Saturday August 20, 2011 - Kokyat and I dropped in at City Center studios this afternoon where TAKE Dance were wrapping up their 2011 Summer Intensive with a showcase performance for friends and fans of the Company. Above: student ensemble in Jill Echo's latest creation, photo by Kokyat.
Above: Kaitlin Accetta, one of thirty-three young dancers who participated in the Intensive program; all of them performed at the showcase today. Three groups of eleven dancers each danced the fast-paced and demanding Breaking News segment from Take's recent evening-length work SALARYMAN. The Company's assistant director Jill Echo and dancer Kile Hotchkiss each presented excerpts from works-in-progress.
The dancers kept up with the extraordinary demands of Breaking News, each cast winning strong applause for their energy and commitment. Jill and Kile divided the students (Lynda Senisi of the Company stepping into Jill's piece to even things out) for the works they were creating.
Music from The Glitch Mob sets the scene for the Kile Hotchkiss piece (above) which explores the state of lucid dreaming. I've been reading about this phenomenon since seeing Ja' Malik's work on the same subject. Interestingly, lucid dreams can often follow periods of intense physical activity which is perhaps why dancers are fascinated with the concept.
Jill Echo's work, which opens with a slow 'awakening' motif (above), is set to music by Damian Eckstein. It's good to see both Jill and Kile working with large groups, developing structural patterns and responding clearly to the music. I hope they will each continue to develop the works shown today.
More of Kokyat's images from today's presentation:
Angel Rodriguez, Alison Kimmel
Breaking News ensemble
Breaking News
Yuki Fukui (center) in Breaking News
Emily McDaniel
Brynt Beitman, Emily McDaniel
Emily & Brynt
Tyler DuBoys
All together at the end of the presentation
So nice to see the TAKE Dancers again: Jill, Kile, Kristin Arnold, Gina Ianni, Nana Tsuda Misko and Milan Misko, John Eirich, Lynda Senisi and of course The Man himself: Take - who stayed behind the video camera the whole time.
Upcoming on TAKE Dance's New York City calendar is a second collaboration with PULSE, with performances at the Cunningham Studio December 15th thru 17th. More details will be forthcoming,
