Category: DANCE

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Out of Doors at Lincoln Center

Another weekend in New York City filled with an amazing array of dance activities.

Go see Amy Seiwert’s Imagery at the Joyce Theater if you haven’t already. It’s the best show so far at this year’s Joyce Ballet Festival.

At Lincoln Center’s Out-of-Doors series of free summer events, the Paul Taylor Dance Company is performing tomorrow evening (Friday). TaylorNEXT is also hosting both pre- and post-show parities for dance lovers and supporters. Come join us!

Heidi Latsky Dance is on display on Saturday evening by the reflection pool. I’ll be checking them out before “Taming of the Shrew” by the visiting Bolshoi Ballet.

Hope you all have a great dance-filled weekend too!

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Amy Seiwert’s Imagery

Amy Seiwert’s Imagery delivered the best show so far at this year’s Joyce Ballet Festival. Two more chances to see “Wandering” by Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. Get your tickets for tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday at the Joyce Theater!

“I won’t listen to the heart’s complaints.
I won’t listen to its fears.
I’m content to wander.
Through the wind and the snow.” – Wilhelm Müller

I love so many aspects of Amy’s work tonight: the story telling, the aesthetics, and the exquisite dancing delivered by Anthony Cannarella, Alysia Chang, James Gilmer, Tina Laforgia Morse, Jackie Nash, Ben Needham-Wood, Gabriel Smith, and Shania Rasmussen. Bravos!!!

I would totally go back and see them again, if I had not already committed myself to seeing Paul Taylor and Bolshoi over the next two evenings.

The evening-length work explores the stories of a lost wanderer. Dancers in the company took turns to represent the wanderer. The stories are rich and emotional. They are as relevant to a traveller on a physical road — as they are to young adults growing up, searching for their place in life.

Here’s how I interpreted some of the stories. A lost traveller sought to orientate himself and find friendly companions for his trip. Another was sent on her journey reluctantly, but nevertheless braved every challenge along the way. Others wandered emotionally. A lost soul, searching for just one person, one true friend, one love, who would accept him for who he was but never did. Another looked beyond herself, reached out to all those around her, brought everyone together, and became a pillar of the community. Yet, another ran from the harsh realities of the world, before his choices ran out and a path was forced on him.

Artistically, Amy kept the essence of the ballet, its beautiful lines, and extensions, but added her distinct vocabulary with the arms and torsos. The end result was stunningly coordinated movements among her eight dancers, a strong sense of emotional connection amongst the dancers and with the audience.

I love her use of space. Layering to create depth, and small details such the snowfall to create height, and a record player on the side to create a sense of time.

I love her minimalist set involving only a black backdrop, eight lanterns, and the aforementioned record player. Together with a simple (but lovely) costume design, the bulk of the wonderful storytelling was delivered through pure elegant ballet.

I love her use of tempo. Her dancers delivered many a wonderful leap but, more significantly, they also slowed down to emphasize key moments. So slow, in fact, sometimes it took them minutes to cross half a stage. The end result, however, was amazing dance theatre.

I love her use of foreground and background dancers. Every space on stage was always filled but nothing was ever too busy. Instead, the “background” activities subtly enhanced the “foreground.” As a beautiful pas de deux took place, six dancers, three in front of and three behind the couple, walked ever-so-slowly across the stage without any expression. Focussing on the “foreground” duet, I saw a couple finding each other, falling in love, and building a relationship. As I looked at the entire stage, however, I saw a two lovers lost in an ocean of people….

… Would ANYONE ever know of their story? Or, are they JUST another pair of lost wanderers in this world?

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Gibney Dance at Union Square

Finally saw Gibney Dance and Devin Oshiro perform this afternoon at Union Square.

In addition to being a fabulous dancer, Devin as part of Gibney Dance also runs the Dancers Economic Empowerment Program, a series of free sessions for dancers about affordable housing, healthcare resources, taxes, budgeting, and other economic challenges that dancers face in New York.

Do you have questions about your finances as a dancer? Check out the DEEP program at Gibney Dance.

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Gemma Bond Dance

Congrats to Gemma Bond Dance for two amazing performances and their debut at the Joyce Theater.

I had a lovely time watching the many talented ABT dancers up close at the intimate Joyce Theater. Gemma created some of the most physically intensive choreography at this ballet festival. Of course, her dancers stepped right up to the challenge and delivered two evenings of beautiful ballet. Bravo!!!

(More notes to come)

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Cirio Collective

Don’t miss the Cirio Collective — performing again tomorrow night (Monday) as part of the Ballet Festival at the Joyce Theater!

Energy — If I could use only one word to describe tonight’s performance, I would say Jeffrey introduced an “energy” to all his pieces. Not energetic, though one certainly needs to be bold and powerful to execute Jeffrey’s choreographies. Energy as in the “vital force” that every living is said to possess in the martial arts. Or, energy as in the invisible force that Neo is able to channel at the end of The Matrix.

In Jeffrey’s works, dancers interact with one another as if they could pass along their emotions, their psyches, and their invisible energies onto each other. Partnering is no longer a physical push-and-pull but an exchange of psychological states.

His pieces felt as much (abstract) dance theatre as they were contemporary ballet. Starting in “Fremd” and through “Minim” in Act I, the intensity of the exchanges rose, and the emotional states on stage darkened. Lia Cirio‘s facial expressions, enraged and almost villainous, were unforgettable. Jeffrey Cirio himself joined the dancers in “Minim.” Though the dancing has been great up to this point, Jeffrey took his own choreographies to a whole different level. He was more powerful, faster, and stronger. Whitney Jensen who partnered him was perhaps the only one who matched him in speed and energy.

Theatricality aside, my favorite part was seeing this whole new side of Jeffrey, completely different from his classical ballet roles with ABT, and seeing just how much he loved it.

Whitney opened Act II with “In the Mind: The Other Room” and the most sinister scene yet. Performing a solo on a chair, she evoked simultaneously the images of a prisoner in a psychological ward and a lone heroine in a futuristic sci-fi movie fighting for her survival. She was later joined by Lia as the antagonist, and two other dancers who intervened and accentuated the vicious encounters.

Emotional states turned much warmer and brotherly-like in “Tactility” choreographed by Gregory Dolbashian, and performed by Jeffrey and Blaine Hoven.

Finally, to close the show and featuring live violinists on stage, “Efil Ym Fo Flah (Half of My Life)” showcased yet another creative side of Jeffrey. I love the movements as much as the interactions between the dancers and the musicians.

Many of the works tonight included spoken words in other foreign languages (written words, in the case of his video). I was told by a native speaker that his movements did not match the meaning of the words, which was confusing if not jarring.

Overall, Jeffrey showed both his signature and his versatility as a choreographer tonight. Even though I generally enjoy the more graceful presentation of ballet (such as Emery from last week), I was taken through an emotional journey by his works, and look forward to seeing more!

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The Series by Ballet Inc.

More from this past weekend. Supporting young choreographers at the Ballet Inc show featuring…

“Couer Silencuex” choreographed by Aaron Atkin and performed by the Ballet Inc Contemporary Ballet Company (top right)

“Insomnia” by Cara Shanks (top center)

“It’s Not The Way You Smile” by Matthew Soojian (top left)

“Dancing with Duke Ellington” by Diane Dragone and the Kennedy Dancers (middle left)

“In Spite Of” by Emma Russo (bottom left)

“Together Apart” by Evelyn Joy Hoelscher and the Spaces of Fontana Collective (bottom center)

“This One’s for Jenny” by Sara Lieck and Entertainment X Primary (bottom right)

Photography by Jason Chuang

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Gemma Bond at the Joyce Theater

Gemma Bond and 16 dancers from my favorite ballet company, America Ballet Theatre, are invited to present at my favorite venue, the Joyce Theater!

What a way to wrap up the Joyce Theater’s 2016-17 season and let the ABT season linger on just a little longer. I was lucky to see a rehearsal of two of the works to be performed, and they are BEAUTIFUL.

Go see Gemma Bond Dance at the Joyce Ballet Festival on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tickets are almost sold out. Get yours soon!

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Jewels

Celebrating 50th anniversary of Jewels. Saw Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds this afternoon by Paris Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet. So beautiful! ❤️

Three of the world’s top ballet companies came together to jointly present Jewels in New York City this week, featuring a different cast each day. The question is not whether to see the show (definitely going) but which cast to see (considering the last row of orchestra starts at $150).

In the end, I went with Megan Fairchild in Rubies, because she was stunning in the role when City Ballet opened the season with Jewels. By extension, the choice meant I’ll see Emeralds with Paris Opera Ballet and Diamonds with Bolshoi Ballet.

First of all, Megan outdid herself today in the grand pas de deux. Wow! Megan was fast, dazzling, playful, fiery, and everything that Rubies represented. Second of all, Joaquin de Luz outshone Megan, which I did not think would be possible. Double wowwww!!! His leaps exploded in the air every time. I loved his playfulness. He not only matched Megan in expression and style, but went on to engage the four male dancers in the corps. With a glance here and a hand gesture there, he lead the men into splendid formations and marvelous leaps.

The famed Laëtitia Pujol took on the leading role in Emeralds. At 41 years of age, she was both gorgeous in her expressions and exact in her techniques. Every one of her assisted lifts soared through the air following the perfect arch and timing.

In contrast to the veterans of City and Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi casted Alena Kovaleva, an 18-year-old prodigy in the leading role for Diamonds. Last fall with City Ballet, Teresa Reichlen was tall, elegant, and stately in Diamonds. In comparison, Alena was softer in her presentation giving the piece a more royal, prosperous, and imperial feel. On the other hand, Alena’s lines and techniques were exquisite. Her grand battements cut through the air with dynamism and energy, and reached for… went through… the roof of the Koch Theater with every extension. She was very much a princess on stage, befitting of the sparkling diamonds, and carried the joint performance to a wonderful close.

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Claudia Schreier and Company

I get to see 12 ballet companies at four shows and one studio rehearsal this weekend. I’m super excited!

Only in New York, can you find such a high concentration of dance talents… where budding choreographers (under 25 years old), rising stars (Claudia Schreier, Jeffery Cirio, Gemma Bond), and world-class ballet companies (Bolshoi Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and New York City Ballet) are all presenting in the same city at the same time.

The first of the twelve…

Claudia Schreier showcased six works at the Joyce Theater tonight featuring ballerina extraordinaire, Wendy Whelan. Her company also included Unity Phelan (one of my favorite NYCB dancers), Amber Neff (who stepped into and danced beautifully in Emery LeCrone’s shows earlier this week), and other amazing dancers.

In extensive collaboration with composers and musicians, Claudia’s pieces featured live piano, string instruments, and chamber choir. There’s great depths in the music throughout the night. If anything, judging by the number of audience members who looked left during the show (towards the area where the musicians sat), the music might have even overpowered the dance. The movements on stage, though beautiful, felt slow in comparison to the tempo and rich development of the music.

Everyone views dance differently; music lovers may respond more strongly to this performance. Her second and final show is tomorrow (Saturday) at the Joyce Theater Ballet Festival.

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Seeing You

Finally saw the amazing Christopher Grant and Lauren Yalango-Grant in the immersive theatre Seeing You. Playing in Chelsea under the High Line until July 30th. Go see the show!

I bought my ticket more than six weeks ago, and have been eagerly awaiting the experience. Even though I’ve already seen various photos online, I was still taken by dramatic dance scenes. They were emotional and drew attention to numerous heavy topics. They were also creative and technically daring — such as lifts on a moving table.

When we first entered the performance space, we were free to move around and observe the characters: American soldiers, their family, and loved ones during World War II. A sister joked with her brother, and told him to come home (and survive the war). A wife revealed to her enlisted husband that she’s pregnant. And so on.

The entire production takes place in one continuous large space on a single floor. You are never more than a few steps away from a cast member. There are no walls, and so you can easily see and move between the actions. Up to this point, everything felt like an intimate version of “Sleep No More.”

However, as we we soon found out, this show had much much more.

Air raid sirens went off, and the audience members were ushered into bomb shelters. We learnt to protect themselves. Bombs don’t usually kill directly, but their shockwaves could still incinerate our vital organs. We covered our eyes and ears. (As I grew up in Taiwan, an island under the threat of a Chinese attack, this actually brought back childhood memories.)

Throughout the evening, we were lead through a sequence of distinct themes and heavy topics.

Helping with the war efforts. Donning radioactive suits and conducting nuclear research. Uncomfortable subplots began to emerge. In a townhall meeting, audience members were asked how many Japanese civilians we were willing to kill, to save American soldiers. What about the Japanese art teacher in New Jersey? What about the black private wanting to fight the war alongside his white company members? Same-sex romance? Inter-racial love?

The topics are explored through dance and movements. The deliveries are just as unique and varied as the themes.

A duet performed on a clothing rack. Dancing in a cafe in Hoboken. Dancing on and under a bed. A dinner that turned into a dance but ended in shattered plates. A bloodbath on stage. A grand tribute to the troupes. A “Shadowland”-style choreography of the battles.

The most dramatic scene was when the American soldiers and loved ones took turns dancing on a moving table that circled the entire production space until it slammed into… none other than the Japanese art teacher from New Jersey.

For a truly immersive and engaging theatre experience, check out Seeing You!