The coronavirus can’t stop the Dance Lab New York (virtual) Gala tonight. Cheers to an amazing organization that celebrates, promotes, and cultivates the art of choreography.
Dance Lab New York Gala
Paul Taylor Dance
Don’t miss Paul Taylor Dance, at the Lincoln Center until November 17!!!
Three wonderful performances this evening.
“Brief Encounters” is lively, at times structured but more often random, as if walking through the streets of Manhattan. “Scudorama” is eccentric and strange. Yet, it’s so weird that it captured my full attention, lest I blink and miss the next surprise.
I had wanted to see the show tonight because of “Company B”, one of my favorite Paul Taylor choreographies. With the changing of the guard, several of the roles are now danced by different company members, and the piece is just as amazing as I had remembered it.
The social dancer inside of me just LOOOVE the polka by Kristin Draucker and Michael Apuzzo. I enjoyed the playfulness in “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!” by Lee Duveneck and the cast women, and “Rum and Coca-Cola” by Eran Bugge and the cast men. I also love the emotional scenes “I Can Dream, Can’t I” by Parisa Khobdeh and “There Will Never Be Another You” by Heather McGinley.
Also, a big thank you to Michelle Fleet for a fun backstage tour!
Paul Taylor Gala Performance
I’m super excited about the start of the Paul Taylor season. Go see this amazing company at the Lincoln Center until November 17th!!!
Tonight’s gala performance features guest artists, Michael Trusnovec and Misty Copeland, and guest choreography by Kyle Abraham.
Kyle Abraham’s “Only the Lonely” started out with various humorous scenes. Michael Trusnovec danced to George Balanchine’s “Episodes”. But my favorite of the night goes to Paul Taylor’s own “Black Tuesday” where Misty Copeland joined the company members for a collection of tales and memories from the Great Depression. I just love how Paul Taylor tells powerful and impactful human stories through movements.
Fall for Dance: Program 4
Four solid performances tonight.
“Beach Birds” by CNDC Angers is perhaps my favorite Merce Cunningham choreography so far. I really enjoyed the nature-inspired movements — which felt like anything from a chirping bird playing in the forest, to saplings springing out of the soil. The music sounded like a gentle stream and the occasional breeze in the background, and complemented the movements perfectly. The last third of the piece became more abstract, and felt like more general geometric shapes to me.
I also like the variation of movement styles and the energy in Alicia Graf Mack‘s “Come Sunday”, and the powerful message of love in MADBOOTS Dance‘s “For Us”. Finally, it’s great fun to see Stella Abrera, Robbie Fairchild, and Gabe Stone Shayer do something completely different from classical ballet in “Unveiling” by Sonya Tayeh.
Fall for Dance: Program 3
My favorite tonight goes to “Dare to Wreck” by Madeleine Månsson and Peder Nilsson of Skånes Dansteater, for some of the most amazing partnering that I’ve ever seen.
For context, Madeleine danced mostly in a wheelchair tonight, but this is *not* an “inclusion” performance to make a statement that dance is for everyone. This is *not* a choreography where a disabled dancer traced the approximate path of movements that had been created for another able-bodied dancer, to make a statement that they’re just capable. No no no no no.
“Dare to Wreck” is a showcase of what a wheelchair dancer can accomplish that no “able-bodied” dancers could even dream of. Madeleine could accelerate so rapidly and maintain such a high speed as she dashed across the stage, because she had wheels. The wheels also allowed her to decelerate and interact with Peder in ways not possible to other dancers.
I love the connection between Madeleine and Peder, both emotionally and technically. I love the the weight-sharing, weight-shifting, lifts, and aerials. I love all the creative and unexpected points of contact. I love the speed of their movements. I love the interaction between the dancers, the chair, and the wheels — like the way the wheels spin while Madeleine is lifted high in the air. Bravos!!
I also thoroughly enjoyed “At the Wrong Time” by Mariinsky Ballet featuring a trio of lovers. I love the different personalities on stage, especially the girl portrayed by Maria Shklyarova. I love the movement vocabulary, which looked like ballet movements inspired by Jazz-era ballroom steps. They look so much fun to dance!!!
Fall for Dance: Program 2
WOW. JUST WOW.
Malevo owned the stage tonight. For a second night in a row at New York City Center, tap dancing took the cake at Fall for Dance. However, Malevo is waaaay beyond just tap or “Argentine folk dance” as the group describes itself.
It’s the most energetic and most energizing show I’ve seen in a long time — combining tapping/clogging, drumming, precision footwork, lighting, sound, and so much more.
Other memorable performances tonight include the unusual, unexpected, and wild French hip-hop dance company Compagnie Dyptik, and the beautiful Washington Ballet.
Fall for Dance: Program 1
Caleb Teicher and Company with Chris Celiz owned the stage tonight, with their tap dancing and beatboxing collaboration.
I love the way Caleb’s dancers move their bodies and interact with one another, in addition to tapping.
I also looooove the way Caleb introduces comedy into tapping. It’s absolutely ingenious how an extra sound, a prolonged pause, or the dragging the side of his tap shoe across the stage at just perfect moment could bring the audience to laughter.
His choreography was creative, ever-changing, and I wanted more after the 30-minute performance!
Cultivated Chaos
I had a wonderful evening at Cultivated Chaos, a full-length show created and produced by Julia Kane, to benefit the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Some of my favorite moments include…
Stunning open scene to “Garden” by Sadie McNamara and Christophe Desorbay
Seeing the full version of “Stand By” by Christophe, Mica Butnar, Alicia Kee, and Jacob Spallino
Old favorites such as “100 Years” alongside new favorites such as “Take Me Home” and “Hurts 2B Human”
Plus, the sight of Julia Kane as tall as Megan Kirsch
A big congrats to Julia Kane Dance Collective and bravos to all the wonderful dancers Anakeiry Cruz, Cathryn Cioper, Julie Hricko, Ingrid Chang, Jordan Cassetta, Mica Romulo, Rachel Waldman, and more.
#jkdchaos
Blueprint
Great show by Anna Perales and the rest of the Blueprint cast.
DL/NY Broadway Choreography Intensive
I had the most amazing time watching the Dance Lab New York Broadway Choreography Intensive showcase this afternoon.
As I’ve written previously, I love the mission of the Dance Lab and its focus — not just on dance or musical theatre but on the art form of choreography itself.
The 14 choreographers in this year’s summer intensive each presented a piece of work centered on one of five themes: storytelling, staging, relationships, opposition, or props. The showcase is as much about the process of choreography as it is about the final presentation. After each piece, the choreographers received feedback, and we — the audience — get to see how they refine, experiment with, and iterate on a piece of choreography.
Some of my favorite moments:
Sam Lobel‘s work in opposition. I love the initial scene, where Sam set up the characters, their motives, and the entire world around them within 10 seconds — with a few well-placed gestures and a simple pen drop. A couple was setting another couple up for a blind date. The choreo then went on to simultaneously explore the bond within each couple and the tension between the couples. #samlobelchoreography
p.s. I also enjoyed watching Sam and Josh Prince experiment with the choreography to shift the focus from one couple to the interplay between the couples.
Julia Kane‘s work in storytelling. She was given Hansel and Gretel as the story. I love how her choreography has a great range of tempo — that speeds up and slows down to emphasize key moments in the story, and to keep the audience engaged. I like how she experimented with an imaginary witch. More generally, I love her signature free-flowing expansive jazz-style movements.
p.s. Check out Julia’s presentation of Cultivated Chaos next weekend! More info at Julia Kane Dance Collective #JKDChaos #CultivatedChaos
Katherine McClintic‘s work in relationships. I love Katherine’s story of the oppressed workers vs. the free spirit. I love her movement style; her use of the six dancers as a group to create repetitions and draw sharp contrasts; the initial scene; the buildup of tension; and the grand finale where she left the audience with a sense of great loss — all of which took place in the span of just a single song. Wow!
.
p.s. I also enjoyed watching Katherine and Josh explore alternate endings. With simple arm movements, the tone shifted from sadness, to abandonment, to loss.
.
p.p.s. Bravos to Julia Kane for her lovely dancing as the free spirit!
.
p.p.p.s. This piece reminded me of one of my favorite choreographies of all time, “The Word” by Paul Taylor.
.
Rachel Goldman‘s work in relationships. I love the clarity of her storytelling. In a single song and without any words or props, Rachel told the entire life story of a woman who quietly falls in love with a man, except the man is in love with and about to marry the woman’s own sister. I love the layers of emotions, the depth of the characters, and most importantly how Rachel made the characters believable and relatable to the audience.
.
Finally, Lauren Cunningham’s work in staging. I especially like her portrayal of the three ex-girlfriends as robots, and her giving them distinct movement vocabulary to showcase their emotions, anger, and madness. Great job!
.
One more memorable moment: Josh asking the choreographers how they would respond if a “difficult” and presumably famous actress refuses follow the choreography?!