Oberon's Grove: Happy 10th Anniversary AMDC!!

Friday March 26, 2010 - Marking their tenth anniversary with a season at Ailey Citigroup, Amy Marshall Dance Company presented a celebratory programme with three world premieres and revivals of three earlier works. The Company dancers were joined by four guests: former AMDC members Laura Halzack & James Samson (both now with Paul Taylor), Amanda Whitworth and Jared Wootan. In addition, six young dancers joined the Company for the evening's finale and made strong individual contributions to the show's success. Above: dancers Alexandra Karigan, Chad Levy and Amy Marshall (photo by Paula Lobo/Lois Greenfield Studio).

The opening ENGLISH SUITE (created in 2005) is danced to a thoroughly delightful score by a nearly-forgotten British composer Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. With the bare-chested men (Chad Levy, Louis Acquisto and Jared Wootan) in sleek tights and the Company's beautiful and well-contrasted women (Alex Karigan, Natasha Czarniewy and Aileen Roehl joined by Amanda Whitworth) in Ms. Roehl's gossamer gold tunics, this work has an air of Springtime about it. The joyous outer movements bookend a slyly elegant Minuet danced by Amanda and Chad, a gorgeous trio for Alexandra, Natasha and Aileen, and a sporty, slap-happy duet for Louis and Jared. ENGLISH SUITE is wonderfully crafted and serves as a perfect 'calling card' for the Company dancers.

Amy, expecting a baby in June, danced the solo A GIFT in which a score by Gabrielle Roth is under-pinned by the sound of a beating heart. Moving calmly about the beautifully-lit stage, Amy's dancing radiated the serenity of an expectant mother. Kokyat photographed Amy rehearsing this work, above.

Aileen Roehl designed all the costumes for the evening's works and her black and deep purple creations for the premiere RIDING THE PURPLE TWILIGHT were especially effective (the girls are wearing them in the above rehearsal photo). The six dancers - Aileen, Alexandra, Natasha, Chad, Louis and Jared Wootan - took to the Kevin Keller score with unabashed energy, the opening movement relentlessly paced. Athleticism and fearless partnering combinations are Amy Marshall signatures when the tempo is fast. Her dancers take all the demands in stride and seem totally unfazed by the most arduous physical demands: the faster the pace the more they seem to thrive. And they all look so good!

After the intermission, the same six dancers appeared in one of Amy Marshall's earliest works, ASKEW. Here the shifting group dynamic sometimes shows antagonisms and private dramas, giving the work an edgy quality. Shifting allegiances come into play and the energy seems coiled, sometimes releasing in bursts of motion.

In a duet from Amy's TWO DUETS AND A QUARTET, the Company welcomed back former members Laura Halzack and James Samson, both presently on Paul Taylor's roster. Last week Kokyat and I had the pleasure of watching Laura and James at close range working on their duet in the studio (photo above). Seeing them in performance was nothing short of spectacular; Aileen Roehl's lovely violet dress set off Laura Halzack's beauty to perfection while James - all in black - is the most assured and protective of partners. The duet shows a couple in a long-enduring relationship dancing in their own sphere; whatever momentary troubles they may have faced, nothing can infringe on their steadfast love. In the end, Laura comes to rest in James's arms. Danced to Bach, this duet is deeply moving and was luminously performed by the two magnificent artists.

Above: Kokyat's rehearsal photo from the grand finale of tonight's performance: GOING FOR THE GOLD, Amy Marshall's high-energy salute to Olympic competition. We've seen this piece in the building process at Amy's Intensive last Summer when a 'cast of thousands' provided one grand splash after another while the romping score Hooked on Classics spurred the dancers onward and upward. Swimming, diving, fencing, hurdles, relay races and other references to Olympic glory abound, and a 'new' section to Viennese waltzes alludes joyously to pairs skating or ballroom competition.

Joining the AMDC home team in this medal quest were Amanda Whitworth, Katherine Schultz, Jared Wootan and five more super 'guest' dancers - Jamison Goodnight, Danielle Betchel, Kelly Bangs, Yon Burke and Michael Wright - who won their onstage spots at Amy's audition day earlier this year. These eight dancers gave the Company members a run for their money; energy levels hit new highs, and as wave after wave of dancers swept across the floor in Busby Berkeley-style patterns it suddenly seemed there were far more than fourteen people on the stage.

During the applause, Sophie, Tonya and I remarked how exhausted we were, and all we had done was watch. But it's the good kind of exhaustion - the kind that results from elation. Talking to the dancers afterward they all seemed fresh as daisies and all of them said they could go right out and do the whole show again. For once the word 'amazing' seemed completely appropriate.

So nice to meet Karla Wolfangle tonight and to see Marlon Cherry again.

Cast of characters: an after-the-opening-night photo with (from left) Yon, Louis, Natasha, Alexandra, Aileen, Kelly, Amy, Chad, Jamison, Dani, Michael, Katie, Jared and Amanda. Click image to enlarge.