~ Author: Oberon
Friday August 17th, 2018 - Roberto Villanueva's BalaSole Dance Company returned to the Ailey Citigroup Theatre tonight with a program aptly entitled MEZCLA ('Mixture'); for surely this was as vibrant a mix of dancers and dance styles as one is likely to encounter in a single evening. A special treat tonight was a guest appearance by Nicole Corea, an iconic Lar Lubovitch dancer who also performs at The Metropolitan Opera.
As is the custom at BalaSole evenings, the program began with an ensemble work: CHAPTER #18, danced to Franz Schubert's Serenade in a house-music setting, is a collaborative work created by the dancers and staged by Teal Darkenwald. The evening's soloists were joined here by four Emerging/Re-Emerging Artists: Alex Bar, Alyssa Bar, Chantelle Broomes, and Liza Marie Levy.
Ashley Rossi then led off the series of solo works with TRAJECTORY, to music by Son Lux which begins in a sprightly mood. The dance becomes energized, but twice the dancer pauses for sustained balances which gave the piece a unique look, and setting the program off to a strong start.
Benji Martin Jr. offered ILLUMINAR, with music by Erykah Badu and Relax Fold from the Planet Studio. First seen in a pool of light, the bare-chested dancer moves to the deep, eerie music (including a rather ominous gong) in a dance than combines ritual with hints of sensuality. Mr. Martin shapes his moves with fluent beauty, and with expressive hands, until the music winds down.
Laura Assante's DEARING STREET, a summertime work, had a quality of naive charm. To a brief tune sung a capella, the dancer draws us into her private world before bursting into dance to Bach music for cello. She seems alternately coy and knowing, and ends her solo by rolling offstage. In an evening when darkish danceworks prevailed, this sunlit work - and Ms. Assante's lemon-chiffon frock - offered contrast.
Noëlle Davé performed TIME, set to music by Christopher Short. The solo opens to the sound of deep strings, with the dancer prone on the floor. She then awakens her body slowly: hand, arm, extended leg. Awkward steps backward echo a fractured feeling in the music. Ms. Davé sustains a long développé; the music then becomes more animated, but the movement quality exudes stillness, watchfulness. The dancer ends with arms outstretched. Devorah Kengmana's lighting - so effective all evening - was especially atmospheric here.
Misaki Hayama appears for TOURYANSE in a gorgeous midnight-blue kimono. The dancer has devised her own music, which blends vocals with the insistent chiming of a prayer bell. Moving at first in stylized patterns, Ms. Hayama slowly reveals the white tights and halter top under her kimono. Following a beautiful arabesque, the dance quickens with backing away and swift turns. In the end, she has shed her kimono, kneeling in a state of vulnerability. This perfectly executed work was a highlight of the program.
With his black-clad fellow dancers circling him, Donterreo Culp commences STILL in an agitated state. Pensive, chordal music from Silver Mt Zion sounds as the circling dancers begin to tighten their pattern, encroaching on Mr. Culp's space. The music becomes intense - yet poignant - as the dancer finds himself with no means of escape. Excellent!
Kayla Affrunti EDGES, beautifully lit, opens with the dancer kneeling, facing upstage. Her arms and hands begin to 'speak' to us, and soon she is moving vibrantly about the space, making every move count. Her music, by Forest Swords, veered from dense rumblings to an insistent, rising tempo, then to a piano solo, and deep, throbbing motifs. The dancing was intense, musical, and passionate, winning Ms. Affrunti one of the evening's biggest bursts of applause.
...and the award for "Best Musical Setting" tonight goes to Lauren Settembrino, who used tunes by R&B titans Booker T and the M.G.s with irresistible rhythms that set her to dancing up a storm. The solo, entitled B-Y, was performed with total, devil-may-care assurance by Ms. Settembrino, a natural mover whose energy and space-covering combinations suited the music to perfection. After a walkabout, there's an upbeat segment and then the dancer gets a bit pugilistic, jabbing the air and finishing in silence. Ms. Settembrino is what we used to refer to in my day as "a looker".
By sharp contrast, Mikael Jaworski's solo WHENEVER YOU WANT provided a devastating vision of an urban youth ensnared in toxic behavior. The tempestuous thunder of a passing subway train sets the scene as the dancer, his boyish physique accentuating his vulnerability, struggles into the light. To a deep beat, he examines his arms for tracks and anxiously checks his heart rate. The voice of the train conductor is his only connection to reality. Trembling uncontrollably, he momentarily calms himself in a deep backbend. But he's jolted back to his unreality. Mr. Jaworski runs frantically in place before collapsing as his vital signs flatline. A timely and powerful work, reminding me of the boys I see every day lining up at the dealer's place a half-block from me.
Dancer Aurora Hastings looks like she could be the sister of Martha Graham icon PeiJu Chien-Pott (and I cannot pay a higher compliment!); to music by French 79, Ms. Hastings danced TILTED. Rhythmic agitation alternates with a deep pulse as the dancer, clad in black tights and a black halter-top, applies spacious combinations with an athletic feel...yet always deeply feminine. Ms. Hastings casts a sexy glance at us as she makes her exit.
Nicole Corea's solo, SUSPENDED IN THE SHADOWS, set to music by Geoffrey Castle, creates its own atmosphere right from the start. To the sound of a deep, passionate cello, Ms. Corea moves along a diagonal, her expressive hands creating visual poetry whilst pauses in the movement capture the fineness of her line. Every move and gesture is compelling, resonating thru the music. The dancer seems worn down by the weight of the world, but rises again as the music lifts her. With her innate spatial awareness, Nicole's dancing is always so engrossing to behold. As the solo moves towards its end, her gestures imply supplication, or possible surrender. But in her final pose, Ms. Corea's lifts her hand heavenward.
All the dancers then returned, bringing the program full-circle as they picked up the opening number, CHAPTER 18, right from where they'd left off. Near the end, Nicole Corea joined the ensemble. Roberto told me that Nicole had learned this passage in a few minutes of rehearsing earlier in the day; she danced it like she owned it.
Note: Photos from this evening here.
~ Oberon