By: Cory Nakasue

New York, New York –  November 1, 2008 – The Dancenow/NYC Festival lured me to Dance Theatre Workshop last week, inviting me to “find my artistic crush.” The showcase that boasts 65 choreographers and 40 new works is the speed-dating thrill of the fall dance season, and I felt my chances were pretty good.

The team at Dancenow/NYC (Robin Staff – Founding Artistic Director, Tamara Greenfield – Founding Director, and Sydney Skybetter – Associate Producer) has wrangled a diverse and exciting group of New York City artists to present bite-sized morsels (pieces average seven minutes) of their work.  The works are shown in two different programs – 40 Up and Base Camp.  40 Up presents work by maturing artists 40 years of age and older — in some cases, much older. The Base Camp program is comprised of emerging and mid-career artists experimenting with a new direction.

Two new features that made this year’s festival particularly special were the announcement of the new Joan Duddy scholarship offered by Dancenow/NYC and the inclusion of the 10th Anniversary Project. The 10th Anniversary Project honored four festival veterans and their companies (Monica Bill Barnes, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, John Heginbotham, and Robert Battle/Battleworks) by presenting a work created ten years ago alongside a new work during each of the Base Camp performances.

While the meat of the festival is the Base Camp program, which runs four evenings as opposed to 40 Up’s two evenings, it is the 40 Up program that is the heart of the event.* It is during these evenings that the audience can contextualize the New York City dance scene and get a sense of its depth — no flashy displays of athleticism here or superfluous grabs at attention. The aura of authority and the unshakeable confidence that can only come from experience proved to be worth more than the obvious nubile virtuosity of a hundred youngsters.

40 Up highlights included Heidi Latsky Dance’s excerpt from “GIMP,” an austere and immaculate meditation on the conventional and unconventional body, danced to perfection by Latsky and Lezlie Frye to a Pergolisi opera.  This restrained study is underscored with tension, as the beauty and drama of the music almost violates the clinical precision of the repeated phrases.

Michael Blake and Gus Solomons, Jr. are bewitching as two brothers locked in a power struggle of mythic proportions in “DIOSCURI #2.” An excerpt of a work in progress choreographed by Donald Byrd, this mysterious gem feels a little dangerous. The dancers move as if possessed by a primal force that is not under their control. The physical communication between the two men is urgent yet unintelligible, creating a foreboding intensity as the sound of waves engulfs them. Riveting.

On a lighter note, comedienne Claire Porter presented two examples of perfect comic timing and tone. “Happen Chance,” a premiere, is a monologue that tracks the evolution of a character’s movement choices based on fashion. “See You Around” is a dialogue-duet performed on a separate night with Porter and Sabatino Verlezza which provides an astute commentary on office politics. Both offerings spotlight Porter’s dry-as-a-bone delivery and seamless weaving of text and movement. I am often reminded of the playwright David Mamet when watching her work.  It’s all about subtext; what’s not being said or “danced.”

The spirit of the Base Camp program was best displayed by up-and-comers Kyle Abraham and Mana Kawamura. Abraham’s premiere of “Dream Lockdown” was a heartbreaking solo danced to a ballad by Adele and Kanye West. His ability to reinvent a hip-hop vocabulary while calling upon advanced vaudevillian and clowning nuances created an utterly fresh experience that speaks to a burgeoning sophistication.

Kawamura was also able to walk the fine line between being full of surprises and exhibiting a level of craftsmanship well beyond her years. “Celebration” was designed for five extraordinary dancers, and I say “designed” because this piece is, quite simply, a feat of architecture. Bodies would fall into precariously exquisite formations as if by magic, only to rearrange into tableaux that spoke volumes about this “family” who seemed to be made of porcelain.

The New York City dance community is diverse, but it is very much a community, as I experienced this week — especially this group of down-towners. Watching and interacting with this group throughout the week revealed a portrait of a politically active (there were pieces that celebrated gay marriage, admonished consumerism, and the festival itself has gone green), and caring community (a collection was taken up for the legendary Arthur Aviles, whose house was severely damaged in a fire during the festival, and yes, he still performed).

Whilst looking for my new artistic crush, some frogs were kissed, but what’s true for dating is also true for large arts festivals.

The Dancenow/NYC Festival does so much more than celebrate an art form — it serves a larger purpose by injecting the downtown scene with unpretentious refreshment. It provides accessibility for a wide range of people. The Festival builds bridges to new audiences and spices up the long-term relationship between dance lovers and this art form that struggles against insularity and marginalization.

*This review is based on four nights of the festival — two Base Camp showings and two 40 Up showings. Tuesday, October 28th and Friday, October 31st were not attended.
The Dancenow/NYC Festival is produced in partnership with Dance Theatre Workshop.

Image 1: Dancenow 40 Up on October 27th and November 1st
BIGMANARTS (choreography by Lawrence Goldhuber)
Photo by Steven Schreiber

Image 2: This is from the October 30th Dancenow show at DTW.
Choreographer: Zvi Gotheiner
Title of piece: “Interiors”
Dancers: Todd Allen and Ying-Ying Shiau
Photo by Steven Schreiber

Image 3: October 30th Dancenow show at DTW.
Choreographer: Ashleigh Leite
Title of piece: “Valedictory”
Dancers: Ashleigh Leite, LoMa Familar, Meredith McCanse
Photo by Steven Schreiber

Image 4: Dancenow Festival at DTW 40Up on October 27th and November 1st
Choreography by Lar Lubovitch
Title of piece: “So in Love”
Pictured: Wallie Wolfgruber
Photo by Steven Schreiber