Miki Orihara peforming “Resonance.”
Kanopy Dance Company opened the 2016 season Friday night at Overture Center with Martha Graham: (R)evolution in Black and White, a somber collection of modern dance works. Company co-director Robert E. Cleary began the evening with some opening remarks before inviting Betty Custer (from sponsor Custer Financial Services) to share some thoughts and particularly pertinent quotes from Martha Graham, including “Misery is a communicable disease.” Although the program was planned long ago, one can certainly impose some post-election reflection onto several of the works.
Lisa Thurrell’s “Cassandra’s Cry” is a piece for three women (Alaina Tae Keller, Alyssa Jendusa and soloist Jessica Hoyt, who just keeps getting better and better). In long black skirts punctuated by white swirls and shapes, the women are confined to chairs much of the time. Hoyt is the first to depart, urgently dancing to Philip Glass’s relentless score before stopping to rest her head on her hands on the seat of her chair, exhausted, as Cassandra was cursed to be able to see the future, but unable to sway those she warned.
Guest artist Miki Orihara, a former principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, not only stages Graham’s iconic 1929 work “Heretic,” she also presents the U.S. premiere of her own film and live work, “Broken Memory.” In the film, Orihara dances in a long black gown on a stark white rooftop against a city skyline’s evolving light. Sometimes her image appears overlapped on itself or we are privy to close up shots of her feet, gingerly placed as she tiptoes in a tight circle. She cuts through space with her always elegant hands and arms and most poignantly carves a path to her chest with one curved hand. She then appears on stage to reprise some of the movement and I felt lucky to be able to see her there in the flesh.
Orihara’s accompanist, the accomplished and immensely fun to watch jazz pianist Senri Oe, also performs his “Just a Little Wine,” in which Orihara appears again, fleetingly but impactfully.
“Heretic” closed the first half of the program, and in it we saw the seeds of Graham’s legacy. While this isn’t my favorite of the well-done Graham reconstructions presented by Kanopy (the repetitive and abrasive score took its toll on me), it is an important look back at the history of modern dance. Thurrell, in a white gown with fabric fluttering behind her arms, makes repeated attempts to break into a group of 11 women, all clad in stark black columns which stretch and pull in intriguing ways. Again and again the group shuns her, whether emphatically crossing their arms as they form an unwelcoming V formation or splintering off into small groups, still blocking her entry and acceptance. The group remains stiff and angular while stomping into place, while Thurrell has fewer restrictions on her plaintive movements. She ends prostate on the floor before them in a sad final shudder.
Cleary’s “Bound and Determined,” from 1993, was a duet for Zada Cheeks, a guest dancer from Chicago, and Olivia Claire Rivard. Initially I thought it might be a more light-hearted boy meets girl pas de deux, with the dancers moving around and on two benches before finding each other, but it turned into an exploration of the brutal dynamic between these lovers. The two take turns being the aggressor, handling each other roughly before breaking into frantic clutches, like exhausted participants at a dance marathon, as dictated by the collage of music from John Zorn.
“Untitled” was a premiere from guest choreographer and dancer Martin Løfsnes, who was also a principal in Graham’s company and now leads his own 360° Dance Company in New York City. Løfsnes and Chuck Wilt are essentially in boxer shorts and tank tops, so this already makes them appear vulnerable and exposed as they meet and figure out their relationship while Rachmaninoff’s music plays. After moving slowly towards the audience in exaggerated steps, they carefully appraise each other, first sticking out a foot to bump into each other before smushing their bodies together. Often they are so intertwined that it’s hard to know whose limbs are whose. When they move separately it is typically in an off-kilter, sidewinding fashion. When Wilt departs, Løfsnes cradles the empty space left behind.
Lofsnes also choreographed “Introspective Mirage,” which closed the concert. After seeing Løfsnes dance in his own work, it’s clear his choreography suits his own slinky movement style. However, not everyone in this piece is as comfortable moving that way. Thurrell, in a blue gown which set her apart from the crowd, seems to offer some form of benediction or absolution in their hustle-bustle lives. The best moments come when Løfsnes illuminates the push/pull of two couples (Rivard, Cheeks, Hannah Jordan-Wilhite and Brad Orego).
Art can alter your mood or perspective, or it can reflect back a confirmation of your mental state. My mood this week has been heavy and the tone of this performance underscored that, but there was beauty and hope punctuating the bleakness, especially when the youngest dancers from Kanopy’s school and second company are on stage. You feel that their excellent training and passion will keep things moving forward.
Martha Graham: (R)evolution in Black and White will be performed again Saturday, Nov. 12, at 5 and 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2:30 p.m. in Promenade Hall.
