a vacation gone awry. This jazzy theatrical excursion into movement mischief added a different take on Americans in Paris.

The Fire Island Dance Festival is the most prestigious cultural and charitable event on the Fire Island Pines. For the last six consecutive years the festival has surpassed the previous year’s fundraising efforts; this year the festival raised a record-breaking $560,133. The funds assist the efforts of Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA), a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. As a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, DRA supports more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states as well as the essential programs of The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative and The Dancers’ Resource.

Fire Island Dance Festival 2016 Highlights

Over its 22 year history the Fire Island Dance Festival has raised more than 4.8 million dollars to help those in need living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, individuals with other debilitating illnesses in New York and across the country have access to lifesaving medications, counseling, healthy meals and emergency financial assistance. For more information, or to make a donation please visit Dancers Responding to AIDS at dradance.org, on Facebook at facebook.com/DRAdance, on Twitter at twitter.com/DRAdance, on YouTube at youtube.com/DRAdance and on Instagram at instagram.com/DRAdance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/8/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Arthur Mitchell’s Barrier Breaking Creole Giselle

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Arthur Mitchell’s Creole Giselle performed by the Dance Theatre Of Harlem (DTH), and set the traditional story of Giselle in 1841 Louisiana broke barriers with this all African American adaptation.  Continue reading

4/5/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Harlem Arts Alliance Honors Women In Dance

By Walter Rutledge

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The Harlem Arts Alliance presented a special monthly meeting celebrating the Harlem community’s contribution to dance. The forum, which took place on Monday April 4, acknowledged the contributions of women of color to the advancement of the art form. The evening began with an informal meet and greet in the lobby of Aaron Davis Hall, City College. Continue reading

3/19/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Eric Underwood (repost)

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Eric Underwood, Soloist with The Royal Ballet and Washington, D.C., native trained locally under the direction of Barbara Marks. After only eight months (there were no other boys at the school) Eric moved to the School of American Ballet in New York. Continue reading

1/15/16 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Michaela DePrince

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Michaela DePrince has gone from war orphan to a globally recognized dancer. Her undeniable talent has lead this baby ballerina to American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the Dutch National Ballet.  Continue reading

12/31/21 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday (Repost): Banda (excerpt)- Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade

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Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) and received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading

4/28/15 O&A Dance: Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center Presents PEEKS-Works In Progress

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Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC), continues its on-the-edge PEEKS-Works in progress choreographers showcase April 30 at The Actors Fund Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn, NY 7:30pm. The second installment in the 2015 season will present three accomplished artists who are at different stages of exploring “the art of making dances.” Sidra Bell – Artistic Director of Sidra Bell Dance NYC, Da’Von Doane- original member of the revived Dance Theatre of Harlem and Lloyd Knight- principal dancer, Martha Graham Dance Company. All of these artists are making their choreographic debut with our PEEKS program. The showcase is free to the public, with donation suggested at the door.

Da’Von Doane will present Interconnected. Interdependent, a quartet he describes as the imbalance between man/society and nature. Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers Ashley Murphy, Jorge Villarini, and Jenelle Figgins will join Doane. In the tradition of Martha Graham’s Lamentations Lloyd Knight will choreograph and perform Lost a solo set to Gudrun Gut & Myra Davies, Doug Fullington & The Tudor Choir. rendering directed by Sidra Bell will also featuring four dancers. Dancers Jonathan Campbell, Austin Diaz, Alexandra Johnson, and Rebecca Margolick will perform this new work.

PEEKS-Works in progress is a laboratory environment designed for artists to present concepts and ideas and receive audience feedback. The developed works receive consideration the annual Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance Festival. PEEKS is designed to give THPAC a year round presence on the dance scene, and produce and identify an ever-expanding talent base of new artists and new work.

The program presents works-in-progress by emerging, New York City-based choreographers and dance companies with a special emphasis on artists of color, women and LGBT. This PEEKS Works in progress program is curated by THPAC artistic advisor Walter Rutledge. For more information about the PEEKS-Works in progress email atthelmahill@msn.com or call 718-875-9710.

 

 

4/15/15 O&A REVIEW: Dance Theatre Of Harlem

By Walter Rutledge

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The Dance Theatre Of Harlem presented their New York City season April 8 through 11 at New York City Center. This is the third season since the much heralded return of the company in 2012, and for the 2015 season Artistic Director Virginia Johnson curated two programs, a total of seven works, presented over four performances. Aside from the two neoclassical Balanchine works the repertoire reflected a new direction for the company.

Many have anticipated the return of the barrier breaking dance institution that literally evolved, under the direction of founder Arthur Mitchell, from Afros to ballet buns. The 2015 New York City season introduced a svelte company of eighteen young dancers that has evolved into a formidable contemporary ballet company. Johnson tapped an eclectic array of choreographers to challenge the dancers showcasing the strengths of each young artist.

The three highlights of the season were Nacho Duato’s Coming Together, Ulysses Dove’s On The Front Porch Of Heaven and The Mirror In Her Mind by Christopher Huggins. These works provided the dancers the opportunity to transcend the physical limitation of the stage. The dancers reached beyond the footlights to touch the audience.

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Nacho Duato’s Coming Together kept us on a suspense filled movement roller coaster from beginning to end. This master craftsman skillfully heightened the work’s intensity through strong choreographic structure. His reliance on design produced a kinesthetically stimulating ensemble dance.

Virtuoso dancing performed at a breakneck pace enhanced the choreographic design and brought the company’s technical prowess to the forefront. Here the company was at its best! They performed with verve, vigor, and a strong assured attack- “balls forward”. They were not just dancing; instead the company was in the moment- living through the movement.

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Da’Von Doane’s solo courageously “throw caution to the wind”. His risk taking paid off, at one point creating a catalyst effect that seemed to draw the dancers back to the stage. Dylan Santos also distinguished himself with clean execution; his firecracker attack revealed an exciting inner fire.

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Christopher Huggins’ The Mirror In Her Mind was a visually satisfying quartet also danced with great aplomb by Ashley Murphy, Da’Von Doane, Anthony Savoy and Samuel Wilson. The dance was filled with sumptuous partnering executed with daring and precision. Leaping, turning and yearning with great abandon, Murphy’s male trio moved her effortlessly around the stage. Her compelling interpretation combined the right amount of strength and vulnerability.

If Huggins had designed a pure movement/abstract work the quartet would have been truly dazzling. As a narrative it lacked the needed character development to create a complete scenario. This dance felt like an excerpt, possibly the middle section from a larger work.

We never knew who the three men really were and what led Murphy on her path. To equate it in more visceral terms it was like sex without foreplay or afterglow- definitely satisfying just not totally fulfilling. A work with this much potential deserves a beginning section to establish the relationships and an ending section for a real resolution.

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Ulysses Dove’s haunting allergy Dancing On The Front Porch Of Heaven made its Dance Theatre of Harlem premiered in 2014. The acquisition of this work helped set the tone for the company’s present and welcomed aestheticism. The work set to Arvo Part (Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten) featured dancers in white unitards designed by Jorge Gallardo.

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The centerpiece of the work is a male duet performed by Anthony Savoy and Frederick Davis. The ethereal nature of the duet created a noble sojourn. Davis’ stoicism balanced Savoy’s brave journey into the unknown. The ensuing performance became a profound conversation between brethren. The final upstage ascent into the darkness was not an ending, but a peaceful walk into “the next”.

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Throughout the season there were additional performers and performances that should be mentioned. In the opening section of Robert Garland’s Return, and the pas de quartre in Duato’s Coming Together Jenelle Figgins danced with the appropriate command and temperament. Chryrstyn Fentroy was a beacon of hope in Agon. Her performance in the second pas de trios section displayed technical proficiency, and a sense of confidence and élan. And Keenan English’s clean line and inmate style allowed him to standout in the corps. English has that God-given quality that makes you want to look at him.

As Dance Theatre of Harlem moves forward they will have to decide whether to recreate the Company of old or to move into a new future. Presently it seems they are trying to do both with a modicum of success. It would be a brave and bold move to honor the Company’s 45 year legacy by pursuing a direction more in tune with the present.

This new company could have a bright future if it redefines as oppose to confine itself to a past image and standards. The great response from the large and enthusiastic audience at New York City Center shows the public supports the new direction and has embraced this Dance Theatre Of Harlem. Hopefully they will get the proverbial “800 pound Neo-classic Gorilla” out of the room.

4/7/15 O&A Profile: Jenelle Figgins- Beauty, Brains and Talent

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Jenelle Figgins is best described as a combination of beauty, brains and talent. The 2014 Princess Grace Awards Winner graduated from SUNY Purchase New York in 2011 after earning a B.F.A. with honors in dance. In her 3rd season with Dance Theatre of Harlem Figgins gets to flex her dramatic muscle in Nacho Duato’s Coming Together. Continue reading

4/6/15 O&A Profile: Anthony Savoy- Accentuating The Positive

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Anthony Savoy has learned how to “accentuate the positive”, to build on his strengths as a performer. His tall lithe frame, pliant physique and impeccable line have become his trademarks. In 2010, Savoy joined Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble and a year later became an original member of the new Dance Theatre of Harlem.

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During the 2014 season Savoy and Frederick Davis performed the duet centerpiece of Ulysses Dove’s Dancing On Front Porch of Heaven. This became a breakout role for Savoy; showcasing his artistic talents, and his technical and physical prowess. Out and About NYC Magazine founder Walter Rutledge sat down with Savoy to discuss his preparation for the role and the upcoming 2015 Dance Theatre of Harlem New York season.

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Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to New York City Center April 8- 11 for four performances. Dancing On Front Porch of Heaven will be performed on Wednesday, April 8, 7pm and Saturday April 11, 2pm. For more information including a complete list of performances and/or to buy tickets visit dancetheatreofharlem.org.