Above: dancers Kim D'Agnese and Beth Disharoon of the Isadora Duncan Dance Company.
Friday August 15th, 2014 - This morning I went down to the Gibney Dance Center at 890 Broadway where Lori Belilove and her dancers from the Isadora Duncan Dance Company were rehearsing for their upcoming peformances.
The Company will perform at the Downtown Dance Festival at Wagner Park in Battery Park City on Monday August 18th at 6:00 PM. On Saturday August 23rd at 7:30 PM the Company return for the fifth time to dance at the Untermeyer estate in Yonkers; and on Wednesday September 17th at 6:30 PM the Gibney Dance Center's series Sorry I Missed Your Show will host an Isadora Duncan evening, celebrating a revival of the iconic choreographer's Dance of the Priestesses (performed both live and on a vintage film).
I had a really enjoyable time at the rehearsal today. I got there at the agreed time but Lori was running late. The girls were very gracious, letting me eavesdrop on their warm-up. Three dancers I had met previously are part of Lori's troupe: Beth Disharoon (who I used to see often dancing for Jennifer Muller), Faith Kimberling (remembered from C Eule Dance), and Emily D'Angelo who is also currently working with (Annmaria) Mazzini Dance Collective. The girls had all donned gauzy tunics of various hues:
They ran thru Lori's dancework Soiree de Vienne (set to Liszt) and then Southern Roses, a Duncan ensemble work set to an infectious Strauss waltz. Lori arrived and we greeted one another - I'd never met her before - and the rehearsal swept forward. At noon there was a move to another light-filled studio; the space here was far more limited, but the girls took everything in stride, making spatial adjustments and dancing with an airy sense of freedom. Here Lori ran thru several of the pieces to be shown at their upcoming performances; the light was nice and I took some photos:
Morgana Rose Mellett, Emily D'Angelo
Natalie Perrotta-White
Beth Disharoon
Kim D'Agnese
Ava Untermyer
Nicole Poulos
Melissa Miller, Emily D'Angelo, Kim D'Agnese
Faith Kimberling
Emily D'Angelo, Morgana Rose Mellett
Morgana Rose Mellett
Faith Kimberling
One of the things I love most about Isadora's danceworks is their brevity. She says what she has to say in a way that is both economical and meaningful. Whether it's the joyous lyrical solos, the ensemble works created for her various schools and performing groups, or the haunting ritualistic pieces which grew from her sorrow following the death of her children, Isadora's choice of music and the surety with which she makes use of it always hits its mark.
Now I'm looking forward to the revival of Duncan's Dance of the Priestesses, and hoping to watch a rehearsal of it prior to the September 17th showing.
Comments