“If you learn to dance with people, with life, then nothing wrong can happen to you.” -Hugues de Montalembert
Here are some photos of the Dancers Responding to AIDS benefit performances, held at Cedar Lake studios on January 11th and 12th. I was unable to go, but heard Danny Tidwell ended up not dancing. But Jamar Roberts (above) of Alvin Ailey, and our Marcelo Gomes of ABT did, and both were reportedly charmingly wonderfully superb — as always!
Marcelo on left, Sarita Allen in middle, and Rubinald Pronk (in excellent jacket) on right.
Go here for the rest of the photos.
You guys, Happy New Year!
…when I promise to be better about blogging 
I’m sorry about being so lame for the past month– I mean, two posts this week??? Getting this book out has just been so time consuming. Speaking of which, it’s now out in the Kindle version, so if you have a Kindle reader, it’s cheaper than the print version.
Anyway, happy New Year’s Eve, happy New Year’s Day! Will talk to you all again in 2010!
Above photo of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations by Andrew Eccles.
If you’re in NY and you don’t yet have plans for New Year’s Eve, I highly recommend Alvin Ailey. They’re doing their Best of 20 Years program — a celebration of Judith Jamison’s 20 years as Artistic Director with the company that includes excerpts from the various ballets she’s commissioned in that time — including Ronald K. Brown’s beatific Grace, Lar Lubovitch’s intriguing North Star, Donald K. Byrd’s tantalizing disco-y Dance at the Gym, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s thought-provoking Shelter — the list goes on! Excellent excellent program. And then, they end with Hans van Manen’s by turns beautifully lyrical and energetically fast-paced Solo (for three men), followed by of course Revelations. Seriously — is there a better dance to celebrate a new (and hopefully, please God, better) year? This is all to be followed by a grand grand finale.
For tix, go here.
Unfortunately, I can’t go, and my Ailey season has now ended. I’m so sad — I always feel a hole in my stomach every time this year. No one combines balletic modern with African, with American social and street, with jazz and theater… no company’s dancers are more versatile (now if they were all to compete on So You Think You Can Dance, that would be a showdown!) , and no company’s product so far-reaching. I really love them. If anyone goes to the New Year’s Eve celebration, please report back!
Photo by Kwame Brathwaite.
Hi you guys. Sorry I’ve been so bad about posting lately. This book –argh! Took me a ridiculously long time to figure out my Kindle conversion! If I wasn’t so computer dyslexic…. Anyway, Kindle version should be up soon on Amazon. Will post when it is.
I have a few blog posts to write — about Alvin Ailey and about Rasta Thomas’s Rock the Ballet which, okay, I admit — I liked!!! — despite (or perhaps of) Roslyn’s almost hilariously scathing review! I liked it, but can definitely see how others wouldn’t.
And Alvin Ailey — they’re in the midst of their City Center season (which ends January 3rd). I’ve loved most of their season premieres — there are several — namely Hymn and Divining by Judith Jamison, and Dancing Spirit by Ronald K. Brown (photo above of Matthew Rushing in Dancing Spirit, photo by Paul Kolnik). Hymn is a really breathtaking tribute to Alvin Ailey — the man himself. It was made in 1993 right after he passed away. It’s with spoken word by Anna Deavere Smith, based on her interviews with Jamison and the company dancers from that time, and on Ailey’s words themselves; choreography is by Jamison. And, Divining and Dancing Spirit are both part African, part ballet / modern. Dancing Spirit starts slowly, then builds to a really beautiful crescendo. Audience went nuts with applause after it premiered, and justifiably so! Definitely do try to go see it before the season ends.
The “20 years” tribute to Jamison’s time with the company is also a great program. Exposes you to excerpts of many of the ballets she commissioned over the years, which I now want badly to see.
Oh, interesting tidbit: one of my friends told me she sat next to SYTYCD’s Tyce Diorio at one of the Ailey perfs, and he highly recommended to her Hymn and Divining. So, see, I know what I’m talking about
I also need to blog about Nine, the film, which I saw yesterday. Thought it was okay, not as good as I was expecting. The musical numbers were excellent — especially those led by Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, and Fergie. But the story line is rather boring and slow-moving. And I hate to say this but this is the first thing I haven’t loved Daniel Day Lewis in. He just didn’t become the character to me, like he normally does; just couldn’t inhabit this role. Weird because his Unbearable Lightness of Being character had many of the same flaws, and he was so much more believable as Tomasz than he was here as Guido. Anyone else seen it?
My website (and, thus, this blog) is going to be up and down a bit over the next couple days because I’m having some of the pages re-done. But I will resume blogging very soon. In the meantime, get thee to Alvin Ailey!
Oh, and happy holidays
This week, playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith will perform with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, who are currently in the middle of their winter season at NY City Center. Deavere Smith (remember Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, about Rodney King, and Fires in the Mirror, about Crown Heights) will join the cast for a performance of Judith Jamison’s Hymn, Jamison’s 1993 Emmy award-winning homage to Alvin Ailey. Deavere Smith wrote the libretto and acts in the piece, which I haven’t yet seen live, but saw in a film. The excerpt I saw was excellent. A definite must-see (photo below by Andrew Eccles).
She’ll be performing December 16, 18, 19, and in the matinee on the 20th. She’s taking a break from her latest one-woman show, Let Me Down Easy, to perform with Ailey.
In addition to Hymn, Ailey’s also putting on several premieres this season: Jamison’s breathtaking Divining and Ronald K. Brown’s equally wondrous, African-based Dancing Spirit (which received loads of applause the other night, well deserved!), dancer Matthew Rushing’s sweet Uptown (a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance), Jamison’s Among Us (which I haven’t yet seen but will soon), and Robert Battle’s In-Side (ditto). In addition they’ve spiced up last year’s Festa Barocca, they’ve got a Best of 20 Years program — a compilation of the best work Jamison has commissioned during her time with the company, and company classics like Night Creature, Love Stories, Suite Otis, and of course the always uplifting, quintessentially American (probably the best American dance ever made, imo) — Revelations.
If you’re in NY (or anywhere else in the world where they tour), definitely don’t miss them. Go here for more info on the City Center season.
Above photo of Deavere Smith from University of Chicago.
Tonight three dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be on SYTYCD! My favorite modern dance company 
Linda Celeste Sims, Clifton Brown, and Constance Stamatiou (above, left to right, in photos by Andrew Eccles) will perform excerpts from Ulysses Dove’s Episodes, which, if I remember correctly, I found very intense and rather haunting.
(Linda Celeste Sims and Matthew Rushing in Episodes, photo by Paul Kolnik)
If you’re in New York, it’s almost time for Alvin Ailey season here. They open at City Center December 2nd. The season lasts for a month and this year they’re celebrating Judith Jamison’s 20th anniversary as artistic director (last year they celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary).
I so love it when great dancers are on TV!
Wow, there are a lot of video clips up of the many many companies and dancers that performed at this year’s Vail International Dance Festival. Here are some of my faves:
Dance Brazil in a modern / capoeira combo, Luna:
Daniel Ulbricht and Misa Kuranaga doing a Corsaire pdd:
Sofiane Sylve and Simon Ball in Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated:
Wendy Whelan and Edwaard Liang (dancing with Morphoses) in Forsythe’s Slingerland pdd:
Matthew Rushing in Ailey’s beautifully bluesy Reflections in D:
Linda Celeste Sims rehearsing Ailey’s classic Cry:
Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel’s Black Swan pdd:
Tyler Angle and Tiler Peck in the pdd from Wheeldon’s Mercurial Manoeuvers:
Some Lindy Hop with Naomi Uyama and Todd Yannacone:
And some Argentine Tango by Natalia Hills and Gabriel Misse:
There are many more vids and photos though, so visit the festival’s blog. I don’t see any up yet of the Ballroom evening — Hanna Karttunen and Victor DaSilva and J.T. Thomas and Tomas Mielnicki, et al. Hoping to see some of those soon. Excellent blog though, letting peeps who couldn’t be there in on what all went on. And splendidly diverse festival!
Linda Celeste Sims and Matthew Rushing of Alvin Ailey perform the adagio pas de deux from Mauro Bigonzetti’s Festa Barocca at the Vail International Dance Festival.
Photo of Pilobolus’s Darkness and Light by Ruby Washington, taken from NYTimes.
In light of the recent downpour of Tulsa Ballet reviews, many of which critized the selection of dances artistic director Marcello Angelini chose to bring to NY, my friend Christopher Atamian writes a note on programming selection. Chris also talks about Pilobolus, who were recently at the Joyce and big shame on me for missing them (I was recovering from an insanely exciting ballet season — the best EVER in my NY lifetime– and hystericizing over putting the finishing touches on my novel, so please forgive me for failing to cover this most exciting troupe).
I think Chris makes good points about not only the selection of programs but the placement of dances within the programs. I think this is one thing that Judith Jamison of Alvin Ailey is genius at: that company always performs their choreographically richest, most upbeat piece at the end: either Ailey masterpiece Revelations, the versatile hip hop / modern / African combo Love Stories, or Tharp’s wild-ride, The Golden Section. And interestingly, now that I think about it, New York City Ballet usually puts their premieres in the middle of the program, ending with a Balanchine. I definitely think you’d want to put the less established pieces in the middle, and bookend them with the tried and true. I do wonder if we “cranky New Yorkers” in Apollinaire Scherr’s words would have received Tulsa’s program better had Hue’s piece been in the middle or the beginning and the Duato at the end.
Anyway, here is Chris Atamian:
It is presumably the role of the artistic director to choose the particular program or set of dances that a company will perform on any given night. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed a rather curious phenomenon, but I have attended a few performances of late by some truly fine companies that would have benefited enormously from a more judicious dance selection. There was of course the Tulsa Ballet’s amazing 1-2 MacMillan-Duato punch at the Joyce which was unfortunately followed by a much weaker This Is Your Life by Young Soon Hue. Why not start with the Hue piece-if one must include it-and then work up to the Macmillan and Duato? The audience would then walk away with an even stronger impression of this wonderful company.
The week before, I attended all three Pilobolus programs, also at the Joyce. Program One began with a fine martial arts/capoeira-inspired piece Redline choreographed by Jonathan Wolken. This was followed by a stunning piece Darkness and Light developed in collaboration with the truly astounding puppeteer Basil Twist involving shadow play and a presentation of nothing less than the cosmos itself, whirring by at breakneck speed in front of a mesmerized audience. Then after a short break, the company came back with the 1971 work Walklyndon, a cute, short piece which involves the company dancers walking back and forth across the stage and engaging in some wonderfully humorous gags and movement with elements of clowning, physical humor and even a touch of vaudeville perhaps. The members wear hilarious, lively costumes.
I compared the piece elsewhere to a jived up version of Romper Room and I meant that in the best way: it’s humorous and soulful and it gives the audience a good idea of the company’s history and evolution-how else will younger people ever see the early pieces of a company which has now thrived for close to forty years? My beef is that it came as a complete anticlimax after the Basil Twist piece-you could literally feel the audience deflate: they were waiting for something stellar, fast-paced and acrobatic and instead were presented with a funny and somewhat tame amuse-gueule. (Of course a company that specializes in say baroque dance or a classical ballet company may have an easier time of things programming an evening of performances simply because they have a theoretically more restrained group of works to choose from than a contemporary company…) There are of course many ways to curate a night of performances: by similarity or contrast; by choreographer; by time or setting; by pace or style; etc) No one way is correct per se, one just wishes that the choices were sometimes more judicious or logical. As with everything in a very difficult field, that is easier said than done and there is always something to be said for experimentation. And of course this is just one critic’s opinion….others are free to disagree with me!
Photo from fanpop.
I’m happy for her — she definitely had her moments of brilliance, and I do think overall she did the best, most original solos of the season.
The rest of the So You Think You Can Dance results were: 4th Kayla, 3rd Evan, and 2nd Brandon.
Seeing Janette dance that Doriana Sanchez disco with Brandon made me want to see her again. I do hope we see some of these dancers again, and not just on the show but out in the world. As Jonathan commented on my Pasha & Anya Burn the Floor post, it seems like season three contestants have done well on Broadway, happily. I really liked Janette and Evan, so I hope I will see the latter on Broadway as well, and perhaps the former in a travelling ballroom show?… I will try to find out what’s going on with Sabra and Cedar Lake.
I think the other star of tonight was Louis van Amstel (above image from here), with all of those routines he choreographed throughout the season — the waltz, the samba, the paso — being chosen by the judges for encore perfs. And yeah, they were all really memorable, now that I see them again. Let’s see him do a Broadway / travelling ballroom show in the near future! C’mon Louis.
I really wish they would have had other dancers / dance companies perform tonight rather than have so many encore performances. How about some Alvin Ailey, ABT or San Fran Ballet, and maybe some fun small modern dance companies like Keigwin + Company? And maybe some top ballroom dancers as well, or some more America’s Best Dance Crew winners? I loved seeing Desmond Richardson perform earlier in the season and then, bam, that was it — no more outside dance. I would think audiences would really want the chance to see what else is out there rather than see so many repeat routines, flashbacks to the dancers’ auditions and interviews, and previews of next season, right?
If you haven’t already seen, there’s an excellent slide show of photos of dancers and choreographers that have appeared in Vanity Fair over the past decade or so on the magazine’s website. Of course you know I would have to post this one (by Bruce Weber by the way), but there are also some really beautiful ones of Darci Kistler and Peter Martins, Bill T. Jones, Alvin Ailey dancers, and some oldies from New York City Ballet, just to name a few. Check it out here.
Sorry I’m late in posting again. Another problem with Godzilla last night — our run-ins are slowly coming to a head…
Anyway, one highlight to me last night was Mia Michaels echoing my love of Janette! She pronounced Janette “my favorite, favorite, favorite this season”! I of course love Janette too. There’s nothing she hasn’t been able to do. I don’t think she’s really received a single criticism yet on the show. Since this show honors versatility, at this point she is my favorite to win.
I also think though that Evan and Kayla are two of the best things to come out of this season. I honestly feel that the past two seasons generally have been duller than the first three, and sometimes I wonder what good this show really does for the dancers who appear on it. American Idol contestants go on to do huge things — acting in movies (and winning awards for their work), going on Broadway and becoming sensations, and of course becoming recording superstars — but I haven’t seen the dancers from this show reap those kinds of rewards. I do think with Evan and Kayla, Broadway could have found some new stars. I could see both of them up there on the Broadway stage, especially if, as Mia Michaels told Kayla, they can sing and act. I thought Kayla and Jasons’ Broadway routine was the hit of the night. The judges didn’t all agree with me and I think Nigel said they were “flat” but I thought it was fantastic. I thought Kayla in particular showed real star potential.
To me, Evan always shows that star potential. Another great Gene Kelly-ish solo from him last night. He reminds me so much of ABT’s Craig Salstein.
Continue reading ‘SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TOP 8: JANETTE, EVAN AND KAYLA SHINE’
With the insanity of ballet season (see this Macaulay article — at the beginning he very accurately describes what it’s like to be a balletomane in NY right now!), I unfortunately was not able to make it out to Brooklyn to see Alvin Ailey’s week-long wrap-up of its year-and-a-half-long 50th Anniversary celebration. I was very sorry to have missed it. So, in lieu of my own write-up, I’m linking to Gia Kourlas’s NYTimes review of opening night. She lauds two of my favorite dancers, Linda Celeste Sims (above, in photo by Andrea Mohin of the NYT) and Amos J. Machanic, and one of my favorite dances of all time Revelations. So very sorry I had to miss it all. Until December…
(Josh Johnson and Fana Fraser in Sidra Bell’s Valse, photo by Eduardo Patino; all photos below by Eduardo Patino as well)
Last night for the first time I saw Alvin Ailey II, Alvin Ailey’s studio company comprised mainly of young dancers. Wow! The dancers were so remarkable — all of them! I couldn’t believe it. Usually when you see the studio company the dancers are up and coming, not quite as good as the ones in the full touring company, but these dancers truly amazed me. No wonder so many go on to join the main troupe.
There were four pieces: three modern and one jazzy, classical Ailey (which I really loved). First was Valse (pictured above), by a young, highly accomplished choreographer, Sidra Bell, with modern music that had lots of percussion (which I liked) by Dennis Bell. This piece reminded me a bit of Jorma Elo with a lot of movement alternating between sharp and staccato and more flowing, and lots of jagged shapes and rather intensely-thrust lines created in part by hyperextended arms and legs (which I like, but realize is very modern and not to everyone’s tastes).
Josh Johnson in particular stood out to me. He’s a tall dancer with long long lines, like Antonio Douthit and Yannick Lebrun and Amos Machanic in Alvin Ailey. Maybe because of his long lines I noticed him more here, but he’d reach up skyward with one arm, then grab it with the other hand and bring it back down, as if the arm was out of control and he needed to bring it back in line. This kind of mechanical movement, like the body struggling to break free from robotic-like movements imposed on it, is what reminded me of Elo. Costumes were also intriguingly incongruous: male dancers wore black tops with high necklines and puffed sleeves that looked king-ly, along with spandex biking-shorts; women wore corset-looking tops with ballet-like tulle skirts. It was an interesting dance, definitely with a dark undercurrent, like Balanchine’s Valse.
Second was “The Calling”, a short section from Jessica Lang’s Splendid Isolation II. Fana Fraser danced this solo beautifully. She wore a white gown with a long long train that spread out in all directions across the floor, nearly taking up the stage. She began with her back toward the audience, but turned somehow under that dress without disturbing the intricate fan-like pattern made by the flared skirt on the floor, and lowered and raised her legs so that it looked like she was melting into the ground, then rising up from it. The rest of the dance consisted of lovely arm movement while her feet remained stationery.
Next was Hope (The Final Rise) by AAII artistic director Troy Powell.
(Dementia Hopkins and Josh Johnson in Hope)
(Megan Jakel and Renaldo Gardner in Hope)
This was one of my favorites, but it’s hard to explain why! The piece was full of energy and there was a lot of very difficult movement, with fast kicks and whizzing spins going into difficult-looking lifts. I felt like this was the artistic director’s test for the dancers, and they came through with flying colors The music, by David Chesky, had a strong, powerful, even militant feel to it, with a voice chanting, “Rise up, children, right now.”
And then, the evening ended with my favorite piece of the night, the very well-liked George Faison’s Movin’ On.
(cast in Movin’ On)
(Jarvis McKinley and Megan Jakel in Movin’ On)
This was a jazzy balletic piece — a combination of both classical ballet and jazz steps — that was wonderfully reminiscent of classic Alvin Ailey. It takes place in a night club, much like Night Creature and Blues Suite, and consists of a set of unique and endearing characters just hanging out, playing music, flirting with each other, dancing the night away, playing starlet, having a good time. There are three men — members of the jazz band — who jump atop chairs and move just like the instruments. There’s a sweetly arrogant Night Creature-like woman who fancies herself a jazz starlet, and struts and glides and jetes across the stage just like one. And there’s a ballerina who becomes attracted to the street boy. I loved the two who danced the latter couple in particular. Both — Megan Jakel and Jarvis McKinley– stood out to me all night. McKinley moves very well, especially in the more jazzy movements. And I thought Jakel, along with Fana Fraser, were very charismatic. They just had that something that drew your eye to them. And Josh Johnson, who danced one of the musicians, has such a fluidity. The way his arms waved about, they were like water. At one point, Faison himself read (offstage) a Langston Hughes poem, Harlem, which gave the whole thing a rather sobering feel. Like all the fun and frolic was masking a deeper tragedy. Judging by the mass of applause, the rest of the audience loved this dance as well.
I noticed in the program that S. Epatha Merkerson from Law and Order helped to underwrite the costumes for the production. I remember she’d read a poem (onstage) in a recent Complexions piece that I loved. Who knew she was so involved in dance!
(photo of Sean Mahoney in Arden Court, by Tom Caravaglia)
So, a little season wrap-up of Paul Taylor Dance Company before my computer crashes (was trying to avoid taking it in, I’m so dependent on it, but think I’m going to have to…)
I liked many of the dances — the 60s era Changes (set to music by the Papas and the Mamas), Mercuric Tidings, the hilarious Offenbach Overtures, but my favorites ended up being Arden Court and Esplanade — which I think are beloved by many Paul Taylor fans. And I can see why. They are beautiful dances, very lyrical, very musical, but also very American, and with a good deal of humor. Both contained movement that was light and lyrical, but very grounded. Dancers do a lot of quick traversing of the stage (particularly in Esplanade) and they run with knees deeply bent, toes pointed forward, hair and garments blowing in the breeze they create, making for grand, sweeping patterns. Knees are often bent in a jump, feet flexed during a kick. It’s almost the antithesis of ballet — at least classical. These are real, human bodies — not ethereal beings seemingly suspended in the air, heaven-bound– but people doing human things. It’s like a celebration of being human. It has a kind of poetry to it, although not the same poetry as ballet.
There’s also a good deal of humor. A man will lie down and a woman will run up and over him, usually playfully. At one point during Arden Court, all dancers are lined up at the back of the stage, raising their arms, holding hands. But one man chooses to do a handstand instead, lifting his feet high in the air. The dancers immediately to his right and left look at him like he’s nuts, then kind of shrug, laugh, and lock fingers with his toes. It’s amusing and the audience giggles but it’s also kind of a celebration of American ideals: free-thinking, independence, individuality.
Both are more “movement for movement’s sake” pieces rather than linear narratives, although in Esplanade, the mood shifts several times from sweetly frolicking to more sobering, the more sobering parts seeming to tell the story of a family member — a daughter — who is lost; the mother fraught with worry and then sorrow, the father searching desperately for her. But then the mood shifts back, becomes more cheerful and celebratory, as male dancers toss the women between them, like a game of catch (in which the women are willing, excited participants), then dancers run crazy fast across stage, sliding when they reach a corner, like they’re having the times of their lives. I was thinking when I saw those slides how much they looked like runners sliding into home base in baseball. I’d live-tweeted on my way home from the theater that I loved that dance, and when I got home there was a reply to me from one of my Twitter friends saying how much they loved the “baseball slides.” I love it!
There’s also this earlier part where a dancer kind of hop-scotches over a group of dancers lying prone, shown here:
(photo Tom Caravaglia)
Anyway, I really enjoyed the season and am very thankful I got to go so many times. I’m a lifelong balletomane and I’ve always seen modern as kind of “incorrect ballet.” No turnout, frequently bent knees, no pointe — how can it be?! (Alvin Ailey had its own special appeal, with its combo of African and American and its unique themes). But now I see the beauty of American.
So, if I’m slow in posting or approving comments for the next week, it may be because my computer had to go to hospital…
(photo of Xiomara Reyes, taken from ABT website).
Sunday evening I attended another Works & Process event at the Guggenheim. These programs are so fantastic — they’re designed to kind of make the average person an insider, to give you a behind-the-scenes view of how art or cultural programming is created. Anyway, this one was on female choreographers and American Ballet Theater. Unbenownst to me (and most I think), ABT in conjunction with Altria has set up the Women’s Choreography Project, whose mission is to encourage more young women to venture into choreography — an excellent aim given that there are so startlingly and inscrutably few female choreographers, at least in ballet.
The women participants whose work we saw were: Gemma Bond, Misty Copeland, Nicole Graniero, Elizabeth Mertz, and Xiomara Reyes — all ABT ballerinas, and all, except Xiomara and Misty, members of the corps de ballet. (Xiomara is a principal and Misty a soloist.) It’s not a given or a demand of course that these ballerinas will necessarily become choreographers, but the program, led by Stephen Pier, exists for them to explore their talents, ultimately decide whether choreography is for them. It will be interesting to see, if programs like these proliferate, if it leads to more women dancemakers.
Anyway, it was really interesting watching Pier work with the women, but, to be honest, a bit confusing. At the beginning, Pier defined choreography for the audience as the movement of bodies through time and space. “That’s all,” he said. Then, he had Gemma Bond demonstrate a phrase she’d been working on. She walked to the middle of the stage, smiling bashfully, and did a short, abstract lyrical segment. Then, Pier told her to focus on the back wall, to look at the shape of three windows, the lights coming through them, their geometry, and some writing on the wall underneath them (which I think was something like a dedication to whoever funded the auditorium, in small letters).
Bond used her hand to shield her eyes from the stage lights, and squinted up toward the windows. We all turned around, followed her gaze to the back of the room. She then laughed, shrugged her shoulders, and gamely re-performed the phrase. “It’s the same thing,” said the woman next to me. But I didn’t think it was. I thought she used the stage a little more; the pattern was now more horizontal than vertical, which went along with the three, horizontally aligned windows. She did exactly what was asked of her, I thought. Then Pier asked her, “well, what are you going to do with that red light coming out from the middle window?” She looked back at the windows, focused for a moment on the middle one, then, seemingly concentrating hard, repeated the phrase again. This time it was the same horizontal pattern as before, but now she stepped forward in the middle, kind of punctuating the movement with a little dot, making both vertical and horizontal use of the stage. “Now, that’s different,” said the lady next to me. I agreed, but thought this difference was far more subtle than the last.
It was really interesting, but I think we were all intrigued because we knew exactly what was going on, what the choreographer was using to guide her. If we didn’t, I think it would just have been three slightly different patterns with no real meaning.
Pier then gave the women a pair of opposites to work with: fast and slow, light and dark, sharp and soft. All chose sharp and soft, except for renegade Misty, who chose freedom and constraint — which wasn’t one of Pier’s categories! (At one point, he asked each what they found hardest about the project and Misty said it was keeping within the rules. I love her!) Anyway, I looked deeply at the dances, trying hard to concentrate, to see the contrasts, but couldn’t always find them.
But as I was watching this, I was thinking of what I’d seen earlier in the day — the rehearsal footage of Alvin Ailey choreographing on his dancer Donna Wood Sanders, which I wrote about here. How he told her, you’re a prisoner, you can’t escape, you’re struggling, trying, let me see that. And this dance, Masekela Langage, about a group of people living under systematized racial oppression, was obviously very close to his heart.
I realize Pier was only giving these women exercises, that he wasn’t saying this was all there was to choreography. At least I hope that’s what he meant. He had said choreography was only about the movement of bodies through time and space. Is that all? I couldn’t help but get the feeling that Ailey’s world was so different from that of a lot of contemporary ballet, where it’s all about geometric patterns, interesting shapes, use of space, use of different rhythms, and not so much about creating something from the heart. I mean, literary writers and artists have to create because they have something to tell the world, something they find deeply meaningful. Although this was obviously only a glimpse into their process, I didn’t get the sense that these women were being encouraged to explore their visions of the world and learn to make movement that emanates from that place. It makes me wonder how most contemporary choreographers work — if they’re just thinking of light and shadow and abstract oppositions and geometry; if they’re not concerned with trying to tell us something.
Anyway, I have to say Xiomara (photo up top) completely blew me away with her work. She danced a lyrical balletic piece, but it had a kind of hippy-ness to it, a kind of swaying Gyspy-like, Latin feel. She danced with so much emotion. Her facial expressions almost reminded me of a flamenco dancer’s. I’ve never seen her dance like that before. I feel like perhaps she’s someone who’s better at dancing her own work than classical ballet. And perhaps she’d be good at creating work for other contemporary ballet dancers like her. Maybe she’ll be our next female ballet choreographer?
They also showed pieces by women who’ve choreographed for ABT: Lauri Stallings (whose Citizen I wrote about here) and Aszure Barton, whose work I’d never seen before and really loved. ABT II (the studio company, comprised of teenaged dancers) performed her Barbara, a sweet ballet that didn’t really have one single linear narrative, but had a lot of little subplots involving cutely intriguing characters.
On an endnote, Irlan Silva (above, from the studio company) — whoa! Methinks he is going to be in the main company soon…
I spent most of my day yesterday at the Walter Reade theater at Lincoln Center watching films about Alvin Ailey: rare footage of interviews and rehearsals with the legendary choreographer, and of him as a young dancer in the 50s and early 60s dancing with the equally legendary Carmen de Lavallade, along with later coverage of Judith Jamison and others dancing, newer PBS specials on the company, and even a couple of panel discussions with filmmakers, collaborative artists, and dancers who worked with Ailey. What a treat! The all-day event was co-produced by the company (AAADT) and the Film Society of Lincoln Center in honor both of the company’s 50th anniversary and the start of Black History Month.
First off, there was a collection of vintage posters in the art gallery right across the hall from the theater. (top two pics above, taken by me.) There was also a little reception with complimentary wine. Complimentary strong wine (which, I hadn’t eaten much and, well, probably got carried away excitedly tweeting over seeing some of the dancers there — namely
Yannick Lebrun, photo by Eduardo Patino
Yannick Lebrun — wearing gold earrings in both ears and dressed very stylishly in one of those skinny scrunchy bubble-jackets, baggy jeans and bright red-soled sneakers — it’s always fun to see your favorite dancers outside of the theater, just dressed like ‘normal people’. Also there were Renee Robinson, Matthew Rushing, Vernard Gilmore, and Hope Boykin, and choreographer Robert Battle. Renee and Yannick both showed up to the church event they had last year and I love that both the newest company member and the dancer who’s been there the longest show up to these kinds of things).
Anyway, the first set of films consisted of a movie directed by Orlando Bagwell made for PBS called “A Hymn for Ailey.” I’d never seen it before, but it was a filmed version of Judith Jamison’s dance / theater piece for the stage, Hymn, which she choreographed for the stage not long after Alvin Ailey died (of AIDS, in 1989). I’d never seen that either and I wish the company would stage it again. It was filmed mainly in the church where Ailey’s funeral was held, the magnificient Saint John the Divine. Dancers danced to a series of spoken word pieces recited by playwright / actor Anna Deavere Smith, who was, of course, a very powerful presence in the film. At times she’d stand next to the dancer — at one point Renee Robinson — and speak about body image, as Renee danced her words, and interacted with her at the same time, at one point seeming about to lash out on a negative thought, as if she were a mirror. At another, she spoke about Ailey’s artistry as an excellent male dancer who’s name I didn’t know belted out the movement with great passion. Or, one of the parts that stayed with me for a while — Smith took on the voice of an African woman talking about how much easier it is to be “real,” to be oneself, back in Africa; how here everyone has to wear a mask to survive. It kind of reminded me of Invisible Man. Both the performance and the words were very moving.
(there was a panel discussion after the Bagwell film, including from right to left, company rehearsal director Ronni Favors, filmmaker Bagwell, Jamison, and Deavere Smith). Judith Jamison is so charismatic, I’m sure it goes without saying. No matter what she’s talking about, you just want to hang on to her every word.
But the biggest highlight of that program — of the day for me — was footage of Alvin Ailey rehearsing a female dancer, Donna Wood Sanders, for her role in Masekela Langage (depicting denizens of a bar, set simultaneously in 1960s race-torn Chicago and apartheid-era South Africa, or anywhere oppression exists). I can’t tell you how much I got from this and I really really wish companies would do this more — would show audiences rehearsals and give us a glimpse into the artistic process. He was telling her, you’re an older woman, you’re stuck, trapped in this bar, in this place, you can’t escape and your life is dreary but that doesn’t mean you’re giving up. And, as she’d do certain things in the choreography, like push her arms out and step backward, he’d say to her, “let me see you in a prison, trying desperately to escape, but you can’t.” And she’d do the movement in such a way that that’s exactly what you saw. It was brilliant. And so powerful. I sometimes wonder how much is lost when a choreographer like that dies, if the entirety of his rehearsal and notes on direction are not kept. Dancers should of course add their own interpretations, but not without reviewing the master’s directions again for guidance. Now I want to see this ballet again.
(photo by Steve Vaccariello, of Renee Robinson and Clifton Brown in Masekela Langage)
Also included in the programs I saw were an interview Harry Belafonte conducted with Alvin Ailey, vintage footage of dancers Carmen de Lavallade, James Truitte, and Ailey performing classic works by Ailey’s mentor, Lester Horton. I particularly enjoyed The Beloved, depicting a relationship fraught with tension but compassion that kind of reminded me of some of Ulysses Dove’s work. (A program later in the day included films of some of his dances, but unfortunately I couldn’t stay).
A final highlight of the day for me was watching vintage footage of Alvin dancing Porgy and Bess with Carmen de Lavallade. Learn about that story (originally an opera) and its history here. Ailey danced the part of the the man who threatens the crippled Porgy and seduces but mistreats Porgy’s beloved Bess. I’d never actually seen much of Alvin Ailey dancing and this was such a treat. As someone said in one of the films — I think it was Jamison but am not sure — “He WASN”T skinny!,” which made me laugh, but she’s right.
(image of Alvin Ailey by Jack Mitchell, taken from here)
He was a meaty man. And he had hefty strength and ferocity to his dancing, a virility that was simultaneously sexy and threatening and that I totally didn’t expect since, by the way he speaks and from what I’ve read about him, he seems to have been such a soft, gentle man, and given that most of the male characters he created in his ballets seem like soft, gentle men as well, full of vulnerability and sympathy. Plus, with the possible exception of Glenn Allen Sims, no one in the current company really dances like that. Not that that’s a bad thing – -just a different aesthetic.
I wish I could have stayed for the full day, but I went to ABT’s female choreographers program at the Guggenheim, which I’ll write about soon. This company always makes me so happy and inspired.
photo of Alvin Ailey courtesy of Film Society Lincoln Center / AAADT
This Sunday, February 1, in honor of the start of Black History Month, the Film Society at Lincoln Center will be showing a full afternoon and evening of films about Alvin Ailey and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the Walter Reade Theater. Onstage guests will include playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith, dancer Donna Wood Sanders, filmmakers Orlando Bagwell and Patricia Birch who will present their films and answer questions afterward, and of course Judith Jamison. There’s also a poster exhibit in the Walter Reade lobby.
Sounds like a wonderful day! I can’t make all of the films but hope to see some. Go here for a full list of screenings.
As one of my Twitter friends said, “Feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. When I wake up, the world will be glorious, full of hope & promise & wonderous things to discover! Obama!”
(photo by Paul Kolnik, of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations)
It’s actually very early in the morning (like, still last night), but when I get up, I’ll probably be adding to this post, live-blogging the events throughout the day as I watch them (sadly, only on TV)
Happy happy day, everyone!
So, I’m watching on TV now but am thinking of going to one of the common areas in NY to watch on a big screen TV. I know I’ll be cold (I think the Apollo theater is the only inside venue and I’m sure it’s full by now) and probably won’t see as much, but sometimes it’s just fun for a sense of community.
I’m actually liking NBC’s coverage better than CNN’s. NBC has some knowledgeable people on — I liked the presidential historian who talked about the first inauguration (Washington’s of course) and the most difficult transition of power (1953, Eisenhower) — CNN is just interviewing people and the commentators are saying such cliched things: “It’s a new dawn, “it’s a new day,” “this is historical,” etc. What would David Foster Wallace have said…
(photo of Alvin Ailey cast in Masekela Langage by Steve Vaccariello from Alvin Ailey website)
I managed to be sick for the last two weeks of December, so, horribly, I wasn’t able to go to as many Alvin Ailey performances as I usually do. Now, I’m depressed and feeling like I really missed out. Especially since I was just told how excellent the season finale was last night. Sob sob.
I did get to see all the major things though: the revivals (Blues Suite and Masekela Langage); the two premieres (Go in Grace and Festa Barocca), which I wrote about here and here and here; Suite Otis, a fun piece set to Otis Redding and comprised of jazzy all-male and all-female ensemble numbers and cute vignettes of couples in various stages of a relationship; and of course several Revelations.
(Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims in Suite Otis, photo by Paul Kolnick)
(Suite Otis, photo by Steve Vaccariello)
(Suite Otis, Paul Kolnick photo)
Blues Suite was Mr. Ailey’s first major dance, made in 1958, when the company began. It’s a bluesy piece that takes place in a nightclub, based on The Dew Drop Inn, an African American hangout in his Texan hometown, and consists of a set of female cabaret dancers and jazzy dancing men, who mostly perform in groups for the audience but sometimes dance together as if we, the audience, are getting not a “performance” but are eavesdropping on what goes on in a real club. The latter were my favorite parts.
With Masekela Langage, my overall favorite of the season besides Revelations, we get just that: a glimpse into another world, a troubling world.
(Steve Vaccariello photo, Masekela Langage)
And that’s what I liked about it so much. It was described to me as a “political” work (a totally loaded term!) portraying racial violence and oppression both in the era of South African apartheid (it’s set to music by the South African trumpeteer Hugh Masekela) and in 1960s Chicago. So, I expected to see all these scenes of white farmers burning black farms, of bands of white police attacking black men on the streets, etc. But it wasn’t.
Continue reading ‘Masekela Langage and the Brilliance of Revelations’
I know you’re not ever supposed to start posts saying ‘I’m sorry for not posting in forever.’ But I normally write once or more per day, so, really, I’m sorry for not posting in forever! I’m just working on this ridiculously hard short story that really should be a novel (it’s 20,000 words right now and I’ve already cut out a bunch of stuff)– and hopefully it will be someday. Well, it will be, but I don’t know if it will ever be a published novel. The industry isn’t looking too good these days and I don’t know if I have the nerve to self-publish…
Anyway, I went to see Alvin Ailey on Sunday night (Blues Suite — my first time seeing it– liked but didn’t love it; Flowers, about Janis Joplin, which grew on me, especially the dream sequence with all the hilarious but uber sexy ’60’s era bootie shorts and leg fringe; and Revelations, which I could honestly see about 30 times per season — basically every night they do it — and never tire of it). I still have to blog about the two Ailey works that were new to me this season — Blues Suite and Masekela Langage, the second of which I loved. More about that later.
I always get very depressed around this time of year and I think it has a lot to do with Alvin Ailey ending their City Center season. I always get depressed when dance company seasons end but more so with this group than any other.
I also need to write my end-of-the-year favorites list (probably going to go with Nimrod Freed’s PeepDance as my overall favorite and Craig Salstein’s Time for ABT for new choreography, ABT’s Tudor Centennial and Alvin Ailey’s 50th anniversary celebrations for events), but I want to do links, and I don’t have time to do that now. Also desperately trying to make myself well. I somehow caught a nasty cold, which I want to be gone by tomorrow night so I can go out with friends and have a reasonably good time.
So, will blog soon! In the meantime, please check out dance tweeters and their tweets (see previous post). And have a most festive New Year’s eve!
So, my new, upgraded blog is almost up. Well, I guess it is up but there are still some kinks to be worked out, such as the comments. I am told all comments transferred, but for some reason they are not all showing up yet. Hopefully, Disqus will work it out.
Anyway, I will write a longer post as soon as I become un-intimidated by this crazy new software! In the meantime, everyone have a wonderful holiday, and New Yorkers, do go see Alvin Ailey if you have a chance. They’re showing through January 4th but there are only two more performances of Blues Suite. (Omg, there are like 20,000 options for links; hopefully the Alvin Ailey highlight will actually link to City Center…)
Okay, talk soon Let me know if you guys have any problems with comments. My web guy wanted to set me up with Disqus because I was getting overrun by spam. It’s supposed to be a cool comment system. We shall see…
Again, very happy holiday everyone!
(photo, of Vernard J. Gilmore and Antonio Douthit, by Andrea Mohin from NYTimes)
So Sir Alastair called Festa Barocca “rubbish”!
I didn’t really know what to think of it, to be honest (which is why it’s taken me so long to write about). I found it oddly intriguing and very different from his (choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti’s) other work that I’ve seen, Oltremare. That piece made perfect sense and was clear in what it was trying to express: the fear, sadness, and longing of poor immigrants bound for the New World. This wasn’t so clear.
The whole piece is set to Handel’s classical Baroque music, but the movement is extremely varied, encompassing ballet, Argentine Tango, African — a hodge-podge, and with styling that looked at times Asian (like the beautifully flexed wrists), Egyptian (the iconic “King Tut”-esque Cleopatra arms), and even some styling that reminded me of the movie Pulp Fiction (with the bandit eyes — where Uma Thurman and John Travolta are dancing, extending elbows outward, arms turned down, circling their eyes with their fingers — remember that?)
There was definitely a lot of humor, and Hope Boykin, whose enchanting solos frame the piece, smiles out at the audience a lot, kind of indicating she is taking us on a wild ride. I couldn’t really tell, though, if Bigonzetti was making fun of Baroque music, or if he was trying to expand our assumptions about how it could be used for dance. Don’t think I’d ever have thought of putting African to Handel. Or, if Baroque music is defined as representing the “perfect order” of the universe, of “avoiding trivialities as well as willful eccentricities,” then maybe he is playing with the definition of Baroque music itself.
By the way, Antonio Douthit (right in pic above) and Jamar Roberts I thought were the best in the ensemble parts. Jamar really threw himself into it full out and made the most of every little movement detail. And Antonio is one of those unbelievable dancers who seems to be able to excel at both ballet and African. Have I said that before here? Sorry if I have; I honestly forget what I’ve tweeted and what I’ve blogged. He has these gorgeously high extensions that he holds so well and he’s graceful and feathery, but then he can be so rhythmic with those beautifully snaky full body-undulations as well.
The dance is comprised of several ensemble parts, a couple of solos, and a couple duets that seemed by turns sexy, mysterious, and kind of violent. At points, it seemed like the men were casting a spell on the women, at other places it seemed the women became the mens’ puppeteers, like when the women would raise their legs to their partners’ faces or necks, gripping with their toes, kind of teasing them as they circled their feet about, head or throat attached, round and round, and then harshly pushing them away.
Macaulay seemed peeved because such movement (which he amusingly calls “acrobatic foot fetishism”) didn’t seem to fit the Italian lyrics of the Handel songs. I didn’t know those lyrics, but, assuming the translation in his article is correct, it is rather interesting how a husband’s singing “Where are you? Come, beloved, to console my spirit” to his wife (who doesn’t yet know he’s dead) correlates with a dancer throttling her partner’s throat with her foot. Either an unusual reinterpretation, or Bigonzetti is trying to throw in some comedy with the duets as well (which generally seemed more serious), or else he, like many choreographers, is more interested in putting movement to rhythms than actual words.
In the end I’m not sure what to make of it. I loved the dancers, as always. I’m not sure I could ever be dissatisfied watching them do anything. I’m interested to hear what others make of this piece though. They don’t yet have any of it up on YouTube, but let me know if you see it live.
Oh, and costumes (by Marc Happel) were gorgeous. Men and women both wore long, brightly-colored flowing skirts in the ensemble pieces, donning more form-fitting garb for the intricate pas de deux.
(Hope Boykin in solo, above; below, Gwynenn Taylor Jones and Clifton Brown in first duet; photos by Steve Vaccariello)
I know I’m very behind on my Alvin Ailey posts (on all my posts actually). Promise to catch up!
Here are some pictures from Hope Boykin’s sweet Go in Grace, which premiered at Ailey last week and which I wrote about here.
The “family” — “daughter” Rosalyn Deshauteurs, “father” Amos J. Machanic (who blew me away, as always!), Renee Robinson as “mother”, Clifton Brown as the “son” (my “son” was Matthew Rushing), and Kirven J. Boyd and Antonio Douthit as the up to no good boys (spelled “Boyz” in the program)
(First two photos by Steve Vaccariello, taken from the Alvin Ailey website)
The dancers, with Sweet Honey in the Rock members, who provided live singing and acted as a kind of chorus, interacting with the dancers throughout, warning the daughter not to let herself be taken advantage of by boys, shaking their heads at the boyz for leading the son astray, comforting family members dealing with the pain of the father’s death, etc.)
(This photo and the next two are by Paul Kolnick)
Amos as the father, having his final, heartbreaking, dance.
Rosalyn as the daughter, being carried off by the crowd.
At the end she and her father dance side by side, doing the same steps, the father in a kind of shadow position behind her, a spirit guiding her.
Go in Grace is showing a few more times this season. Go here for the City Center schedule.
Here’s a picture (by Steve Vaccariello) of the Go in Grace choreographer, dancer Hope Boykin, in the company’s other big premiere this season, Mauro Bigonzetti’s Festa Barocca. I thought I’d moblogged about it, but I actually tweeted. (I sometimes get things I do with my cell phone a bit confused…) Anyway, I have to go to bed right now, but I will blog about Festa tomorrow.
Okay, here is what I was writing last night when my internet crashed:
I’m always so happy when I come out of an AA performance; I could just dance home! Tonight was Maurice Bejart’s Firebird, which was more breathtaking than the first time I saw it last year; Clifton is beyond belief — just this huge guy who’s so amazingly graceful. Ditto for Jamar — the only person who I can imagine being able to lift him, and those lifts at the end when Jamar’s bringing Clifton back to life are so stunning.
(photo by Paul Kolnick).
Then, on second, was the new Hope Boykin piece, Go in Grace, which was kind of a play without words, utilizing the singers — Sweet Honey in the Rock — along with the dancers, the singers acting as a kind of chorus and interacting with the dancers throughout. It told, in expressionistic pieces, the story of a family, the father and mother good, upstanding people trying to keep their daughter and son from going astray. They’re successful with the daughter but the son kind of gets involved with the wrong crowd (namely, Antonio and Kirven!) Eventually he comes back, but only after the father dies, which is really heartbreaking. Amos J. Machanic danced the father and I noticed from last night (which I still have to write about!) and tonight that he is the most expressive, emotive dancer, and such a great actor, he really pulls you into the dance, and creates such sympathy for his characters. He broke my heart both last night as a junkie in Masekala Language, and tonight as the dying father who wanted nothing but the best for his children in Boykin’s ballet.
(photo of Machanic by Andrew Eccles)
And last on was Revelations, which I’ve written about here. Yannick LeBrun blew me away as the second Sinner Man!
(photo of Lebrun by Eduardo Patino)
He was, yes, even better than Clifton! He is definitely one to watch. And Antonio Douthit was mesmerizing tonight as well, as the guy getting baptized in Wade in the Water. Funny though, he had some kind of large tattoo — a cobra or some kind of winged creature perhaps — creeping out of the top of his pants in back, which was kind of funny given his character here But I love it — & am sure I’m the only one who noticed such a thing… Also, someone’s big church hat flew off and created a bit of a funny nuisance onstage in Rocka My Soul. Always very funny when something goofy happens with a prop
Anyway, I have to upload and post pictures from last night and write about the night before — Masekela Language and Suite Otis, but will have to do it when I get back from Pina Bausch at BAM.
Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.
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Aw, it was sweet! And interesting – was just as much about the music – sung live onstage- as the dance if not more. Amos machanic is so good, breaks my heart. Think i saw will from so u think u can dance talking to choreographer hope boykin.
If you see the Empire State Building lit in gold tonight and wonder why, it’s in celebration of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s opening night gala this evening at City Center. It’s the company’s 50th anniversary. Also, video clips will be shown at Times Square.
Wish I could be there. Instead I’ll be at Shen Wei with Philip. Will definitely be seeing Alvin Ailey (hopefully multiple times) next week though!
Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.
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Listening to alvin ailey’s revelations & starting to get v excited about season – begins rt after holiday!
Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.
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From Revelations. Glen Allen Sims and Linda Celeste Sims.
