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MIKI ORIHARA |
This is the first year that NY City Center’s project “Fall for Dance” is expanded to California.
MGDC was there.
This is Orange County Performing Art Center. On the right is the theater we performed. on the left is the concert hall and center piece is RIchard Sirra’s ( I know this spelling is not right) “Conecter”.
after the inside performance, there is a airial work on the wall of the OCPAC.
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JUSTIN PECK |
Hey Readers! Alright, so I guess most of you know that I was Matt’s “mystery” guest at Fall for Dance last night (Wingers of the world, UNITE!). So yeah, we have a fun time watching the variety of dance that the festival had to offer. Also, they totally opened up the nose-bleed seats at City Center (which was where we sat)! I’ve never seen that happen before.
Matt and I—maybe a step up from the ‘Golden Girls’ photoshoot from Matt’s post (Maaaatt! You told me that if I dressed up as a 70-year-old woman, you would keep those photos private!)
One thing that I noticed was the immense support the audience seemed to have for all of the acts throughout the evening. I’m not sure if it was because of the tickets being just $10, or maybe because the entire audience truly loved every piece (somehow unlikely), but either way I think its great that there was such unconditional support from the audience. From a performer’s point of view, it really does make a huge difference and gives off a satisfying feeling of accomplishment.
Anyway, enough chatty-talk, here’s my recollection/review of the evening:
An Evening of Dance Tapas, for just $10
By Justin Peck
October 5, 2007
Each Fall For Dance performance at City Center showcases several dance companies back-to-back over the course of one evening. At yesterday’s performance, the Festival continued to present an exciting, wide-ranging variety of high with the low, sweet versus spicy, and even downright fresh as opposed to dieing-on-the-vine.
The evening began with Ligeti Essays, which was danced by the Armitage Gone! Dance Troupe. It was a series of modern dances set to Gyorgy Ligeti’s music that had poetry spoken along with it. The setting was an empty white stage with a blank, white tree mounted off-center, all of which conveyed a “Waiting for Godot”, existential type mood. The choreography, which includes a series of typically contemporary solos and pas de duex, was oriented towards expansive movement, but very often fell short of reaching its potential.
Following Legeti Essays, Inventing Pookie Jenkins, a solo danced and choreographed by Kyle Abraham, was performed. The solo was danced to rap music by Dizzee Rascal. The choreography combined an eclectic mix of hip-hop, ballet, and street dance. It began in silence with an adagio variation and progressed towards wholehearted movement involving Abraham’s entire body and soul. Although Abraham has some interesting conceptual ideas involving the fusion of multiple dance forms, the piece itself lacked the essential structure necessary for a dance act to be wholly effective.
If the first two pieces of the evening had any sort of main purpose in relation to the evening, it was to frame and accentuate the final dance of the first act. After the Rain, performed by Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company (Christopher Wheeldon’s new company, which is independent of New York City Ballet), was powerful and memorable. The piece consists of a contemporary pas de duex set to a serene adagio by Arvo Pärt.
Craig Hall and Wendy Whelan floated through the pas de duex with a true viscous quality. Although Jock Soto cannot be replaced (it was choreographed by Wheeldon specifically with him in mind), Craig Hall performed well as a tender partner and provided grounded support for Whelan at all the right moments. The only shortcoming was that the entire first half of After the Rain (the “rain” section) was excluded, thereby eliminating the significant, chaotic set-up prior to the tranquil pas de duex.
Act II began with Spanish Dance by the Trisha Brown Dance Company. It is set to a Bob Dylan rendition of “Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot. Five girls stand in front of the lowered stage curtain swaying back-and-forth to this Bob Dylan song until they reach the right stage wing. The piece itself was light, breezy, and simple, although it didn’t convey much of an idea with respect to exactly what the strengths and overall style of this company is. I would have preferred Trisha Brown selecting a piece that more compellingly showcased her company.
The final dance of the evening was by the Noche Flamenca & Soledad Barrio. The piece, titled Martinete y Solea, was a sensual flamenco dance that took the audience on a journey through Spanish culture. These flamenco dancers were gushing with talent and could easily give Savion Glover a run for his money. The music, accompanied by Miguel Perez on the guitar and vocals, was very much fiery and alive. Adam Gabel provided effective lighting that made the entire venue feel more like a Spanish night club then an Opera House. Martinete y Solea was a perfect closing performance for the evening’s very much mixed smorgasbord of dance.
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MATTHEW MURPHY |
What kind of blogger am I when I show up with a worthless camera? That was the thought running through my head at intermission of my final Fall for Dance performance tonight. I promised a big surprise guest, and I can only halfway deliver. The surprise is that it was none other than our very own Justin Peck, City Ballet Corps Member and newfound friend. Normally I would have a fantastic photo to accompany this post, but my camera was drained of all battery. So instead you get us as the Golden Girls. I don’t know why, that’s just what ya get.
(Scared yet?)
I’m not usually one to invite people I’ve never met to join me at a show, but my instincts for inviting Justin were right on. He’s every bit as intelligent as he seems to be in his posts and we had a great time swapping stories about our respective companies.
I decided that I’m going to leave the major reviewing of the evening to him, but I do just have to say a few things. After years of buildup, I finally saw “After the Rain,” and it was every bit as beautiful as I could ever hope from a ballet. Wendy Whelan is quite simply, other worldly, and she is presented so gorgeously by Chris Wheeldon’s choreography, I would have gladly watched it over….and over….and over again. What I loved most was that “After the Rain” was unlike anything I expected. I didn’t realize it was a more contemporary pas, but I fully understand why it is one of Wheeldon’s most cherished works. It’s in a world, remarkable.
On that note, I’m retiring for the night. Haven’t been able to sleep well recently so if this post makes absolutely no sense…forgive me. Please forgive me for burning the image at the top of this post into your brain as well.
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KRISTIN SLOAN |
I was so blown away by the fact that City Center opened up the top balcony for the Fall For Dance Performances! In my limited experience with CC, I have never seen it open for ballet. The only time I’ve been up here was for a Harry Connick Jr. Christmas concert!?
Anyhow, it’s actually a very interesting perspective, much like being up in the fourth ring of the New York State Theater, minus the horizontal distance from the stage. One of the most interesting things about being up here though, is that you can really see and appreciate the interesting architecture and decorative elements of the space.
For those who may not know, City Center is actually in a building that was originally created as the Mecca Temple, where The Shriners would hold their meetings (according to wikipedia). All the moldings and light fixtures have a middle eastern flair (evidently it was built in the Neo-Moorish style), and on the left side of the house at the entrance to the lower mezzanine, there is a preserved splotch of amazingly colorful and intricate wallpaper, which has been painted over in the rest of the space.
Perhaps some of you out there know even more about it??
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KRISTIN SLOAN |
An impressive array of promotional materials representing companies that are performing in the Fall For Dance programs.
I’m excited for the time when we can just walk up to a kiosk, and opt-in to be sent promotional info via bluetooth to our phones. So much more information, and much less paper wasted!
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KRISTIN SLOAN |
We arrived at City Center early for tonight’s Fall for Dance presentation. Since we parked and entered the complex on 56th street, we had to pass through the fall for dance “lounge” to get our tickets from the box office.
I believe there was some sort of dance lesson earlier, and surprisingly there were loads of people tango-ing on the dance floor. In order for me and doug to get to the other side, we had to assume the tango position and saunter across. Must have been pretty funny looking.
It’s so great to see so many people dancing!
Delicious/tag/wingmark
