New York City Ballet / photo © Paul Kolnik
REVIEW: Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, Program 5
The last curtain of the 2011 Fall For Dance Festival opened on four live musicians and a three platform stage suggesting only one thing: tap. Leading Zoe Ellliot and Kyle Wilder in an upbeat, non-stop sound fest, Maurice Chestnut showcases his exuberance for the form. Immediately it is evident that Chestnut’s tapping is not meant to be secondary, but rather fully integrated into the band as another musician. It is so successful in this instance that I wonder why every band is not considering hiring a tapper to stand beside the drummer. The mood of “Floating” is very much like a casual jam session amongst good friends…
Royal Ballet Flanders, "The Return of Ulysses" / Choreographer: Christian Spuck / Photo: © Johan Persson
REVIEW: Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, Program 4
International perspective keeps us healthy. Last night, in Program 4 of Fall For Dance at New York City Center, all four companies travelled from abroad to perform. The color, energy, and philosophies they brought along with them imbued the Festival with a new flair. If you wanted something different, this was the night to come.
Chunky Move in "Connected" / Photo © Jeff Busby
REVIEW: Chunky Move at The Joyce Theater
Chunky Move’s “Connected,” which opened this evening at the Joyce Theater, is technically about five security guards and a stolen work of art.
But wait, it takes a second to get there.
What we see when we enter the Joyce house is an industrial and yet finely structured sculpture by kinetic sculpture artist Reuben Margolin. Margolin’s creation fills the stage. Its foundation is a wheel, mounted to a metal base, connected to hundreds of fine translucent strings that are threaded through a grid near to the ceiling and finally cascade making a perfect square of lines in the upstage right corner. It is immediately intriguing, even without Chunky’s movers.
The Australian Ballet, "Gemini" / Choreographer: Glen Tetley / Photo: Lynette Wills & Robert Curran, ©Branco Gaica
REVIEW: Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center: Program 3
When the Australian Ballet first took the stage in banana yellow unitards, I was thrown off by the choice. However, when Gemini is put in the context of 1973, the year Glen Tetley first created it for the company, it starts to make a whole lot more sense. The piece is a mix of classical and contemporary ballet movement, set to the highly dramatic Symphony No.3 from Hans Werner Henze. There is no question of the athleticism of the two men and two women on stage. They move with force and confidence, flaunting stamina and flexibility. The choreography hovers between intimately human at times and distant and inanimate in the next second. There are many disconnected thoughts; I feel as if in a conversation full of non sequiters.