Even before the dance’s movement structure began to develop, her introductory sounds cast a spell from which escape was impossible. But to my admittedly unsophisticated musical ear, Christian, who wrote, played, and sang lead for the suite of songs which inspired and was reflected in Tayeh’s choreography and the performances by the four compelling company dancers, is a composer / chanteuse who presents an unusual, and potent, combination of delicacy and power, crystalline clarity coupled with earthy expressiveness, emotional depth, and most of all, soul. The trio of singers provided an awesome display of passion and harmony, and by focusing on one I don’t mean to ignore the musical contributions of the others. #Torrent bach cello suite 1 full#In its moments of passionate despair, parts of it vaguely bring to mind Christopher Wheeldon’s brilliant This Bitter Earth pas de deux, but Reclamation Map is more structurally diverse and cohesive than my recollection of Five Movements, Three Repeats, the full piece from which Wheeldon’s pas de deux was culled (and which coincidentally had its New York premiere at the 2012 FFD Festival). Like a novel by William Faulkner – you may not “get” it on a word-by-word, page by page, note-by-note, step-by-step basis, but you certainly “feel” it as the ambience these artists create opens the door to a strange but somehow not unfamiliar world. Perhaps in part because it was such a pleasant revelation, I found Reclamation Map (I haven’t a clue – yet – as to the title’s significance, but I suspect there is one) to be a mesmerizing, haunting, multi-textured piece of complexity and dramatic tension, generating in the process an atmosphere to get lost in. I had not previously heard of Tayeh Dance or recalled that I’d previously seen one of Artistic Director and choreographer Sonya Tayeh’s dances ( Face the Torrent, performed by Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company at the Joyce Theater last January), nor had I heard of singer / songwriter / musician Heather Christian and the two vocal artists who accompanied her live on stage, but that demonstrates yet again that I need to get out more often. It’s a fitting tribute to Arthur Mitchell, New York City Ballet Principal Dancer and DTH’s co-founder, who passed away a couple of weeks ago, to whom the program was dedicated.Īnd the evening’s opening dance was a stunning surprise. Rather, Balamouk, which to my understanding is Romanian for “house of the insane” and is the title of a multicultural album by Les Yeux Noirs (The Black Eyes), one of the dance’s three musical sources, is a sparkling, joyous ballet that melds its disparate musical cultural sounds – I heard Klezmer and Greek, among other folkish references – into a coherent whole, and that showcases the individual and group talents of the company’s ten participating dancers. It’s not a monumental ballet, nor is it “cutting edge,” but it doesn’t try to be. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Balamouk is the finest new work, as choreographed and executed, that I’ve seen from Dance Theatre of Harlem in a very long time. As for the rest, every one of the pieces in Program 1 left a positive and indelible impression and in Program 2, Gemma Bond’s new ballet, Inner Voices, though not without flaws, is quite good, Sleep Well Beast, Justin Peck’s pas de deux for himself and Patricia Delgado, is superb, and Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire is an unqualified masterpiece. Indeed, in my view there was only one disappointment – and that one improved as it progressed, so perhaps I’ll change my mind on subsequent views. But this year, at least so far, the caliber of programming has exceeded expectations. With the first two programs of both its 75th Anniversary Celebration and the 15th Anniversary of its Fall for Dance Festival, New York City Center presented its usual potpourri of different forms of dance before sold out houses of enthusiastic audiences. Program 3 (first half): Reclamation Map (Tayeh Dance with Heather Christian), Balamouk (Dance Theatre of Harlem) Program 2: New Work for Goldberg Variations (Pam Tanowitz Dance), Sleep Well Beast (Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado), Inner Voices (Gemma Bond Dance), Promethean Fire (Paul Taylor Dance Company) Program 1: Bach Cello Suites (Boston Ballet), Dances of Isadora – a Solo Tribute (Sara Mearns), Bzzz (Caleb Teicher & Company), The Barbarian Nights, or the First Dawns of the World (excerpts) (Cie Hervé Koubi) Fall for Dance 2018: First Two (and a Half) Programs
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |