MorDance
Our Second Season
May 17, 2014
The Sheen Center
All photos by Kelsey H Campbell
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MorDance is a young company of accomplished ballet dancers in the process of developing their unique voice. Their contemporary dances stay close to classical ballet roots. At Sheen Center, they presented their second season with a program of three pieces, each choreographed by Artistic Director Morgan C. McEwen.
In the opening moments of Ingress, three women press their outstretched hands against their partners’ chests as they enter the stage. Traces of that forceful image and the angles it creates are echoed throughout the dance, reaching a lovely resolution when the men fall back against the same outstretched hands, only this time, it’s as if for support. The dance is abstract without much communication between partners — they rarely meet each other’s gaze, at times moving as one larger entity rather than a set of partners. Motifs appear that remind me of floor combinations from the classical ballet class, before they veer off into compelling phrases of original movement. The women move in releve on straight legs, their focus on their feet, their straight arms circling in an exaggerated fashion as if keeping their balance, and it seems to echo the tentative steps that a young ballet student might take in her first pointe classes. At times the dancers are rooted to the floor in first position, their upper bodies briefly bobbing left and right, almost like a doll’s. In another phrase, the woman stand still while presenting classical port des bras, or a series of jetes from a petite allegro. Each phrase contains its own unique contemporary twist. At times, the dance looked a little crowded, which had more to do with the size of the stage of the Sheen Center than the choreography itself. I’d love to see these dances open up on a larger stage.
Static Space is an athletic duet danced by Ms. McEwen and Jace Coronado. Both dancers are compelling — Coronado for his earthiness and McEwen for the apparent ease with which she combines robust power with ballerina grace and unpredictable patterns.
For me, Jeu de Temps was the highlight of the evening. As the title suggests, McEwen plays with rhythmic phrases throughout. Shifts in weight and unexpected footwork patterns create hip accents of movement against the percussive accompaniment. The women dance in floor length skirts, and in one passage the dance takes on a MOMIX kind of turn as the skirts are lifted high over the women’s heads, allowing us to see them move only from the waist down as the skirt billows above, almost like the petals of a flower. I really enjoyed the way that Ms. McEwen showcased the individuality of each dancer. Their personalities emerge through the movement and this made the dance so engaging. We could feel a palpable reaction in the audience. Also especially lovely were the women’s sections, during which they moved together at close quarters in a sisterly fashion.
