THE HANGOVER REPORT – The 2015 FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL gets off to a rousing start

IMG_4299Last night I attended the first of five Fall for Dance Festival programs at City Center. I’ve long admired this festival for its wonderfully eclectic programming and ardent audiences. In many instances over the years, Fall for Dance has exposed me to many an exciting company, dancer, and work that I otherwise wouldn’t have thought to pursue. Certainly, last night’s rousing program was no exception.

The evening commenced with Miami City Ballet’s inspired rendition of Balanchine’s “Allegro Brilliante”. Although I missed the live musical accompaniment (Balanchine dances work best when dancers “interplay” with the musicians), the Miami City dancers must be commended for dancing with a freshness and enthusiasm that made this “Allegro Brilliante” sing.

The program continued with the quirky yet irresistible “Hapless Bizarre” danced by doug elkins choreography, etc. The last time I saw this company (which was coincidentally at Fall for Dance a few years ago), I was mesmerized by “Mo(o)town/Redux”, their soulful, affecting adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. “Bizarre” is a different beast altogether, more sunny A Midsummer Night’s Dream than tragedy. I fell in love with how the dance found genuine humor and even poignancy in human imperfection and awkward interaction. If Charlie Chaplin had a contemporary dance troupe, I imagine it would look an awful lot like Dough Elkins’ company.

The second half of the program began with Justin Peck’s high-powered “Murder Ballades”, which was performed in exhilarating fashion by L.A. Dance Project. I’ve long admired Mr. Peck’s talents as a choreographer, and I’m happy to report that he continues to evolve with each creation. Although this piece maintains the exciting big picture structural soundness and inventiveness of his other pieces, he veers away from the playful coolness that has marked his other works and here sprinkles a healthy portion of sex and tension throughout. In many ways, I was reminded of Jerome Robbins’ “Dance at the Gym” in West Side Story. That’s high praise.

The program came to a close with Gilles Brinas’s visceral, crowd-pleasing “Che Malambo”. According to the program, “Malambo is a centuries-old contest dance traditionally practiced by gouchos, or South American cowboys”. Brinas here has extended this folk dance to include percussion and a good dose of spectacle. Although the crowd leapt to its feet in approval, I found this last entry to be the least artistically fulfilling of the lot.

You have one more chance tonight to catch this excellent program. I eagerly look forward to what further wonders Fall for Dance has in store over the next few of weeks.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

2015 FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL
Dance
New York City Center
2 hours (including one intermission)
Through October 11

Categories: Dance

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