By Elsa Johnson & Victor Lucas
We recently drove to Breen Center on the near west side to see GroundWorks DanceTheater. It was our first look at the company in quite a while so we braved a cold and snowy evening to get to our seats in plenty of time for the program.
The curtain went up on the world premiere of Luna, revealing a dimly lit tableau with Noelle Cotler downstage right and the other four dancers in a row upstage — looking like the Four Little Swans, we thought at the time. Luna was choreographed by Artistic Director David Shimotakahara in his cerebral mode so we were not surprised to search in vain for what his program notes referred to as “lost and found” and “give and take.” Not for nothing was GroundWorks’ motto once “not so obvious.” But later performances and viewings of new Shimotakahara works often become less opaque.
We had been looking forward to the next dance, Inamorata, a world premiere choreographed on GroundWorks by Guest Artist Kate Weare, who has received much positive critical attention for the last seven years or so. GroundWorks brings in several choreographers each year; inevitably, some fail to live up to their advance billing but others have provided GroundWorks with outstanding choreography.
At Breen, Weare showed she’s not afraid to bust a few moves. Inamorata is full of big, clear formal gestures of the arms and legs hung on an eclectic list of recorded music. To Medieval music performed by Anonymous 4 GroundWorks’ Felise Bagley and Annika Sheaff danced what we saw as a fanfare. Nannou by Aphex Twin provided a music box sound track for dancing mechanical dolls; when the music threatened to run down, Gary Lenington entered and wound things back up by forcefully manipulating Bagley. (Weare has long displayed an interest in violent interactions between dancers.)
Damien Highfield and Lenington danced in front of a green cyclorama in what turned into a stylish and amusing tango; Bagley and Sheaff made a beguiling tango pass of their own upstage but exited without the men. No One Hurts Up Here, an Appalachian hymn to heaven, became a formal procession for the entire company. A saraband by Pablo Casals provided the score for what struck us as a strange pas de deux for Cotler and Shimotakahara . To more Medieval music performed by Anonymous 4 the 3 women danced a finale with Sheaff adding a tag, a half turn ending in a nicely held arabesque.
Inamorata provided a sampler of Weare’s wares and a contrast to Luna.
In Brubeck (2012) Shimotakahara gave the cerebral a rest and produced an exuberant music visualization. For the kinetic 5/4 time signature of Take Five the dancers crossed the stage in files, then formed a row and each of the dancers found a groove. Later in Take Five 2 couples found contrasting responses to the music with Bagley and Highfield melting and Cotler and Lenington alternately popping and freezing.
In Kathy’s Waltz the 2 men appeared in natty hats (that Costumer Kristine Davies apparently stole from a Mad Men costume plot) and took turns partnering Pilobolus alumna Sheaff; strangely, one of the few times we can remember Sheaff being lifted during this concert. To the hand claps and upright bass of Unsquare Dance four of the dancers formed a line and performed various hijinks including Four Little Swans! To a John Salmon performance of a Brubeck nocturne, Bagley and Highfield performed a poignant pas de deux that ended in an embrace. For Blue Rondo a la Turk the dancers entered in bathing costumes and took turns performing solos, a trio, and duets.
Our appreciation of the newer GroundWorks company members continues to grow. We’re seeing that there’s more to Cotler than a charming presence and a pretty face; though she’s not yet given a lot to do, everything she does she does well. The new man, Lenington, built like the proverbial brick house, continues to amaze and please with agile jumps and turns.
This concert was our first good look at Sheaff, GroundWorks’ newest company member. An accomplished performer with a lanky, interesting body and face, she projects her own strong presence. We thoroughly enjoyed her.
GroundWorks DanceTheater performed at Breen Center for the Performing Arts on Friday 2/15 and Saturday 2/16/2013.
[Photos by Mark Horning]
From Cool Cleveland contributors Elsa Johnson and Victor Lucas. Elsa and Vic are both longtime Clevelanders. Elsa is a landscape designer. She studied ballet as an avocation for 2 decades. Vic has been a dancer and dance teacher for most of his working life, performing in a number of dance companies in NYC and Cleveland. They write about dance as a way to learn more and keep in touch with the dance community. E-mail them at vicnelsaATearthlink.net.