[NEohioPAL] Berko reviews: Alvin Ailey Dance, Ohio Dance Theatre, Antaeus Dance

[Roy Berko]

Dance reviews:  ALVIN
AILEY, OHIO DANCE THEATRE, ANTAEUS DANCE
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member,
Dance Critics Association)
 
--THE TIMES
NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain
County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
COOLCLEVELAND.COM

Dance reviews:  ALVIN AILEY, OHIO DANCE THEATRE,
ANTAEUS DANCE
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member, Dance Critics
Association)
 
--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain County
Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
COOLCLEVELAND.COM
 
ALVIN AILEY amazes!
 
Imagine the nerve of a
Black dancer/choreographer who, in the 1950s, at the height of segregation in
this country, deciding to start a company whose purpose was to tell the story
of African Americans.    The person?  Alvin
Ailey.   The results?   A company that in  2009 is celebrating its 50th anniversary and is on an upward curve, while other arts organizations are
withering on the vine.  
 
The works of Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theatre range from classical ballet, to jazz, to native American
dance.   Though Ailey died in
1989 at the age of 58, his hand-selected successor, Judith Jamison, took over
the company and has helped it thrive.
 
Ask any of those who gave
screaming curtain call after curtain call to the company in their recent State
Theatre production, co-presented by Playhouse Square and Dance Cleveland, with
sponsorship by Huntington Bank, and they’ll tell you that they had just
experienced a presentation of dance wonderment!
 
In the company’s sixth
Cleveland appearance, the program included ‘REVELATIONS,’ considered by many to
be the best-known and most often seen modern dance piece.  The program also included excerpts from
‘BLUES SUITE,’  one of Ailey’s
earliest works.  Also showcased in
the fourteen selection program, were a powerful rendition of ‘STREAMS,’ the
engrossing ‘MARY LOU’S MASS,’ the beautifully performed, ‘HIDDEN RITES,’ the
finely honed ‘NIGHT CREATURE,’ and the sensual ‘PHRASES.’
 
The curtain call, the
stirring ‘ROCKS THE SOLE,’ was a perfect ending to an outstanding evening dance
which, on opening night of the three performance stand, was thoroughly enjoyed
by the near sold-out audience.
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  It is going to be interesting to see
what happens as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre confronts the future
with the retirement of Jamison and a new, yet unannounced leader.  Let’s hope that whoever is selected has
the insight and creativity of the two preceding bright lights of dance.
 
OHIO DANCE THEATRE presents
multi-leveled program
 
Denise Gula, the founder
and artistic director of the Oberlin based Ohio Dance Theatre, is both a
choreographer and a theatre person.  As such, much of her dance repertoire has a dramatic, story-telling
base.
 
In the company’s recent
residency at Cleveland Public Theatre, as part of ‘DANCEWORKS 09,  they presented a three-segment
program.  The opening piece, ‘WHEN
I FALL,’ featured the talents of Janet Strukley and Brain Murphy in a well
danced, dramatic piece which found the dancers in perfect harmony with the
oft-changing musical sounds of Nat King Cole, James Edward Davis and Young and
Heyman.  
 
‘SPENDTHRIFT,’ which
explored the beauty and power of the ocean’s water as it blows, creates foam,
and swirls at the base of the shoreline, found five female dancers using their
arms and bodies to move through space.  A strong solo by Juliana Freude was a highlight of the classic piece
which was set to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
 
The highlight of the
program was ‘SILENT WITNESS,’ a tribute to women who are the victims of
abuse.  The number was inspired by
an exhibit presented by Genesis House, which Gula witnessed.  She states,  “I found myself stunned and moved by the starkness and
simplicity of the images.  I wanted
to make a ballet that would honor these women and help bring awareness to this
disturbing social issue.”
 
In the main,  Gula succeeds.  There was live dancing by a solo
performer, while simultaneously a video showed her falling in love, and the
unfolding tumult and brutal relationship which had strong visual and emotional
overtones.  The music, the
illusions of woman, man, children in conflict, and the pain was clearly
depicted in the dance and movements of Janet Strukley and Kyle Primous.  
 
Unfortunately, the piece
become overly long and redundant by the addition of a music video which was
seemingly tacked onto the ending.  The dance, sans music video,  ended on high emotion.  No
more was needed.  The video, which
introduced new people and another media, was overkill and weakened the overall
effect. 
 
The lack of a curtain
call was a creative touch as it left the audience fidgeting uncomfortably in
the strong emotions of the piece,  encouraged to exit at their own pace, with the images lingering in their
minds.
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Ohio Dance Theatre’s DANCEWORKS O9’
performance was well received.  Gula’s ability to combine dance and theatre, gives the company a
hands-up over other groups who often fail in telling stories which require more
than dance proficiency.
 
ANTAEUS DANCE’S MOLT, molts
 
‘MOLT,’ Antaeus Dance’s
offering at the recent Cleveland Public Theatre’s  ‘DANCEWORKS 09, failed to ignite the audience.  This selection, which was overly long,  was often repetitious.  How many ways and times can dancers
arrange and rearranged a pile of straw?  Yes, the company proposes to have “a sense of connecting to earth,” but
what about this piece,  beyond the
straw, was earth connecting?  
 
Choreographer Joan
Meggitt states in the program that, “The group [those not dancing]  acts as a mirror to the soloist’s
interior life, with the soloist reflecting upon what the group, in turn,
reflects back to her.” Oh, if only that were true.  That may have been her intent, but it wasn’t what was
visually presented.
 
The dancers, though they
tried, were not always in sync.   They needed much more work, and a honing of their skills by a purposeful
choreographer. 
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   Joan Meggitt and the Antaeus
Dance Company disappointed in their ‘DANCEWORKS ‘09’ presentation.  Abstract descriptions and the lack of a
clear mission do no a good dance program make!