[NEohioPAL] Berko review: GROUNDWORKS sparkles; preview of 'FAMILY AND FRIENDS' and more dance

[Roy Berko]

GROUNDWORKS sparkles at Danceworks Festival; 
 previewed:  “FAMILY AND FRIENDS,’ and some more dance
concerts

Roy Berko

(Member, Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

--coocleveland.com—


Groundworks Dance Theater, which is presently
performing as part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s
Danceworks Festival, is David Shimotakahara’s
sparkling modern dance company.  It is about to enter
its tenth year of existence.  It looks like it will be
a year of excitement and possible change for the
company.  

Next spring they will be performing in New York,
allowing the Big Apple folk to find out what North
Coasters have known for a long time
.this is a very
special and talented company with a talented and
special Artistic Director.   

There are questions, however.  Company member Mark
Otloski, who is presently injured, will fade
permanently from the dance floor and spend full time
on the company’s outreach program.  That leaves only
Shimotakahara and Damien Highfield as the ensemble’s
male dancers.  As good as they both are, they are of
the age when it starts to get difficult to continue
the hectic and physical pace required by modern dance.
 For example, both of them performed in three pieces
in the present program.  That would be a challenge for
twenty year-olds.

So, the question must be raised, “Wither goest thou
Groundworks?”  New company members?  Cutting down on
the length and number of productions?  A change in
company philosophy?   Only the next year will tell.

Their present program consisted of four highly
entertaining pieces.  ‘FOR THE LIFE OF ME,’ a world
premiere choreographed by Artistic Associate Amy
Miller, combined six pieces of music which had no
apparent theme and used a blend of contemporary bumps,
lifts, flowing arms, and fast moves to create a
cheerful collage.  Maybe with a view of
self-revelation, the choreographer used Amy
Borkowsky’s comedy routine parody, “Where’s Amila?,”
based on her mother’s over-possessiveness, as the
highlight segment. 

‘SWEET,’ a Cleveland premiere choreographed by
Shimotakahara, used Gospel music as the center for
sensual exploration.  Felise Bagley and Damien
Highfield skillfully intertwined bodies and melded
together to create a wonderfully danced and
interpreted number.

‘SEVERAL TRUTHS DUET, choreographed by Gina Gibney,
who has done a number of creations for Groundworks,
used pansonic and micizoscopic music to create a
powerful piece which displayed unusual lifts, static
interactions and compelling leaps and turns.  Miller
and Shimotakahara, two movement perfectionists,
interpreted the concept with skill.  Ironically, just
before the dance came to its climax, a dark piece of
gel floated out of a light above the stage and gently
floated down in perfect time to the music.  It was a
wonderful addition to the composition.  Too bad that
accident of theatricality can’t be added on a regular
basis.

The program ended with one of my favorites,
‘LATITUDE.’  Developed to the music of Hal Walker, who
plays a series of instruments in his live
accompaniment, the piece takes on different attitudes
according to Walker’s musical instrument and style. 
County music, twanging sounds, hand slapping, Eastern
European folk songs, clinking balls and mouth organ
reverberations, all were interpreted into appropriate
movements which examined people in transition and the
soul’s search for a place and the need for connection.

Capsule judgement:  Groundworks is a gem of a company.
 If you haven’t seen them in performance you should! 
Yes, you definitely should!

UPCOMING EVENTS

‘FAMILY & FRIENDS,’ “an evening of some of our
favorite songs with some of our favorite people,”
which stars Cathie Brenkus, Cindy Smith, Bruce
Holloway, & John Nolan, with musical direction by
Charles Eversole, will be presented at the Cassidy
Theater in Parma Heights, on Friday and Saturday, May
9th and 10th., 2008.  Show time is 8:00 p.m. on both
nights.   For tickets call the Cassidy Theater box
office at 440-842-4600.  For additional information go
on-line to FamilyandFriends08 at sbcglobal.net.

TIKVAH COMPANY OF ARTISTS (April 3-April 6)
Motivated by themes of intrapersonal and interpersonal
significance, Artistic Director/Choreographer Linda
Kahn created ‘SEVEN.’  Centering on seven verbs common
to the human condition, the dancers, actors and
musicians will combine dance, narrative and poetic
text with eclectic music in their presentation. 
(James Levin Theatre)

For tickets to all DANCEWORKS presentations call
216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org

DANCE CLEVELAND presents

DANCE CLEVELAND presents ‘LEINE + REOBANA’ at the Ohio
Theater on Saturday, May 10 at 8 PM.  The creative
modern dance company from the Netherlands bases its
choreography on the concept, “We dissect the body into
its constituent parts, put it back together and invite
it to dance.” For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to
www.playhousesquare.com.


Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 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://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


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