Fall for Dance: Program 3

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[avatar user=”Joel Benjamin” size=”96″ align=”left”] Joel Benjamin, Critic[/avatar]

It’s hard to imagine three more disparate dance companies than the three that made up Program 3 of this year’s Fall for Dance Festival at the New York City Center.

The Houston Ballet, Julie Kent and Stanton Welch, directors, opened the program with Welch’s genteel Clear to music by J.S. Bach.  Originally staged by American Ballet Theatre, the Houston dancers, seven men and one lonely lady, couldn’t have been better: smooth, exuberant, beautifully trained and rehearsed and musical to a fault.

Bare-chested, wearing tight pants that flared at the bottom, the men performed Welch’s classical ballet-based choreography which ranged from simple classroom steps to bravura leaps and partnering. Yuriko Kajiya, the mostly ignored female, appeared to exist to be ignored by the men who barely interacted with her and then only in the slower movements.

What distinguished the steps in Clear were the unusual arm movements that sometimes seemed to have emotional overtones, but mostly made lovely shapes as the dancers showed off their soft-edged virtuosity, particularly Connor Walsh who whirled madly about in a series of fouettés, usually the preserve of female dancers.

Jam on the Groove 3 for 30 presented a three-part hip-hop dance: Concrete Jungle/Portrait of a Freeze/Moments in Motion commissioned by the New York City Center Fall for Dance Festival.

Dressed in colorful street clothes, the dancers emerged from the moody, murky lighting by Kate Ashton as they are accosted by the voices of police harassing them.  Eventually, the entire cast is shot down by unseen cops leading to a resurrection.  This was a bit of overkill in Groove’s effort to give hip-hop cultural and political relevance.

The rest of the work was the usual display of individual talents highlighted by Ashton’s fine lighting.  There was the usual sense of competition amidst the camaraderie of a community united against “the man” and fulfilled by their art.

Unfortunately, this talented troupe needed the dance equivalent of a dramaturg to edit and organize the show while still preserving the authenticity of this art form that rose from the streets.  What kept them interesting was their need to please and their earnest belief in their message.

The final troupe on Program Three was Kaleoolakaikahikinaokalā, performing Hawaiki (The Homeland).  Kumu Hula Kaleo Trinidad, the company’s artistic director, along with Randie Kamuela Fong, honed Hawaii’s native dance, the hula, into an impressive mass dance for 19 brawny, bare-chested men attired in skimpy, bow-shaped skirts.

The music, percussion and Hawaiian chants, provided support for too repetitive choreography which included the large cast of men stomping, their hips softly swaying as they sang.  It was impressive for five minutes, but, as is the case of much ethnic performing art forms, was probably authentic, but not entirely attention grabbing.

Having seen Trinidad and his company in a documentary, I know what incredible dedication and concentration went into even this relatively short bit of Hawaiian dance.

With ethnic dance forms there are two paths:  Katherine Dunham’s night club versions of Caribbean and African dance and Trinidad’s intense dedication to authenticity.

Although this wasn’t one of Fall for Dance’s more interesting offerings, the overall quality and attention to various dance forms was impressive.

Fall for Dance: Program 3 (October 3-4, 2023)

New York City Center, 131 West 55^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, call 212-581-1212 or visit http://www.NYCityCenter.org

Running time for Program 3: 90 minutes including one intermission