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THIS WEEK IN DANCE
By Kelly Hargraves
04/30/2010
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How often do dance pieces tie themselves directly to the topics of the time and place they are made in? Many artists strive for pieces that tap into some universal stories, or timeless tales. Well, last week I got to see two artists dealing directly with “the news of the day” and responding through dance choreography.
The lovely Luckman Theatre at Cal State LA, continued it’s impressive dance season with a presentation of the David Dorfman Dance Company from NYC. And local artist Kingsley Irons, previewed an excerpt of her upcoming piece “Shapes of Recovery” at the Studio A DanceSpot Performance Series in Silver Lake.
 David Dorfman is so sincere it is refreshing. I am loath to write that because it says more about me, and my cynical attitudes, than it does of him. I think at this point in the dance season, I am at a point where the hype, junk, waste of time and lost moments are beginning to accumulate.
But, there is such an earnestness in this piece—it’s desire for political change, the joining of 24 local dancers to Dorfman’s virtuosic corps of 10—and his own presence on the stage at beginning and end to speak directly to the audience.
In the beginning, Dorfman take the stage as the audience is being seated, going through a frantic yet fluid range of motion. I am too callous to care—having seen a piece start similarly a week or so ago. This oh-so-casual set up often a let down when the formal piece begins...
Then, it all really starts--with a throw—or the enlarged gesture of a throw making the body move. It is clear that this is not only a performance but a less than casual call to action. The raised fist is a recurring motif, with the chant of “NOW” used as a call to action.
Then, the shattering of glass---this time digital glass on a stage sized video screen that acts as a backdrop. The video screen is a constant backdrop of archival footage—speeches, images of protests and stories of the political group “The Weather Underground.”
The movement style is ironically very loose and free flowing, as well as also constantly aggressive. Dancers are tossed and thrown between each other in duets and groups. Often , the individual being propelled from the group or while interacting with a partner. There is anger, yet it is balanced with a slow apathy. The dancers dialogue with each other and with the audience, asking moral questions about when it is right to kill, or to participate.
There‘s a diagonal pull across the stage that acts both as a spatial frame for the composition, but also a moral one, between the push and pull of being a conscious member of society and perhaps, an activist. It’s the embodiment of the “vote with your feet” idea.
It’s political activism, told as history. One, unmoving dancer is descended upon by three others who questions what he is, surmising that it is an activist; a monument. They begin to try to reinvigorate him, inspiring movement, as more dancers join the challenge, until there is a visible revitalization of the idea. The piece ends with Dorfman joining in the action to finish the piece. This was the final presentation of a piece made 4 years ago yet perhaps more palpable today as aggression and activism has receded into apathy. As one dancer says, it’s more comfortable, I’m happier this way.
Kingsley Irons piece explores the current struggle we all face during the economic recession. In a “this is now” sound collage at the beginning, we hear clips of news broadcasts and Obama speaking about the meltdown. Her trio of dancers (two women, one man) are dressed in white Ts and blue jeans, and seated huddled back to back on the floor. They rise by pushing against each other, heaviness and support the motif of most of the movement. The gaze of the dancers is intentional, always looking down at the floor, not “off into space” naively, or upward, optimistically. There is a “downward” feeling to the work. As the piece develops, and the soundtrack later switches to dynamic, more raw, Indian-fused rhythms, there is more upbeat that adds an encouraging excitement to the grounded, heaviness of the dancing. Running sequences, and synchronized combinations are dynamic, even as the dancers inner spirit may still be muffled.
Last weekend, I also saw another in-studio, in-progress showing of LACDC’s Kate Hutter’s new collaboration with theatre director David Bridel and the sumptuous Sonos a capella Vocal group for their upcoming Ford presentation of “Gods and Marionettes, ” a piece calling upon the Greek muses to tell a tale thorough movement, text and song. Dancers, actors and singers interact on stage in a contemporary collage inspired by the Greek tragedy, Electra.
I may never want to sit in a theatre seat again after lounging on a couch, sipping wine and chatting during breaks in the rehearsal, even invited to move along with the dancers.
Hutter is a such a good spirit and her dancers such idiosyncratic movers, that with the structure of Greek drama and housed in the beautiful outdoor amphitheatre of the Ford, I expect a mystical night on June 18th. More information and tickets.
Coming Up next Week: UCLA Live presents the regal Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet presenting two different evenings of work featuring the work of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Orbo Novo on Friday May 7th, and the works by Jo Stromgen, Didy Veldman and Crystal Pite on May 8 at 8pm. Cedar Lake was voted one of Dance Magazine’s 2008 Top 25 to Watch, after only taking a few years to become an elite troupe of dancers under Artistic director Benoit-Swan Pouffer, a former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater star, who focuses his 18-member company on new work by today’s most innovative choreographers.
The Luckman has a couple more shows this year: Lula Washington Dance on May 15th and Raiford Rogers on June 19th. You really should try it! It’s only 10 easy minutes from downtown, really affordable and a nice room to watch dance.
--Kelly Hargraves
Photos courtesy of the dance companies
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