{"id":4123,"date":"2013-11-04T11:53:34","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T16:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/?p=4123"},"modified":"2013-11-06T12:59:52","modified_gmt":"2013-11-06T17:59:52","slug":"4123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/4123.htm","title":{"rendered":"BalaSole – Visages"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jas-2_7\"<\/a>Bala Sole – Visages<\/em>
\nOctober 24, 2013
\nAiley Citigroup Theater<\/p>\n

Young dancers who set out on the journey toward a performance career learn early on that the dance world can be a cruel place which excludes many whose hearts are full of love for the art and whose commitment to their work is fierce.\u00a0 When a young dancer stands before the gatekeepers of dance companies and conservatories, they soon find out that their heart and commitment will only carry them so far, especially if they’re a very tall girl, or a short man, or flat footed, or curvy, or a person of color, or someone north of age thirty.<\/p>\n

When discouraged, overlooked and rejected by the gatekeepers due to his height and his age, BalaSole Artistic Director Roberto Villanueva circumvented the obstacles.\u00a0 Not only did he choose to start his own company, but he decided to focus his company’s mission on providing a stage for those whom the dance world is quick to silence.\u00a0 At the end of the evening, when his company of ten\u00a0 stood shoulder to shoulder to take their bows, it was evident that very few of them resembled one another.\u00a0 Their program, Visages, showcased a variety of solos created by dancers who were celebrating the very traits that might have otherwise marginalized them in another dance company.<\/p>\n

The company danced Chapter 10<\/em> to open the program.\u00a0 It’s a short piece set to music by Haydn.\u00a0 It opens with the dancers lined up from downstage to upstage.\u00a0 They alternately step out of the line and look back at those standing in the line.\u00a0 To me, this seemed to celebrate their defiance of the exclusionary rules of dance.\u00a0 They seemed to look at one another with delight, to celebrate that they were working in an atmosphere which sanctioned their differences.<\/p>\n

Dressed in black leotards, they perform phrases with pretty ballet elements, woven together with modern contractions and sharp port des bras which lift and open the chest, as if the individuals are embracing possibilities.\u00a0 It’s in the unison passages that we can see the variety of expressions with which steps can be executed.\u00a0 The dance was created and rehearsed over the course of six days, as a method for the dancers to “get to know one another”.<\/p>\n

Falling Together, Falling Apart<\/em> seemed like a valiant battle against gravity, choreographed by Teal Darkenwald and danced with strong emotion by Christa Hines.\u00a0 She rises gracefully from the floor as if lead by her outstretched hand.\u00a0 She seems stricken as she turns on the floor before sailing with ease into a standing turn.\u00a0 The entire piece seems like an act of determination to triumph above the pull of troubles, setbacks or enemies.\u00a0 We feel her frustration as she pounds on the floor, yet she seems uplifted and especially expressive when executing lush port des bras phrases.<\/p>\n

Sining<\/em> has a lovely Japanese atmosphere.\u00a0 The piece was choreographed and performed by Janina Clark, danced to Sakura performed on koto.\u00a0 Ms. Clark is a beautiful dancer, and her movement is so clean as her arms twist and flutter, and she strikes poses that we may have seen in traditional Japanese artwork.<\/p>\n

I especially loved Revealed<\/em>, danced and choreographed by Steven E. Brown, who (like me) is 56 years old.\u00a0 The movement of his piece reminded me of some of the work that I’ve seen done by Eiko and Koma.\u00a0 Brown works very slowly, mostly above the waist, his focus on the smallest details of the movement rather than on big sweeping gestures and bravura.\u00a0 From beginning to end, the dance travels about five feet, yet it takes us on a journey of controlled strength.\u00a0 It isn’t until the final moments of the dance that Brown shows his face directly to the audience, while rising up on releve.\u00a0\u00a0 For me, this piece seemed to illustrate the need for companies with a mission like BalaSole’s, and the reasons why a dance career needn’t end while the dancer is still young.<\/p>\n

I’ve seen Ursula Verduzco’s Nothing to Hide<\/em> several times in the past year.\u00a0 The piece is malleable and it seems to tell different aspects of the story with each performance.\u00a0 For me, this performance was the most powerful one yet, packing the deepest emotion.\u00a0 Ms. Verduzco’s movement seemed especially lovely, especially controlled, especially lyrical.\u00a0 Her arms are beautiful and expressive.\u00a0\u00a0 There are a few moments when she seems to be struggling to take a stand or to find her voice, but she is shut down, usually by her own will.\u00a0 It is only in the last moment of the dance that she finally opens her mouth wide.\u00a0 I was taken by the look on her face — a combination of strangling fear and defiant determination to move ahead, to move beyond the fear.<\/p>\n

Jason Garcia Ignacio choreographed and performed My Brother’s Keeper<\/em> to music by Couperin.\u00a0 Mr. Ignacio is so exciting to watch.\u00a0 He has fierce strength, great control and a very supple back.\u00a0 The first section of this piece plays with contemporary movement against the steadiness of the baroque accompaniment.\u00a0 The second section seems to take its lead from the music.\u00a0 At moments Ignacio seems to travel with an invisible partner. The dance winds up where it began, only this time Ignacio looks sharply to his right in the moment before the blackout, as if acknowledging another presence in the dance.<\/p>\n

Sensational flamenco vocalist Julia Patinella sang a capella for Go To The Limits of Your Longing<\/em>.\u00a0 Dancer and choreographer Anna Brown Massey is seated opposite her.\u00a0 Compared with the tremendous emotion exuded by Patinella, Ms. Massey’s movement is compact, smaller, and limited.\u00a0 As with some of the other pieces in the evening, she seems to be demonstrating the restraint imposed by society upon the dancer who wants to explode and take off.\u00a0 As Ms. Patinella rises to her feet, belting our her song, Ms. Massey unfurls her arms and legs with caution and self conscious reserve.\u00a0 She never quite completes her extension, as if deliberately withholding her energy, rather than actually taking the same risks as the vocalist.<\/p>\n

Distancia<\/em> opens with dancer\/choreographer Katherine Alvarado confronting the audience directly.\u00a0 Deep in a controlled grand plie, she stares straight at us with an intense focus.\u00a0 But as the violin music fills the air, she seems to drift off into a trance, her long hair cascading, her attention wandering, her head bobbing gently to the side.\u00a0 Perhaps she’s falling into a dream.\u00a0 Her outstretched arm initiates a traveling phrase and then a series of chaine turns.\u00a0 At the end of the dance, she looks around, as if having returned to consciousness and regaining her bearings.<\/p>\n

Body Rebellion<\/em> was a favorite piece of mine.\u00a0 The stage lighting becomes bright white as choreographer and dancer Delphina Parentiv turns on her shoulder and initiates a series of interesting and original phrases.\u00a0 She has the stage presence of a rock star.\u00a0 Her hips are loose and she consistently surprised me by taking the movement further than I’d have expected it go.\u00a0 Her musicality is strong and her phrases join together seamlessly.\u00a0 The closing moments of this piece were especially endearing, as Ms. Parentiv covers her mouth, cocks an ear to hear, then turns an imaginary key to her own heart.<\/p>\n

The final solo, Seconds Remain The Same<\/em>, is choreographed and performed by Artistic Director Roberto Villanueva.\u00a0 Though he said he was 43 and felt as if he was 83, none of that was in evidence when he danced.\u00a0 His stage presence is commanding.\u00a0 Though the piece seemed to be abstract, his strength,\u00a0 control and amazing flexibility seemed to tell a compelling story.<\/p>\n

The evening closed with a piece called To Be Determined<\/em>, which showed some further development upon the opening piece.\u00a0 This time the dance unfolded into a series of trios which teamed together various company members with a wide sweep of ages, builds and styles.<\/p>\n

It’s always wonderful to see the work of artists who drive their lances and stake their claims, regardless of what the gatekeepers have to say about them, based only on their physical appearance.\u00a0 In every other culture, all members of the community are encouraged to participate in the dance.\u00a0 It’s good to see this spirit whenever it surfaces in the western world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bala Sole – Visages October 24, 2013 Ailey Citigroup Theater Young dancers who set out on the journey toward a performance career learn early on that the dance world can be a cruel place which excludes many whose hearts are … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,20],"tags":[505,512,507,511,509,510,508,506,302,513],"class_list":["post-4123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dance","category-karen","tag-balasole","tag-christina-hines","tag-delpina-parentiv","tag-janina-clark","tag-jason-garcia-ignacio","tag-julia-patinella","tag-katherine-alvarado","tag-roberto-villanueva","tag-ursula-verduzco","tag-visages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4123"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4128,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4123\/revisions\/4128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}