Friday October 15, 2010 - Kokyat and I went back to Jennifer Muller's intimate studio today to catch up on her work-in-progress, THE WHITE ROOM. We had been to a rehearsal of this dramatic work in April, and on Labor Day we had the pleasure of having one of Jennifer's dancers, Josiah Guitian, at our photo-shoot. So we'd really been looking forward to seeing everyone again and getting a further look at the development of this piece which to me seems destined to be a highlight of the current dance season; the premiere is set for June 2011. (Top photo: Susanna Bozzetti)
On our first look at THE WHITE ROOM in April, Jennifer's choreographic sketches were already well-developed and the assignment of the various characters in the drama to the individual dancers of her Company were established. Today we saw some additional passages which have been created since April; and in the scenes which we'd seen in the Spring the dancers have taken their characterizations to a more intense level. (Above: Pascal Rekoert and Josiah Guitian)
Two things especially impressed me today: one was in finding a dramatic dance work that is really danced: so many pieces we see today in which a 'libretto' is being followed tend to become stand-about-and-emote experiences in which the dancers have few opportunities of real space-filling movement. Jennifer uses an expansive choreographic vocabulary to tell the story, integrating the danced combinations into the 'text' and enhancing her dancers' strong technical gifts clearly aligned to their roles in the drama. (Above: Abdul Latif, Josiah Guitian and Pascal Rekoert. Click the image to enlarge.)
Secondly, the dancers of Jennifer Muller/THE WORKS were simply thrilling to behold. In a studio setting of a work-in-progress one doesn't really expcect to see this level of involvement and this depth of personal expression but Jennifer's dancers are so assured and committed that they can bring an almost frightening intensity to their roles. I have to say that I was experincing the chills most of the time I was sitting their. I feel you can see this state of the dancers' personal involvement in Kokyat's photographs. (Above: Pascal Rekoert, Elizabeth Disharoon, Josiah Guitian)
Elizabeth Disharoon
Gen Hashimoto
Rosie Lani Fiedelman
Abdul Latif & Rosie Lani Fiedelman
Mariana Cardenas and Gen Hasimoto
Seiko Fugita and Duane Gosa
Jen Peters
All photos by Kokyat. Two galleries of his images from this rehearsal will be found here...and here.
The new work will have a preview:
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Preview Performance at 7:00pm
The Ailey Studios
The Joan Weill Center for Dance
405 West 55th Street, 5th Floor
(at Ninth Avenue)
New York City
Reception Immediately Following
Click Here for Ticketing Form
These pictures are so dramatic. Be sure to post performance information in advance. I want to catch this if I can.
Thanks,
Andy
Posted by: Andrea | October 21, 2010 at 11:14 PM