VCU Dance NOW features faculty works, dancers deliver

Roberto Curtis

Executive Editor

The department of dance and choreography enjoyed another successful weekend of pirouettes and plies through VCU Dance NOW, its sixth concert of the 2009-2010 season.

The approximately 90-minute concert ran Thursday through Saturday night and featured exciting works from six of the department’s faculty set on their students. And while it’s difficult to discern a message from any individual moment or from the evening as whole, rest assured the emotion was not lost on the audience.

Melanie Richards’ “Faces” set the bar pretty high with a percussion station consisting of mallet instruments. Bells and drums sat up stage against a white background, manned by three black-clad musicians. Reminiscent of a Blue Man Group performance, the three music majors laid down a play mat of music for the 12 monochromatic dancers. The dancers began with a drawn-out ensemble in unison with their faces completely obscured by identical, expressionless white masks. With masks off, however, they burst into colorful trios and pairings, each with their own flamboyant vocabulary.

Robbie Kinters’ contrasting “Triple Crossing” was a strong yet sensual piece regarding the relationship between three people, all of whom dealt with their own internal and external struggles with one another. The dancers slowly rolled over one another with great control and plenty of groundwork. Kinter set the tribal feel of the piece through recorded music of his band, Rattlemouth. Kinter said his inspiration for the piece was based on the downtown triple crossing of train tracks, which is believed to be the only one in North America and is a popular tourist attraction among train enthusiasts.

Scott Putman’s “Two Sisters” made terrific use of lighting design and noise to convey death and subsequent lose. Seven female dancers somberly wandered the stage, transitioning through the stages of loss, wondering how to best preserve the memory of a loved one.

Cricket chirps and spooky nocturnal creatures typified Judith Steel’s “Night Chatter.” Seven dancers emerged from phases of sleep through sudden, sporadic pulses of energy. The white noise was the perfect backdrop for the moonlight mischief as the dancers moved through playful yet bestial trios.

Fan favorite Martha Curtis has entertained audiences in such joyous ways in past years and that evening’s piece was no exception. “A Little Tenderness,” based on an Otis Redding song of the same name, featured three sultry dancers-turned-divas who sashayed and strutted seductively up and down stage in flowing gown reminiscent of the mo town era. The piece received the most applause of the night since Richards’ faces.

But Curtis’ accolade of earning the loudest applause wouldn’t last long. The final piece of the night, Christian Howard’s “A Statement about Being,” was an epic three-part story that featured spoken word, swinging ceiling lights, distorted choreography and unsettling moods that were masterfully conveyed. The eight dancers danced their little hearts out through large circular movements and frantic seizures that emphasized the climax of Howard’s work. Their efforts paid off as the stunned and delighted audience released a wave of cheers to close out the night. While one can’t be sure the crowd understood what it just saw, one thing was certain—it was good.