[NEohioPAL] Berko review: GREEN+MEDCALF MOVEMENT PROJECT, RIOULT & dance previews

[Roy Berko]

Dance (Greene+Medcalf), Dance (Rioult) and Dance previews

Roy Berko

(Member, Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

--coocleveland.com—

GREEN+MEDCALF MOVEMENT PROJECT

Greene + Medcalf Movement Project is the area’s newest contemporary dance 
company.  It kicked off its formation with a benefit, A SPRING FLING THING: an 
evening of live music and dance.

The event introduced Terence Greene and Michael Medcalf, the company’s 
choreographers and dancers.  The award winning duo are Cleveland natives who met 
and worked together at the Cleveland School for the Arts.  Each went their 
separate ways, learning their craft and dancing with some of the countries’ 
leading companies.  They have decided to reunite and use this area as their home 
base.  Greene was recently appointed as resident choreographer for Verb 
Ballets.  Medcalf, the former leader of Cleveland Contemporary /Dance Theatre, 
is pursuing an advanced degree, but will be returning to the area for rehearsals 
and performances. 

The evening consisted of SATCHIDANADA, a balletic/gymnastic piece danced by 
Medcalf with slow controlled movements, displaying high levels of balance and 
grace.  REFLECTIONS OF, an homage to teachers, was choreographed by Greene.  It 
found the duo intertwining and playing off each other, playing off  their 
physical size differences with magnetic control.   Greene used a repeated 
movement to feed and draw symbolic knowledge out of Medcalf.  The final dance, 
FULL CIRCLE, was a collaborative piece in which the duo improvised movement 
based on the singing of Reggie Kelly and the music of Hubb’s Grove.  Kelly, the 
musical sounds of Robert “Hubb” Hubbard Jr., Tony Watson Jr., Walter Barnes Jr., 
Stephen Fowler, guitarist Robert Sharpe, and the dynamic singing and scatting of 
Chimera Wilson, were program performers.

The evening was filled with joyousness.  The large, mainly African American 
audience, fully participated through call-and-response interactions between the 
audience and the performers, and interjected appropriate standing ovations.  

Capsule judgement:  A SPRING FLING THING was a great kickoff to GREENE+MEDCALF 
MOVMENT PROJECT which promises to be an exciting addition to the Cleveland dance 
scene.

The company can next be seen as part of The Cleveland Public Theatre DanceWorks 
’11 from May 26-29.  For tickets go to www.cptonline.org

RIOULT

The creative RIOULT Company, which was brought to the area in a co-sponsorship 
between DANCECleveland and Playhouse Square, recently performed at the Ohio 
Theatre.  Anyone who missed the program missed an awesome evening of dance.

Choreographer Pascal Rioult challenges his dancers to high levels of 
creativity.  The program opened with VIEW OF THE FLEETING WORLD, based on Bach’s 
The Arts of Fugue.  The nine-part piece was accented by Monet type illusions and 
mood altering lighting.  

WIEN, danced to the music of Maurice Ravel’s LaValse, is a visual message 
created by swirling bodies which transcends from beautiful waltz to chaotic 
violence and humiliation, complete with despair and fatalism.  It is a visual 
image of bizarre dance movements which symbolized triumphant evil.  The overall 
effect was riveting!

Ravel’s BOLERO, an exercise in building a crescendo by repeating musical sounds 
and movements over and over, creates an increasing emotional pitch.  The music 
is a four-phrase theme which mesmerizes.  By repeating and altering, the 
choreographer creates visual images, builds anticipation and then breaks the 
pattern, with jarring results!

UPCOMING DANCE PRESENTATIONS

EIFMAN BALLET OF ST. PETERSBURG features the original choreography of Boris 
Eifman, who has revolutionized dance with his story ballets.
May 13-15, State Theatre  
Tickets:  www.playhousesquare.org or 216-241-6000 

PARSONS DANCE with vocalists of the East Village Opera Company
Saturday, June 11, 8 pm, Ohio Theatre
Presented by Dance Cleveland and Opera Cleveland
Tickets:  216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org

May 5 - June 5--DANCEWORKS '11
New dances by local artists. The series features Verb Ballets, InLet Dance 
Theatre, Antaeus Dance and a group led by Mikaela Clark and Mackenzie 
Clevenger.  For information go to www.cptonline.org

INLET DANCE
April 14- 17, 2011--Cleveland Playhouse's FusionFest
Bill Wade choreographs to Robin VanLear's Marigold Wars.
Tickets:  216-795-7000

May 12-15, 2011--Cleveland Public Theatre- DanceWorks11
For information go to www.cptonline.org

DARE2CARE (Unit Against Bullying)
MAY 1—Cuyahoga County Courthouse-1 Lakeside Avenue
An Evening of Performance Art
For information and tickets: www.cleveland.hrc.org
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com 
and www.NeOHIOpal