Above: dancers Caroline Sheehan, Alyssa Bar, Leigh Schanfein, and Mckenzie Mullan in the opening ensemble piece, Chapter #19, at this evening's performance by BalaSole Dance Company. Photo by Nir Arieli.
Author: Oberon
Friday August 16th, 2019 - Roberto Villanueva's BalaSole Dance Company celebrated their 19th New York production this evening at Ailey Citigroup Theater. Ever true to his mission to provide a setting for artists to present solo dance works across a panorama of styles, performed by dancers who embody the rich diversity of the dance world, Roberto brought together guest artist Stephanie Rae Williams of the celebrated Dance Theatre of Harlem and a group of solo dancers selected thru an audition process.
"Gamme" means range in French, and the evening offered a range of dances and dancers that is emblematic of BalaSole's artistic commitment.
Above: dancers Alex Bar, Yu Fujiwara, Caroline Sheehan, and Jonalyn Bradshaw in the opening ensemble piece, Chapter #19, at the evening's performance. Photo by Nir Arieli.
The program opened and closed with ensemble works staged by Teal Darkenwald. Created in a very brief time frame, these dances give a feeling of Company to the participating dancers. Emerging artist Sarah Olsen took part in these works, including a featured duet passage in the finale.
The parade of soloists then commenced. Photographer Nir Arieli has produced photos from each work on the program:
Kat Bark (above) opened the series of solos with a very personal dancework, Not Good at Goodbyes. To music by Ólafur Arnalds, this solo was pensive and grounded, eventually becoming more expansive. Every moment of the dance expressed the woman's feelings of uncertainty, and Ms. Bark's dancing showed assured musicality (and beautiful use of hands) in her search for answers to the questions we all want to ask when relationships go awry.
Above: Kat Bark
Alex Bar (above) made a touching impression as a young veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and trying to come to grips with living his life after his tour of duty in a war zone. He cannot help but relive his memories, and they are his undoing. A fragmented musical track from Samuel Barber's poignant Adagio for Strings provided a promise of the peace that eludes the boy. Jittering from unrelieved shellshock, Alex staggers nervously about as memories of battle play in his mind. In his final collapse, his connection to reality is severed. At a point in time when our president has made fun of a decorated veteran who served his country with honor, and has also diverted money from a veterans' pension fund to build a wall, Mr. Bar's solo, Remembrance, is disturbingly timely.
Above: Alex Bar
Nina Simone's achingly beautiful rendering of You'll Never Walk Alone provides the framework for Jonalyn Bradshaw (above) in her solo Beyond the Thick of It. Rising from the floor, the dancer's richly emotional performance showcased her gorgeous movement style, which seemed to bloom from within. Moving from thoughtfulness to thankfulness, Ms. Bradshaw dips at the end of her dance into a gorgeous back-bend, then walks away with the serene expression of a soul at peace. Captivating.
Above: Jonalyn Bradshaw
I loved seeing Leigh Schanfein (above) again; it's been a while since I watched this tall dancer performing with Brian Carey Chung's DanceLab. For her solo tonight, entitled The Underlying Hum, Leigh turned to the music of J S Bach. She seemed to be portraying a ballerina beset with by injury or insecurity: something of a broken Black Swan. Between passages of upright classicism...
...the dancer's body would momentarily betray her, and her poise threatened to crumble (above). Successfully recovering her strength, she danced on in this distinctive - and unsettling - solo.
Above: Leigh Schanfein
Caroline Sheehan (above), dancing to vocal music of Bon Iver, gave a lovely performance in Worried Among Roses. An uncertain young woman alternates between adagio movement and bursts of animation, and the music - harmonizing - seems to find its echo in her dancing.
A lyrical arabesque is the crowning touch to Ms. Sheehan's Worried Among Roses (above).
Above: Caroline Sheehan
Ezra Goh (above), lithe of form and striking of visage, was a poet of movement in his solo Space, performed to music by Kangding Ray. In a pool of light, Mr. Goh's body is an expressive vessel, the fluidity of movement fascinating in its sense of compelling grace. As the music looms large, pounding away, the dancer becomes one with the sound. Later, elements of breakdance are cunningly evoked, and the solo seems destined for an ecstatic ending when the dancer suddenly pounds his chest and collapses. Truly a thrilling performance.
Above: Ezra Goh
Above: the end of Ezra Goh's Space
Following an unnecessary intermission, Mckenzie Mullan (above) found her solo Version 2 somewhat compromised by audience distractions as some people had not really settled in when the lights came up on the white-clad dancer. Not to be deterred, Ms. Mullan danced to a hesitant song Hayden Cainin and maintained her composure; in fact, she seemed wonderfully self-assured.
As her solo progressed, Ms. Mullan's hair became a part of the choreography (above). Version 2 seemed highly personal, and the vocal harmonics to the song were effective. The dancing becomes animated before ending in stillness.
Above: Mckenzie Mullan
Yu Fujiwara (above) took the evening's prize for outstanding choice of music: Franz Liszt's marvelous Liebesträume set the stage for her hypnotic performance of her solo of the same title. A beauty, Ms. Fujuwara let the music carry her on its wings thru a lush and very musical choreographic journey. We do not often see women executing barrel turns, but this dancer made them look perfectly right. Later there's a moment of repose before she rises to swirl towards an inevitable finish...but then, suddenly, the dancer waxes poetic and leaves us wishing Liebesträume was longer.
Above: Yu Fujiwara
Tyreel Simpson (above) enters to stuttering music for his gender-bending solo, Beneath the Instinct. With his white-blonde shock of hair, midriff outfit, and chunky heels, the dancer seizes control of the stage, the hall, and - seemingly - all of Gotham with his resplendent, free-flowing moves and his unbounded charisma. After fanning the flames, and then continuing in silhouette against a blood-red backdrop, Mr. Simpson's ended his solo to an avalanche of applause.
Above: Tyreel Simpson
Above: Tyreel in silhouette
Alyssa Bar (above), in her solo Rescue (to music from the Mozart Requiem), was a perfect contrast to the preceding work. Commencing with a lamenting quality, the dance becomes more spacious. Pausing to look about, the dancer then responds to the music with a floor-based solo that conveys a sense of urgent seeking. She rises, only to fall.
Above: Alyssa Bar
Following a layoff due to injury, Roberto Villanueva (above) took his accustomed place tonight in the line-up of soloists. His solo, Shed, danced to music of Yungchen Lhamo, had an improvisational quality.
With the dancer at first seen in silhouette (above), and seemingly shrouded, the dance evolves in a circle of light with Roberto executing sinuous and entrancing port be bras, his hands mesmerizing.
Shed climaxes with one of Roberto's luxuriant arabesques (above).
Above: Roberto Villanueva
A guest artist, Dance Theatre of Harlem's scintillating Stephanie Rae Williams (above) brought down the house with her solo, Verdant, to music by Six Toys. Brilliantly costumed as a Folies Bergère showgirl, right down to the garter belt, Ms. Williams dazzled with her effortless pointe work and provocative stage presence. The dancer's come-hither glances and enticing smiles lit up the stage...
...and when she curled up on the floor (above), she was simply delectable.
Ms. Williams can shake and shimmy with the best of them, and she can also boogie-woogie on pointe. Her solo was a delicious treat, and the audience wend wild for her when it ended.
Above: Stephanie Rae Williams
Nearing the end of the closing ensemble work, Ms. Williams reappeared for a bit of an encore. During the curtain calls, she stepped forward for a solo bow, and the audience went crazy.
All photography by Nir Arieli.
~ Oberon