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July 20, 2009
BY HEDY WEISS Dance Critic hweiss@suntimes.com
The showcasing of new works by young, contemporary choreographers might just be one of the hardest sells in all the arts world. But no one carries off this daunting challenge with more panache than Melissa Thodos, artistic director of Thodos Dance Chicago, who has made fostering the development of choreographic talent, and overseeing the performance of new dances, a principal mission of her company.
This weekend's concert at the Ruth Page Center was further proof of how successful Thodos has been in her endeavor. Not only were the nine works by 10 choreographers on display of exceptionally high quality, but the dancers debuting these often fiendishly difficult pieces were impressive in both their technical polish and expressiveness. And this, combined with the use of sophisticated lighting and evocative costumes, assured that each work on the neatly paced program was seen to its greatest advantage.
Among the dominant themes of these new pieces was spirituality, whether on a literal level or of a more cosmic nature. In Justin Sears' "Speak!," to music by Matthew Schaefer, the stage was set with church pews as a single man struggled with internal demons and his evangelical congregation -- all female -- reached heavenward, but also engaged in quite earthly desires. In "Awakening," Wade Schaaf devised a rapturous otherworldy ballroom scene of sorts -- an ideal match for music from Philip Glass' Symphony No. 3. And in "Architecture: Splintered and Cracked," dancer Jessica Miller Tomlinson -- who, earlier this month, was awarded a top $10,000 prize by New York's Joyce Theater Foundation to help subsidize her choreographic work -- demonstrated why she was singled out. Her piece, with its complex, decidedly original patterning and its stark, abstract geometric movements, melded ideally with her chosen music (by Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke), and revealed an artist of daring and maturity.
Another theme explored in the program was "tribalism," in the broadest sense of that word. Dori Santarsiere's enigmatic "No Where, No When," for two men and four women (the latter in costumes with black tulle "tails"), suggested a flock of birds on the brink of extinction, with lights flickering in and out on various scenes. Jackie Stewart's ominous "E-ffect" conjured more robotic dancers wracked by spasodic movements triggered by unseen forces, with slender torchieres lighting the way. The high-speed "Reflect," a joint work by Jeremy Blair and Mollie Mock, was rich in its use of gesture and tricky partnering. And Natalie Tursi's "Fitting Pieces," with its strong expressionistic signature, possessed an intense dynamism.
On the more personal level there were two other impressive pieces. Christine Marie Rohde's "Memento," a solo winningly danced by Stewart, captured a young woman doing battle with a sort of Pandora's box of her emotional past -- at once painful, sexy and resolute (and helped by a Frank Sinatra soundtrack). And "The Before and After," choreographed by Elijah Gibson (a former star performer with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago) and featuring an exquisite performance by Stephnie Hilton (with Jarrett Kelly as her fiercely unresponsive partner), deftly conjured a scenario in which the anguish of an intimate couple on the skids was framed by the presence of the outside community. Set to the achingly lovely songs of Yael Naim, the contemporary French-Israeli singer-songwriter, Gibson's piece was beautifully danced by Stephanie Hilton, with Jarrett Kelly as her determinedly unresponsive partner.
In any such showcase there are usually a few duds in the mix, but here there was not one. Nine accomplished new works in a single concert. That, all by itself, is reason enough for cheering.
Note: Thodos announced that her company's Nov. 28 performance at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will include a work by Bob Fosse previously seen only on film, as well as her own new work set to the music of John Adams.
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July 19, 1:30 PM
Lucia Mauro - Chicago Dance Examiner
These may be bleak, ironic times. And contemporary concert dance has frequently been a barometer for variable sociopolitical climates. So Thodos Dance Chicago’s program of introspective, shadowy-hued “New Dances” at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts undeniably reflects our era of monumentally rapid change and its clawing sense of disconnection. That’s not to say the program is a downer. For the past eight years, artistic director Melissa Thodos has provided her ensemble members with a safe, constructive and necessary platform to encourage them to find their choreographic voices. The concert features eight world premieres and the debut of a gut-wrenching dance-drama by guest choreographer Elijah Gibson.
Since these emerging dance makers are still testing the choreographic waters, the offerings run the gamut of styles and aesthetics, and show varying levels of impact. Most of the ensemble-heavy pieces encompass eclectic music choices (from Thomas Newman and Philip Glass to Dmitri Shostakovich and Frank Sinatra). They also rely on an abundance of angular and athletic movement that, at times, can appear redundant and unoriginal. Overall, it’s obvious that these young choreographers are thinking very deeply about technology, scientific theories, troubled relationships, even death and the profound mysteries of the universe. But as they sort out their objectives and approaches to movement composition, they also should consider stepping back and demanding of themselves how to most compellingly convey those motivations. Point of view is what these passionate artists need to determine. It’s not enough to create a work that’s dark and enigmatic. And while abstract ideas should be applauded, often the abstraction gets the better of some of the artists -- to the point where it cancels out meaning altogether.
Some of the pieces, particularly Justin Sears’ suggestively evangelistic SPEAK!, are capable of taking hold of a complex idea but waver in clarity and visual pungency. This unique look at a man’s relationship to various women in his life encompasses the jittery energy of Doris Humphrey’s 1931 The Shakers. But, somewhere in the middle, SPEAK! loses momentum and feels unfinished. In fact, as still-developing works, most of these world premieres can continue to be reshaped and refined. The basic ingredients are there just waiting to be taken to new heights.
Among the more intriguing works, Wade Schaaf’s Awakening stands out for its ability to evoke an artful maze of detachment among a group of strangers. Its recurring supplicant motifs and psychological complexity create a mesmerizing aura. The same is true of Jessica Miller Tomlinson’s Architecture: Splintered and Cracked, an intellectual Rubik’s Cube in movement, with unexpected shifts of weight and composition.
But the program’s most innovative choreographic voice is Christine Marie Rohde. Memento, her touching and revelatory three-part solo for graciously uninhibited dancer Jackie Stewart gives powerful visual voice to the letting go of memories, both tender and painful. Three diverse musical selections (including Sinatra’s version of Send in the Clowns) accompany Stewart’s pretzel-like tottering on a small wooden box -- a rich symbol of the nostalgic possessions we hold close to our hearts. By having Stewart partner her past in quirky and eloquent ways, Rohde takes a fresh and unapologetic approach to the loaded subject of memory. Elijah Gibson’s The Before and After is a breathtaking piece of streamlined poignancy. In brief but heart-tearing moments, Stephanie Hilton and Jarrett Kelly -- two disarmingly frank dancers -- dissect and rewind to the slippery downfall of a romantic relationship.
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By Sid Smith | Special to the Tribune July 20, 2009
Jessica Miller Tomlinson is kind of choreographer du jour after winning last month's feisty competition, "The A.W.A.R.D Show," at the Dance Center of Columbia College.
Her new work, "Architecture: Splintered and Cracked," unveiled over the weekend as part of Thodos Dance Chicago's "New Dances 2009," suggests that success is no fluke. Mysterious and unnerving, set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke, "Architecture" is otherworldly and discordant, peppered with inventive, even kinky, gestures, some of which explode and quickly disappear. It never relents in commanding attention or tickling the curiosity. Darkly lit and sere, "Architecture" makes imaginative use of a classic yet perplexing choral arrangement of its eight dancers.
Most of the other eight works in "New Dances," held at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, were less memorable. A leaner program would help, not just by requiring a bit more selectivity, but by giving the works more breathing room. Instead, they tended to blur together, saddled by stretches of mundane drama and cliché.
Two exceptions: Justin Sears' lively "SPEAK!" and Christine Marie Rohde's "Memento." Though on a familiar topic (male-female relationships), "SPEAK!" is a fast and engaging work set amid a church congregation, featuring Ryan Miller as a frenzied preacher and a chorus of insanely frenetic women -- gospel hysteria that's quicksilver in design, punctuated by zealous hand gestures and smartly lit by Nathan Tomlinson.
Rohde's sharp solo makes great use of the skills and beauty of performer Jackie Stewart in its quirky fantasia about a sort of Pandora's box. Able to convey both muscular force and expressiveness, Rohde also boasts fine musical instincts, fashioning a smart score combining Feist, Black Joe Lewis and Frank Sinatra's borderline creepy rendition of "Send in the Clowns."
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