Shawn Harper
Kanopy Dance Company’s Love is Love is not just a celebration of the late Stanley Love, an influential force in New York’s downtown dance scene. It’s a look at love and loss and all the heartbreak, hilarity and messiness of the human condition. Overture’s Promenade Hall hardly seems large enough to contain that chaotic mix of emotions.
The program opens with Love’s The Love Number, which Kanopy performed in 2016. Set to the pulsating beat of Barry White’s “Love Theme,” a large cast of dancers in David Quinn’s exuberant and campy costumes cavort while regal drag showgirls parade by, revealing enviable gams.
The next three pieces were choreographed by Ede Thurrell, a New York based performer and choreographer who is the sister of Kanopy co-artistic director Lisa Thurrell. In “Living End I,” Ede is a riveting presence with her close cropped platinum hair and intense gaze. Her solo, an ode to the spirit of Isadora Duncan, demonstrates how satisfying just the fluttering of a silk scarf or a simple skip can be for the audience.
In “Headaches, Heartaches and Hangnails,” set to Patsy Cline songs, the dancers exercise their acting chops as they perform witty vignettes, adding a layer of humor to the genuine ache in Cline’s lyrics and voice.
“Living End II” pairs two dancers in a mentee/mentor relationship. Miye Bishop — who blends exquisite technique with a buoyant stage presence, and Nia Shadrach-Rudels, a lovely young dancer from Kanopy’s school who possesses a maturity beyond her years — wore glittery rainbow intergalactic costumes and danced to David Bowie songs with a galaxy of stars shining behind them. It was an excellent casting decision and a poignant reminder of the gifts Bowie left us.
“Bonewash” is a spare and haunting solo choreographed by Love in which Ede Thurrell danced to an excerpt of a live performance of Laura Nyro and the Belle’s “Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing” that begins again and again — an effect that starts to irritate but then pushes through to enlightenment. When Thurrell protectively cups one hand to cover her chest and the other hand gingerly shields her crotch, we see profound vulnerability before she bares her soul just by flinging her arms back.
Closing the program is “Adam and Steve,” a work that Love choreographed as his senior dance composition at The Juilliard School in 1992. Donna Summer songs provide the perfect soundtrack to this exploration of love and the path to self-acceptance. Steve (an elegant Michael Knight) and Adam (an appealing Brad Orego) fall in love in the Garden of Eden among other same-sex couples. Sexy frolics ensue before Steve is visited by the Satanettes, a trio of glittering sirens in red, and Lucifa (Ede Thurrell in a Betty Boop wig and foxy crimson costume). Lucifa gives Steve a red purse and dress and he becomes acquainted with his feminine side, while Adam smells flowers, blissfully unaware. God (Robert Cleary, looking like Michael Douglas as Liberace from HBO’s Behind the Candelabra) makes a stunning entrance accompanied by Arch Angels (imagine a sparkling security team at a heavenly disco). Again, Quinn’s vision and execution of the costuming is a shining bonanza of spangles and sequins.
God wrathfully rearranges the couples, turns Lucifa into Eve, and leaves Steve on his own. Grappling with the aftermath, Knight performs a gorgeous solo that showcases Love’s uncanny ability to imbue serious art with campy pop culture. A. Apostol, a founding member of the Stanley Love Performance Group, set this work for Kanopy with great care and heart.
Remembering Stanley, a short film by Mats Rudels, introduces the audience to the artist with video clips of his performances and a homespun interview from several years ago where he talks about his collaboration with Kanopy. In my favorite moment, Love is seen dancing on an urban playground. He’s playing the tambourine, lost in the joy of movement. On opening night, that joy was palpable, along with the reminder that we’re now missing a bright star.
Love is Love runs through Feb. 23 at Overture Center’s Promenade Hall.
