Sunday September 18, 2011 - MoralesDance presented Introspection at the Jewish Community Center this afternoon. Works by Tony Morales, David Fernandez and Thomas/Ortiz Dance were on the programme, and I must say it was one of the most purely enjoyable afternoons of dance I've experienced in recent seasons. Several elements combined to make the performance a hit but the main aspect of the presentation that made it so impressive was the choice of music: Bach, Chopin, Couperin, Beethoven, Ravel, Messien, Martinu, Scriabin and Scarlatti - great composers whose works clearly inspired both the choreographers and the dancers.
In this well-lit and finely-costumed production the pacing was ideal: no intermission and only the briefest pauses between numbers. Thus the afternoon started on a high note and soared from there on the combined impetus of music and movement. A classy and thoroughly satisfying ensemble of dancers gave the afternoon a vibrant feeling, and in this intimate setting their dancing became highly personal in terms of both poetry and intensity. There simply wasn't a weak moment in the 75-minute performance. In Kokyat's photo at the top, dancers Jaqlin Medlock and Karina Lesko in Tony Morales' Pleased 2 Meet U.
The afternoon commenced with Circumstances, in which Jaqi Medlock dances first with Bradley Shelver (above)...
...and then with Frank DellaPolla. Using music of Bach and Chopin, the two duets show contrasting relationships: tenderness in the first and manipulation in the second. Things come to a head in the third section where the three dance together to Couperin. Jaqi, a distinctive dancer in white, has a nice feeling of vulnerability as she moves between the two men.
Chorographer David Fernandez premiered his witty and wonderful Three Beethoven Sonatas which begins with a trio of tail-coated dancers: Dorrie Garland (above)...
...Kimberly Giannelli...
...and Roberto Lara. Dancing in a fast-paced and genuinely amusing pas de trois, the three mimic the gestures of a pianist attacking the keyboard. Each dancer gets a solo passage as they fly breezily about the stage.
Following a more meditative solo for Kristen Drauker, the finale builds on an allegro vivace movement with Kimberly, Roberto, Kristen and Dorrie all dancing full-tilt (above). This spirited and exciting piece - and in fact the entire performance - had the added benefit of excellent lighting by Mike Riggs.
The Tony Morales pas de deux Transitions provided a sensuous and poetic high point of the perfectly mapped-out afternoon. Karina Lesko and Bradley Shelver (above) were seamlessly expressive in their partnering and each danced their solo passages with intense grace. Set to movements from Ravel's Sheherazade, this pas de deux showed the choreographer's gift for drawing the viewer into the music.
Brad Shelver & Karina Lesko in Transitions.
Thomas/Ortiz Dance (guest choreographers Ted Thomas and Frances Ortiz) presented the premiere of Leverage, an imaginative and visually intriguing work in which mirrored panels created a series of optical illusions as dancers vanished and reappeared, sometimes dancing with their own reflections. The dancers here were Alexandra Gonzales, Virginia Horne, Mark Taylor and Justin Flores. Set to attractive music by David Darling, the dancing in Leverage was top-notch.
Virginia Horne and Mark Taylor in Thomas/Ortiz' Leverage.
Tony Morales created Life After Life in 1999 as a memorial for two of his friends. Leni Wylliams and Susan Schaffer. This work is a three-part solo set to nightmarish music by Olivier Messiaen; it was danced today by Jessica Murray (above) in a performance radiant with musicality and commitment.
By this point in the programme I was thoroughly impressed by what I was seeing...and hearing. The shifts of mood as one piece moved on to the next - and the images that each work evoked - somehow never seemed to clash. Nothing could been more different in tone from Life After Life than the work that followed it: Please 2 Meet U. Yet the flow seemed natural and convincing.
Works by Martinu for cello and piano sent Karina Lesko and Jaqi Medlock (above) on a whimisical journey as they danced, first almost as automatons and later more expansively, in the three-part Pleased 2 Meet U. The music for the second movement had an Americana feeling; the two girls swept thru the athletic demands of the work with technical poise and boundless energy. One of the best things about Tony Morales' choreography is that it shows real wit yet never veers to cuteness.
In a stunnning tour de force, Antonio Douthit of the Alvin Ailey Company danced the solo Ablution set by Tony Morales to the Bach violin sonata in G minor. Purity of movement and expression marked Antonio's fascinating performance, his strength and beauty as a dancer evoking the ancient purefication rituals. This solo was danced before a glowing projection with symbols of three of the world's major religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. If only the union of these three beliefs could be achieved, the world would be a far better place.
Three duets comprised the concluding work, Piano Pieces. In the first, Jaqi Medlock and Karina Lesko (above) waltzed impetuously to Wim Statius Muller's Christa Waltz from the Antillien Dances.
There followed a moody Scriabin duet, danced on pointe by Lenore Pavlakos Morales partnered by Frank DellaPolla.
Tall and serene, Ana Luisa Luizi and Junio Texeira brought the performance to a close in a superb pas de deux that combined classic balletic images with tango motifs; set to Scarlatti, this duet showed that fusion styles can be their most appealing when rooted in great music.
It took some re-arranging of my schedule to be able to attend this performance today, but I'm really glad that I went. Since I am always urging choreographers to look to the classics (including contemporary classics) for their music, it was great to find a programme built on that ideal. Of course in the end the music and choreography can only succeed when the dancers give generously of themselves. That was the case today in this truly impressive performance.
A gallery of more of Kokyat's images from the afternoon appears here.