THE HANGOVER REPORT – At The Joyce, PARSONS DANCE premieres new works by Jamar Roberts, Penny Saunders, and David Parsons

Parsons Dance performs Jamar Roberts’ “Juke” at The Joyce Theater (photo by Julieta Cervantes).

Last night, Parsons Dance commenced its annual two-week New York season at The Joyce Theater in Chelsea. This year, the company unveiled an eclectic trio of premieres — Jamar Roberts’ Juke, David Parsons’ The Shape of Us, and Penny Saunders’ Thick as Thieves. Throughout, the Parsons dancers — irrepressible performers trained in the same sturdy, athletic mold as Paul Taylor dancers — were tireless in their pursuit to convey each choreographic vision.

Set to music by Miles Davis, Roberts’ Juke opened the program and also proved to be the highlight of the evening. Performed with abundant attitude and swagger, the piece exuded the same rhythmic restlessness that marked We the People, the choreographer’s recent creation for Martha Graham Dance Company. The choreography — concise, economic, driving — felt alive and organically wrought, both sharply in tune with Davis’s “Spanish Key”, as well as loosely riffing on it. Then came The Shape of Us (the band Son Lux provided the music), which was all around vintage Parsons. Both sleek and tribal, the dance molded striking shapes as it spun and leapt from disparateness to complete communion among the dancers. The last of the premieres was Saunders’ Thick as Thieves, a commission that brought a refreshing element of whimsy to the program but ultimately failed to captivate. Featuring beguiling live music by Michael Wall, the work’s other distinctive aspect were the oversized black coats designed by Barbara Erin Delo — both of which masked the slight construction of the choreography. 

The bill also included two iconic and reliably show-stopping solos — Robert Battle’s 1996 Takademe and Parsons’ 1982 Caught, each danced with complete command by Zoey Anderson and Megan Garcia, respectively. The evening fittingly concluded with Parsons’ feel-good Whirlaway, a 2014 piece set to the music of New Orleans jazz composer Allen Toussaint. Despite showing slight signs of fatigue, the company powered through the vivid steps with upbeat energy and a sense of celebration.

RECOMMENDED

PARSONS DANCE
Dance
The Joyce Theater
1 hour, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through May 25

Categories: Dance

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