"DANCE CHICAGO 2002" at the Athenaeum Theatre
BY LUCIA MAURO
As a way of introducing the massive buffet of movement that comprises the month-long "Dance Chicago 2002" at the Athenaeum Theatre, co-founders John Leonard Schmitz and Fred Solari try to give Opening Weekend audiences a broad range of tastes. But, although they shaved this year’s kick-off performance to 150 minutes, the program still contains too much all at once for attendees, many of whom are not diehard dance aficionados.
The purpose is to showcase the diverse visions of local choreographers to general audiences and dance lovers alike. Yet even a committed fan like myself was growing weary at the two-hour mark – especially following a high number of percussive pieces.
I think Opening Weekend could achieve greater momentum by making audiences leave hungry for the rest of the festival, which runs through Dec. 1. The last thing producers want to do is exhaust their viewers at the start of "Dance Chicago."
This year’s opening, however, did begin with a tighter paced first act that balanced joyous, psychological-rich and sharp-edged dancing. By Act Two, however, that balance descended into more uninspired and uneven programming. And, of course, no dance programmer would want to get audiences pumped up at the get-go, only to loll them to sleep in the end.
"Dance Chicago 2002," however, does boast technically sound dancers with a smooth facility for tackling a range of styles. The major premiere on the bill was "Stand Back," Katarzyna Skarpetowska’s deconstructed Latin sextet for Hubbard Street 2 – and highlighted the sassy high-voltage skill of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s second company.
Provocatively lit by Ryan J. O’Gara and blocked with a conscious slickness, the work promotes a fiery angularity. It begins with three men lying on the floor gazing upwards and framed by three women in vaguely Latin costumes. It consistently builds to a raucously controlled chaos of fall-and-recovery combinations. The dancers are up to the sculpted freneticism, but the rapid-fire quality of the piece stood in the way of more subtly crafted movement ideas.
"Stand Back" also had the slight misfortune of following Paul Christiano’s perenially mystical and intriguing "Miracle, Interrupted" for Melissa Thodos and Dancers. This Vivaldi-set dance drama in four parts, which incorporates American Sign Language, has gotten a lot of positive attention over the past year (it received a full premiere by Joffrey Ballet of Chicago). And it deserves it. The pretzel-like Christiano, also the lead dancer, is paired with the rock-solid yet fluid and malleable Tarah Brown, who battle the timeless theme of love’s enduring bonds against the cruelty of the masses.
"Bridge and Tunnel," Jon Lehrer’s buoyant and impeccably forged memories of his high school year’s in Queens, N.Y., for Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, is another perpetual show stopper in a wonderfully unselfconscious way. The dancers emulate falling bowling pins; soar through each other’s arms like basketballs flying into hoops; and swoon in and out of love in this charming four-part teen reverie set to Paul Simon songs.
Choreographer Lisa Johnson-Willingham’s artistic ties to Alvin Ailey are evident in "New Beginnings, Overcoming Old Lessons," an elastic Afro-centric ensemble piece for the Joel Hall Dancers. A primal-tinged work about the predatory aspects of finding a mate, it incorporates a fearless contortionist (almost combative) energy, exhibited – with jaw-dropping flexibility – by Jacqueline Sinclair’s and Ray Mercer’s splits- and extension-heavy duet.
Had River North Chicago Dance Company chosen a less esoteric and repetitive percussive work than Frank Chaves’ 1998 "Temporal Trance" and opted to be in the first half, together with Trinity Irish Dancers and Billy Siegenfeld’s new short "scat dance" celebration, "I Hear Music," for his Jump Rhythm Dance Project (all currently in Act Two), audiences would have left satisfied and upbeat.
It’s pretty tough to top ballroom dancers extraordinaire Gregory Day and Tommye Giacchino, who close the first act with a soft lilting bang. Their jazzy-elegant waltz to Barry Manilow’s "Real Live Girl" epitomizes the precision and magic of dance. Audiences, including myself, can never seem to get enough of their dedication, skill, creativity and stunning presence.
Works that fell flat included Randy Duncan’s muscular-mechanical solo, "Unarmed," for Nick Pupillo – an exacting dancer but ill-served in this static and writhing work that draws more attention to his half-naked body than to the actual movement. The piece also begins dangerously close to David Parsons’ "Caught."
Cerqua/Rivera Art Experience’s "At Last," featuring live singer Bobbi Wilsyn and a full band encircling Wilfredo Rivera’s unadventurous – and ill-defined – solo, is followed incongruously by girls jumping around in poodle skirts. Lehrer’s primitive duet, "Instinct," for Elijah Gibson and Joel Longenecker has not gone beyond the compelling conceptual stage. It revels in stillness – not a good choice for a dance showcase. The Trinity Irish Dancers, however, revealed their electrifying precision in "The Dawn" and "Treble Reel Two."
Overall, the "Dance Chicago" organizers still need to apply a firm editing hand to Opening Weekend. As tempting as it may be to score with audiences by offering them a huge gamut of dance all at once, they risk dropping them at the one-yard line. •
"Dance Chicago 2002" runs through December 1 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport. Tickets: $5-$25. Call 773-935-6860 or 312-902-1500 or log onto www.dancechicago.com.
