New York City Center’s Fall For Dance 2010 program was filled with passion and performances that evoked a wide range of emotions and induced audience members to discover new things in their own souls. Designed as an introductory crash course on dance for those who aren’t familiar with this mode of expression, the program covered numerous styles and was kept successfully as “people-friendly” as possible. As an audience member, although one who has previous dance experience, I was able to focus on the emotions that were evoked inside of me, without the stress of having to worry about interpreting technique and meaning. The themes behind the choreography were up to individual construal, thereby giving the audience the pleasure of going through an inner journey through themselves.
Expecting a dance program, I was surprised (to say the least) when the first few minutes (enter Three Movements by Company Rafaela Carrasco) involved no dancers. The sharp cry of the female’s voice reverberated from the shadow in which she and her partner sat with great stateliness. The unexpectedness of this contributed to the shock and got my attention instantaneously. I found great strength and passion in her guttural protestations, which set the tone for the ensuing dance. The sexual tension between the dancing couple could be felt as soon as they stepped on the dance floor. The speed and ferocity of their steps marked this high level of emotion and the red scarf served as a palpable connection between them. It was with the scarf that the male dancer drew his partner towards him, as each showed off their prowess to the other, as a peacock showcases its feathers to attract mates. Their joint dance was both a competition and a game; with neither player exactly sure of what spoils the loser would get.
These high-strung emotions flowed continuously with the second performance, or Red Angels by the NYCB, and the repeated use of the color red marked continued passion. These new dancers made their way onto the stage with assurance and pride. Their steps were solid and their movements, fierce. The flexibility of these dancers was incredible, as was their stamina and the fluidity of their movements. This was definitely not your stereotypical ballet performance. The spastic music mirrored the measured actions of the dancers and highlighted the tension of the dance. As a result of the mixed interpretation that the dance allows, the color red can also be seen to represent angels, devils, heaven, hell, fire, blood and/or passion. And the fact that most of the ideas on this laundry list exist alongside their known opposites underscores the paradoxical meanings of the performance!
The next two dances could easily rival the first two in their passion levels. However, to me, both Duet by the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company and ID:ENTIDADES by the Companhia Urbana de Danca stood out more for their themes of the intertwining of the community and the individual. While each dancer was portrayed as searching their soul for answers, he/she also visibly fed off the inner journeys of his/her partner(s). The shared experience brought the individuals closer together and showed the value of communal growth. Both performances involved the movement of the numerous dancers all across the stage and as the audience chose which part of the stage to focus their eyes on, they were gratified by witnessing individual differences amid a shared, stage-wide goal. Though all the dancers on the stage at the same time, were markedly moving in a shared direction, they were doing it in personal ways which made the dance more dynamic and mirrored the way that individuals function in societies in reality. And of course, who could argue with that fact that soul searching and the questioning of one’s beliefs were made to be expressed by the most emotional of all modes, or dance? The dances complemented the inner states of the personas being portrayed and their plights.
Coming from a ballroom dancing background, the performances of the night provided me with a keen look at some of the more abstract and fluid vehicles of expression. The passion evident in all of the performances left me catching my breath and inspired a great deal of positive inner turmoil. I can only hope that Fall For Dance will increase the community of dance-lovers!
