New Danceworks 1: the creative endeavors of three MFA candidates at ASU

This weekend is the opening of the New Danceworks series at Arizona State University for the 2007-2008 season. These dance concerts display the Master of Fine Arts candidates research in choreographic and performance forms. Each candidate chooses to focus on a particular subject for their thesis, which is ultimately translated into a dance performance. New Danceworks 1 presented the work of graduate students Nicole Manus, Emily Wright, and Christina Harrison.

Nicole Manus, both performed a solo and choreographed a duet. Her solo, “The Road Home,” choreographed by Melissa Rolnick, was mostly gestural and presented no climax. Even though the choreography was somewhat unexciting, Manus’s focus and intent behind the movement made the piece interesting. She was capable of completely engaging the audience with her intricate muscle usage and her incredible control. Not once did she wobble when presented with weight shifts or dynamic changes.

Manus’s choreographic creation “The Musical Joke: a table duet,” was an inspired by Mozart’s inversion and retrograde cannon compositions, known as table duets. Throughout the piece the dancers performed fun, quirky movement in which they begin to retrograde at the middle of the piece, following the form of a Mozart table duet composition. The musician’s were live, giving the piece extra authenticity to the topic. Manus also used tables as props for the dancers to dance on, which exemplified the idea of a table duet not only though movement with the dancers or the Der Spiegel composition the musician’s were playing, but visually for the audience also.

Emily Wright performed a solo as well as choreographing a group piece. “Sonata,” choreographed by Karen Schupp for Wright explored the mixture of Baroque music and modern dance. The choreography was elegant and graceful. Each movement flowed seamlessly, the transitions were well crafted. Even though the music and dance styles come from very different era’s, the two complemented each other very well in this choreographic instance. Although the choreography was successful, Wright seemed to shorten her kinesphere. Her lack of conviction with the momentum the piece provided made her look extremely small on a large stage.

Wright’s group piece, “Not Yet,” was a powerful portrayal of how movement of the body is capable of presenting religious messages. She used video as well as live dancers to show how the body successfully conveys meaning. The well edited videos focused on specific parts of the body, a view the audience would not have otherwise be able to grasp. The first section of the piece choreographically, was extremely powerful. The choreography was simple, yet captivating, and the performers exuded an infectious energy. Unfortunately the second section of the piece was not nearly as strong, leaving the audience wanting more from lack of closure or force that the first section did provide.

Christina Harrison, choreographed two pieces influenced by the work of Henri Matisse. The first piece “Ode to the Blue Nudes” was inspired by Matisse’s painting Blue Nudes. The dancers wore simple blue costumes which complimented the interesting design of the white fabric that was hanging as well as on the floor. The piece itself was soft and cool, yet dynamic and athletic at the same time. Harrison demonstrated a unique sense of architecture, creating visually stunning shapes with the body. Her dancers (which includes herself and two others) were completely aware of each other’s energy and space at all times, making each shape and picture Harrison choreographed clear.

“The Defining Line,” literally took my breath away. This time, Harrison was inspired by Matisse’s The Green Line. Her soloist Jean Kelley, phenomenally captured the audience with her piercing presence incredible movement ability. Her, as well as the other four dancers, relationship to the painter was significant and clear. Every single person on that stage knew who their character was, the importance of the movement to the character, and immersed themselves whole heartedly into the piece. Watching “The Defining Line” was having the privilege of witnessing beauty unfold before the eyes.

ASU’s post-graduate dance program is one of the top in the nation, and after watching New Dance Works 1, it is clear as to why the program is ranked so highly. The candidates in this show presented thoughtful work. I am looking forward to witnessing New Danceworks 2 on December 4^th.

Arizona Dance Festival: Representing the Best in Arizona Dance?

Don’t get me wrong here. I know Arizona is full of intelligent and talented dancers. Unfortunately, this past weekend on September 14^th and 15^th, the audience at the Arizona Dance Festival, presented at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, did not get a healthy dose of Arizona’s incredible dance capabilities. Instead, viewers experienced thirteen different company’s/solo artists that presented a very mediocre representation of what dance is in Arizona, with the exception of a few that delivered a phenomenal dance package.
Each night was a different program, allowing more dance artists to present their work, which is an excellent idea in theory. After watching the work presented, it is clear this show could have been the same program two nights in a row, and then this review would have contained an entirely different vocabulary.
CONDER/dance, founded by Carley Conder in 2003, is an excellent example of intelligent and talented dancers in Arizona. Performing “The Weight of Light,” choreographed by ASU dance professor Mary Fitzgerald in collaboration with Natalia Jaeger for video imagery, these dancers demonstrated their more than adequate ability to portray challenging movement and topics flawlessly. This highly physical piece never lost the energy it deserved. All eight dancers (including Conder herself) infected the audience with a strong presence and conviction for the piece.
Other strong work between the two nights included Karen Schupp’s intense solo “Response,” Eva Fleming’s highly entertaining “Rags Ava,” The Visionary Dance Company’s beautiful “Transending Reality,” and the seamless partnering in Cultivating Flight’s “Mars 4.2.” Each of these pieces provided a consistently solid performance presence, as well as interesting or entertaining choreography that captivated the viewers.
While there were five impressive pieces presented in the festival, the other work lacked the caliber of professionalism shown in aforementioned five pieces. Desert Dance Theatre, a company founded in the valley in 1979, performed two pieces, both a disappointment, but for two very different reasons. The dancers in “Last Supper at Sad Café” demonstrated the ability to successfully embody the character of psycho-killer waitresses, but unfortunately the choreography was bland for a comedic piece. On the other hand “The Butterfly Effect” was a highly intricate and physical piece that demanded an immense amount of energy. Regrettably, the dancers were incapable of producing the adequate amount of energy the movement and music called for.
Movement Source Dance Company, SHOK, A-WOL Dance Collective, and Dulce Dance Company all gave mediocre performances as well. Movement Source was over-powered by the live musical talent of Kristopher Hill, who impressively plays multiple instruments at once. Due to his exciting musical performance and the company’s lack of energy or interesting choreography, it was difficult to watch the dancers as opposed to the musician. SHOK, a hip hop group, had trouble maintaining their unison, a couple dancers did not know the choreography, and the dance ended very abruptly. The aerial work in A-WOL Dance Collective’s piece was impressive, but there was no connection between the dancers, music, and choreography. Dulce Dance Company showed Lilian Gomez and George Johnson are very dedicated performers, but the dance itself was over the top and cheesy for a dramatic topic.
Overall, the Arizona Dance Festival revealed there is potential to put together a remarkable program, but this collection of dances for the 2007 show just missed the mark of displaying amazing rather than mundane dance in Arizona.