The
latest collaboration between Present Music and Danceworks was performed last
weekend at the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center. Six dances by five
choreographers were performed to various works performed by the Present Music
ensemble.
Danceworks’
dancers vary in abilities and maturity. There was a general imbalance to the
evening, with seasoned professional musicians playing evolved works for young
dancers and choreographers not up to the level of the music making.
Abstract,
rather static music is a challenge to choreograph. Michael Torke’s The Yellow Pages is a briskly moving
walk through various styles and subjects, generally cheerful in tone. Christal
Wagner’s dance caught the bright mood of the piece at times, but was vague
elsewhere. She missed the opportunity the music provided: quickly changing
evolution.
A
dance choreographed by Kelly Anderson was also vague, possibly because the
score on which it was based is not particularly suited to dance. Jason Seed’s Politiscapes (a premiere) combines light
jazz, folk rock and contemporary melancholy. It is not at all uninteresting in
its textures, but it rambles a bit. The musical performance was hindered by bad
balance. From my seat near a corner of the room, an electric guitar part was
blasting out over the rest of the large, acoustic ensemble.
Blue Silence, with choreography by Simone Ferro,
was danced to four pieces, one by Kevin Volans and three by Elena Kats-Chernin.
I found the dance bland and unformed, its creator unable to tune into the
mystical and meditative mood of the music.
Luckily
things picked up in the second half. David Lang’s piece Cheating, Lying, Stealing has vivid bite and attitude, and is
stronger music for dancing. Choreographer Dani Kuepper effectively responded to
its sharp angles and sudden stops. I would have liked to have seen a more
evident connection to the undeniable title of the music. Kim
Johnson-Rockafellow choreographed and danced a solo to Kamran Ince’s To Wander With, finding a simplicity of
sadness. Randall Woolf’s colorful score for Where
the Wild Things Are, based on Maurice Sendak’s book, inspired Dani Kuepper
to create fun storytelling in dance, helped by colorful costumes.
