The Australian Ballet, Steven McRae, Pontus Lidberg Dance and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

What I saw last night. The Australian Ballet, Steven McRae, Pontus Lidberg Dance and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago at City Center. First a rather severe ballet for two couples. Next a tap solo to Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing”. After intermission another version of the Faune where the dancers (including a couple from City Ballet) exchanged shirt and pants throughout the dance. The final dance for I think 17 in t-shirts and pants did crazy unison movements to weird guttural chants and Glenn Gould. At one point some of the dancers moon us. I have seen this piece before and it always fares well on mixed bills.

Elements: laurels, spoken word, brief nudity
Title: “Gemini”by GlenTetley “Something Different”  “Faune”  “Three To Max” by Ohnad Naharin
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Vertigo Dance Company, Drew Jacoby, Jessica Lang Dance and Richard Alston Dance Company

What I saw last night. Vertigo Dance Company, Drew Jacoby, Jessica Lang Dance and Richard Alston Dance Company at City Center. First men in skirts and a woman with a balloon attached to her head danced in front of the silhouette of a moving house. The second piece a woman ran around in front of a bunch of purple lights to music from Radiohead, The third piece was a duet where the woman rolled around in a long strip of fabric eventually getting caught up in it. Finally a stripped down dance in the Merce Cunningham mode.
Elements: balloon, fabric
Title: “Mana” “Bloom” “Among the Stars” “Roughcut”
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Keigwin + Company, Corella Ballet, Russell Maliphant and Jason Samuels Smith & Friends

What I saw last night. Fall for Dance at City Center. This program included Keigwin + Company, Corella Ballet Castilla Y Leon, Russell Maliphant Company and Jason Samuels Smith & Friends. Four dances.

1. A group of Julliard dance men and women appear in costumes that seem appropriate for Flash Gordon the Musical and dance in formation to music by Steven Reich & M.I.A.
2. A duet by Angel Corella and his sister. Sort of a ballet dueling fiddles where Angel clearly comes out on top.
3. A solo where a man stands center stage and appears to be slowly turning on a platter but is really creative lighting and his own power. To music of Satie
4. The craziest piece. A post apocalyptic New York where the arts have been banned but two arts remain illegally. Tap and Hip-Hop. A battle ensues between the two styles and a sax player and DJ. Even the arts cannot get along.

Elements: florescent light, chair, cardboard boxes
Titles: “Megalopolis” by Keigwin + Company, “Solea” by Corella Ballet Castilla Y Leon “AfterLight Part 1” by Russell Maliphant Company and “Rhythmdome” by Jason Samuels Smith & Friends
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Boston Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Batsheva Dance Company & Savion Glover

What I saw last night. Boston Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Batsheva Dance Company and Savion Glover at City Center. All part of the Fall for Dance Festival.
I was most surprised by the use of Tomita’s version of Ravel’s Bolero for the Batsheva piece. I had his records when I was a kid from the RCA one penny for twelve Lps offer. I thought it was cool to have a Japanese electronic music composer. It was much later that I realized how campy & new age he sounded. Still I believe he predated Windham Hill music so now I will consider him cool again and look for some place to down load his music. If you wish to do the same my favorite albums as a kid were “Snowflakes are Dancing” 1974 and “Firebird Suite” 1975. I am behind in my posts but I really enjoyed Savion and Paul Taylor as well. I have seen better versions of “Afternoon of a Faun” though.

Elements: stone structure (faun) live music (Savion)
Titles: “Afternoon of a Faun” Boston Ballet, “Offenbach Overtures” Paul Taylor Dance Company, “B/olero” Batsheva Dance Company, “The StaRz and StRiPes 4EvEr for NoW” Savion Glover
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