Los Angeles Dance Review: THEN. NOW. ONWARD! (L.A. Contemporary Dance Company)

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by Tony Frankel on April 11, 2013

in Theater-Los Angeles

L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC) presented their spring program last weekend and what began in the first half as inaccessible artiness became a thrilling showcase for co-founder and Artistic Director Kate Hutter, both as choreographer and dancer.

Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!

The second half of Then. Now. Onward!, which played in the Diavolo Dance Space, began with Hutter’s Unravel, a sensual, powerful pas de deux that featured Hutter and guest artist Charlie Hodges, best known for his star turns in Twyla Tharp’s jukebox dance musicals Movin’ Out and Come Fly Away. Even knowing that Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!Hodges is both dancer and ballet master for Benjamin Millepied‘s L.A. Dance Project, his mastery of grace and strength came as something of a shock (also striking was the moment when Hutter lifted her partner as if he were weightless). Unravel explored the arc of a fiercely loving but troubled relationship; the sinuous intertwining and passion of the two dancers, especially at close proximity, made their love for each other palpable (Hutter and Hodges have been longtime friends). The flowing, twisting, winding choreography, sometimes with hands barely grazing and arms lightly linking, had me aching with its simplicity of movement. Equally thrilling and impressive was the way they supported each other, even in positions of defiance. Hutter created more storytelling in one short piece than you would find in a play. Ultimately, it was the emotion of the two players – vulnerable, sad, rebellious, frustrated, joyful – that made Unravel, bolstered by Ezio Bosso’s exquisitely bittersweet original composition, the highlight of the evening.

Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!

Having recently witnessed Joffrey’s reconstructed Le Sacre du Printemps, I can tell you that Hutter’s Prite Oef Stringh (an anagram of The Rite of Spring) is hardly derivative of Nijinsky’s 100-year-old ballet. Certainly she was inspired by it, but this version emphasizes how people relinquish their individuality to fit into the herd (the original had a maiden sacrificed for the good of the village). The exciting music featured variations on Stravinsky’s ballet. Austin Wintory’s original composition was a gorgeous rendering unto itself, in part due to the fascinating Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!orchestrations. With men in white long johns and women in vintage one-piece underwear, all of the dancers had their moment to shine as they portrayed members of a society who either tried to break free and express themselves or control others. The sock-wearing cast had plenty of tugging and pulling to do, along with jerky, convulsive, tribal, slithering and sensuous movements. Not only does Hutter have extraordinary magnetism as a performer, but her charisma flowed through her dancers as well. The cast of 14 (with standouts being JM Rodriguez and Melissa Schade) were robust, electric, and primitive as they created a community not unlike our own which seeks a societal sacrificial lamb. The performers didn’t just dance, they thrived. The Rite of Spring may have inspired Hutter, but she clearly inspired her crew – they were so much more alive and expressive than in the first act pieces.

Lindsey Lollie’s En Route, which began the evening, is as avant-garde as avant-garde can be: A group of five unemotional dancers execute a series of undecipherable movements which are in a constant state of change. In examining human thought patterns and their relation to action, Lollie has her dancers consistently morphing in shape and cluster formations, seemingly attempting to become synchronized with each other. This is textbook Contemporary Dance, with floor and torso work, fall and recovery, unpredictable changes in rhythm and speed, and ongoing stops and starts. Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!Unfortunately, the ethereal concept is a weak context if audience engagement is desired; instead of being fascinatingly hypnotic, the effect was that of soporific hypnotism. Since we have no idea what is happening, the piece becomes an exercise in experimentation that, at times, felt like an improvisational warm-up in dance class. While this style of choreography may not be to everyone’s liking, no one can deny that the many interesting positions successfully elucidated Lollie’s attempt to break out of the classical ballet box. Some of the dancers perform contortion work gracefully, and the second section has the dancers beautifully and sinuously weaving about each other, but overall the redundant display of nods, swivels, gyrations, and hand movements had me wondering if this was mind-numbing activity or an art form which is beyond my ken.

En Route’s music is also a matter of taste: The original work played live by Peter Gonzales comes off as shapeless electronica, and also feels like an experimentation towards something but has yet to arrive anywhere. This is a collaboration between Lollie and the talented musician (Gonzales is aided by digital Laptop manipulations from Louis Lopez and Sahy Uhns), but the noisy deconstructionism grates more than it wakes up the senses.

Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!

Arianne MacBean’s 100 Times is Not Enough has a stronger context but ultimately suffers from identity crisis as well. The story here is that of a choreographer (Hutter) auditioning and creating a dance piece, and her frustrations and misgivings regarding the continual process of dance-making. In presenting a dance coming to life, MacBean starts with Hutter using a microphone to bounce around her ideas, after which dancers bring those ideas to life in a repetitive manner. MacBean calls this a “dance-theater work about the arduous difficulties and fleeting moments of grace inherent Tony Frankel's Stage and Cinema LA Dance review of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's THEN. NOW. ONWARD!in the creative process,” but this is why rehearsals are dull to outsiders even as they are stimulating (albeit grueling) to those involved. The many sections are accompanied by a lovely but non-melodic string composition by Ivan Johnson, while dancers count off in a non-linear fashion. Movements involve mirroring, domino-like copying, backward walking, stretching, and forms of yoga. While moments of whimsy and tenderness pop up from time to time, I found myself unengaged with the presentation of the creative process, and longed for the result which the process might have created. As dancers surrendered to the ideas espoused by Hutter towards the end, there was no grace or sudden explosion of what this “arduous” process can lead to, just a monotonous count from 1 to 99 and 99 and 99 and 99, etc. I had no idea for whom En Route was created, but 100 Times is Not Enough is a dance piece by dancers, about dancers and for dancers.

L.A. desperately needs more dance companies, and I’ve always been behind LACDC; but you need audiences, both for income and to inspire youngsters to the world of dance. While LACDC continues breaking boundaries, I look forward to the day when they nurture work which has a greater appeal.

photos by Taso Papadakis

L.A. Contemporary Dance Company
Then. Now. Onward!
played April 4-7, 2013 at Diavolo Dance Space
for more info, visit http://www.LADanceCo.org

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