[NEohioPAL]Berko: Groundworks Dancetheatre (Cain Park)

[Roy Berko]

GROUNDWORKS continues to captivate in Cain Park
performance

Roy Berko
(Member, Dance Critics Association)

Cool Cleveland.com	


I took a friend, who had never seen Groundworks
Dancetheatre to the company’s recent Cain Park
concert.  His reaction?  “Wow, that was really
something special!”

Yes, as has come to be expected from Groundworks, the
choreography and dancing were something special!

The program opened with “U me U,’ choreographed by
company member Amy Miller.  Danced to music composed
by and performed live by James Marron, there was
perfect synchrony between the dancers and the
guitarist.  Miller’s creative choreography, a series
of movements featuring interlocking bodies and flowing
heads and arms, was enhanced by Dennis Dugan’s
lighting, which created flowing shadows on the
intimate Alma Theater’s back wall.  Petite Felise
Bagley and very tall Mark Otloski danced with
disciplined control to create a sometimes sensual,
sometimes joyous duet.  This was a wonderful start to
the program.

‘PROXIMAL,’ choreographed by KT Niehoff, was a crowd
pleaser.  The piece started out with a pounding sound
coming from behind a steel garage door at the rear of
the stage.  One hand appeared underneath the door,
then three more hands appeared as Amy Miller and
Damien Highfield pried open the portal and crawled
underneath to freedom.  Giving each other verbal
instructions regarding what moves they were going to
perform, the duo, moving to no music, showed amazing
athletic strength and abilities to manipulate each
other’s bodies through lifts, drops and pushes.  Their
crawling back under the door at the conclusion of the
piece was met with enthusiastic applause by the near
sold-out house.

“JUXTA,’ Amy Miller’s choreographed offering
introduced the audience to Sarah Perrett, the
company’s newest member.  Perrett fits well into
Artistic Director David Shimotakahara’s dance
philosophy.  She displayed controlled movements,
blending into the physical action and reaction of the
choreography.  She is an excellent addition to the
Groundworks family.  ‘JUXTA,’ which featured same and
mixed sex couples working as a group, was danced to
selections from Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint.”
 As exemplified by Miller herself, the choreography
was gymnastic, controlled, and well defined.  It fit
the tone and intent of the music.   

The evening concluded with the creative ‘KABILA’
(Tribe), based on “African Voices Song of Life.” 
Shimotakahara used numerous African dance forms to
create an audience pleasing number.  It featured
wonderful costumes by Janet Bolick and fabric artist
Esther Montgomery, inspired by the Dark Continent.  
The many moods and illusions of Africa were showcased
in the dancing of Bagley, Miller, Perrett, Highfield
and Otloski.

Capsule judgement:  Groundworks Dancetheatre has to be
listed as a Cleveland artistic treasure.  It’s ninth
consecutive performance at Cain Park, was, once again,
a showcase of what well-conceived and executed
audience-pleasing dance is all about!  BRAVO!	

You can see the company for free on August 3 & 4 at
8:45 at the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival at
Cascade Plaza in Downtown Akron, and  at Lincoln Park
in Tremont on August 10 & 11 at 8:30.  For more
information visit www.notsoobvious.com.


Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


       
____________________________________________________________________________________
Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. 
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/