I see a lot of dance, and a lot of dancers. Every once in a while a dancer will capture not just my eye, buy my imagination. One of these is a young ballerina named Bethany Lange.
The first time I saw Bethany was in Emery LeCrone's class at Peridance in October 2011. In a studio full of really interesting young dancers, she stood out for her beauty of technique and for her obvious love of and commitment to dancing. After the class I asked Emery who she was and Emery told me her name and that she would be dancing a solo created on her by Emery for the Fordham Seniors dance programme in February 2012.
In January 2012, Bethany danced with Kate Thomas's BALLET NEO in an APAP presentation; she looked so lovely to me, and I felt that I wanted to see her dance again and again. Nowadays it is fairly easy to connect with people via Facebook and so I was able to find her there.
Meanwhile, Emery remembered my interest in Bethany and very thoughtfully invited me to watch a rehearsal of the solo she has created for the young dancer. I went to the studio on the appointed day and found Bethany beautifully costumed in an Autumn-hued long tutu that ideally set off her colouring, eyes and hair. Within moments she was floating around the space to a lyrical keyboard improvisation by pianist Gabriela Montero. The solo is entitled 'Continuance'.
It seems that the presence of Bethany and Emery inspired my Leica to do its best; I finally have some dance photos that I'm really happy with.
The Fordham/Ailey performances are on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, February 15th and 16th at 7:30 PM at the Ailey Citigroup theater.
