Review: Contemporary Choreographers (Joffrey Ballet)

  
  
Contemporary
   Choreographers

Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon,
   Brock Clawson and Alexander Ekman 
Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. (map)
thru Feb 23  |  tickets: $31-$152   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
   Read review
  

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Showcasing rising choreographers to mixed results

Joffrey Ballet Chicago presents

Contemporary Choreographers

Review by J’nai Gaither

The Joffrey Ballet is one of the foremost contemporary ballet companies in the country, and for good reason. Their athletic ability and acrobatic prowess are prominently displayed when performing in contemporary pieces. Joffrey’s winter season is in full swing with the Contemporary Choreographers program, which showcases the dazzling, creative works of some of today’s leading choreographers, including Brock Clawson, Christopher Wheeldon and Alexander Ekman. Though the three-ballet mixed repertory program had the potential to leave audience mouths agape, it overall was a mixed bag.

Crossing Ashland

“Crossing Ashland” is the brainchild of Chicago-based choreographer, Brock Clawson, who used the busy Chicago street as a way to indicate connectedness (or lack thereof) in Chicago and the

world, and the energy of cities and the evolution of technology. The piece begins with a lone person walking across the stage, deeply engrossed in the contents of his phone, while patrons are still chatting and finding their seats in the house. Throughout the piece, dancers in plain clothes intermittently walking across the stage, involved in their daily activity from checking messages on their phone to canoodling with lovers, etc. These interspersed vignettes frame the overall work nicely, providing a serene backdrop to the frenetic movement and energy onstage. Though the dancing is mostly solid, as is the norm with the Joffrey, execution of steps was sometimes lacking at the performance I attended.

That being said, the contemporary space is where Joffrey lives. Sometimes steps are off, but to the untrained eye, that might be construed as an illustration of the imperfections of a big city. However, to a trained and critical eye, some of the movements are just off. But overall, a fantastic piece of choreography.

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Continuum

Dressed in emerald green outfits, the theme of Christopher Wheeldon’s “Continuum” is that of time—no surprise there. Gyorgy Ligeti’s music (performed live by keyboardists Mungunchimeg Buriad and Paul James Lewis) is an appropriate choice: the often haunting and dissonant ringing mimics the strokes of a clock. The dancer’s movements also reference the hands of a clock, often moving in unison to the ringing, and imitating the movement of a clock’s hands.

In the middle of the piece, the lighting casts shadows on the dancers for a decidedly Hitchcockian effect a la Vertigo. The shadows go in and out of focus, creating a dizzying effect for the audience, all while being purely visually stimulating. Live piano and harpsichord playing narrate the piece in a way that is vigorous and modern. The music is truly enchanting. It’s in this piece that Joffrey performs at their best – athleticism, acrobatic and technical skill are all on display, with legs reaching heights heretofore unknown, and vertiginous jumps and moves akin to a Cirque du Soleil artist are de rigeuer.

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Episode 31

One of the things Joffrey does really well, oddly enough, is make documentary-style movies. The company makes some of the most interesting, well-edited, touching and funny films, and this piece begins with a celebratory seven minute movie documenting the learning and creation of “Episode 31” by Alexander Ekman. Once the piece begins, the setting of the piece is revealed to be a post-apocalyptic war zone, which is quite a

departure from the calm and witty nature of the Joffrey-developed movie. Dancers wear black and white costumes (designed by Luke Simcock) and some sport mime-like white faces, while wielding swords and charging at one another. The running, jumping and chanting that ensues paints a decidedly different picture than one we’re used to with Joffrey, and more akin to something we’d see from Hubbard Street (like Ohad Naharin’s “Minus 16”). The smoke and torches, dimmed lighting and prison bars all contributed to the war-like effect the company was going for.

All types of dance are incorporated into “Episode 31”, including ballet en pointe, tap and modern. A black curtain frequently rises and lowers to reveal the chaos behind it. At one point, the proscenium sides of the Auditorium are raised to expose the wings, further revealing a frenzied environment spanning the entire stage. Considering that Joffrey can often misstep and fumble movements, this work would seem to be an ideal fit for Joffrey as each person has her/his own choreography. Unfortunately, it is just not very exciting to watch beyond the first few minutes. The style of “31” feels foreign for them as a company, and even though the look and feel of the piece should have been exciting, it was not executed in a way that kept me rapt with attention. In fact, I saw people forgo this piece to leave the Auditorium before it began. (Many of those people may have felt that it was too soon to see the piece again, as it had been performed at the Chicago Dancing Festival just last summer.)

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The Joffrey will always be an invaluable asset to Chicago’s artistic community, and – though this performance had its highs and lows – I look forward to many more years of dancing artistry emanating from the Auditorium stage.

Rating: ★★★

Contemporary Choreographers continues through February 23rd at Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. (map).  Tickets are $31-$152, and are available by phone (312-386-8905) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at Joffrey.org.  (Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes, includes two intermissions)

 

Photos by Cheryl Mann 

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artists

dancers

Matthew Adamczyk, Derrick Agnoletti, Yoshihisa Arai, Amanda Assucena, Guillaume Basso, Miguel Angel Blanco, Ogulcan Borova, Anais Bueno, Fabrice Calmels, Raul Cassola, April Daly, Elivelton das Gracas, Fernando Duarte, Erica Lynette Edwards, Yumelia Garcia, Cara Marie Gary, John Mark Giragosian, Dylan Gutierrez, Elizabeth Hansen, Rory Hohenstein, Anastacia Holden, Dara Holmes, Victoria Jainai, Graham Maverick, Caitlin Meighan, Jeraldine Mendoza, Jacqueline Moscicke, Amber Neumann, Alexis Polito, Christine Rocas, Aaron Rogers, Lucas Segovia, Aaron Smyth, Temur Suluashvili, Shane Urton, Albert Velazquez, Mahalia Ward, Jenny Winton, Joanna Wozniak, Kara Zimmerman

behind the scenes

Crossing Ashland: Brock Clawson (choreographer, costume concepts), John Adams, Michele McLaughlin, Martin Tillman, M83, Jeremy Limb (music), Stephanie Hilton, Sayiga Eugene Peabody (rehearsal assistants), Nicole Pearce (lighting), Jason Fassl (original lighting)

Continuum: Christopher Wheeldon (choreography), Gyorgy Ligeti (music), Jason Fowler (staging), Natasha Katz (lighting), Nicole Pearce (lighting recreation), Mungunchimeg Buriad (piano, harpsichord), Paul James Lewis (piano)

Episode 31: Alexander Ekman (choreography), Mikael Karlsson, Ane Brun, Erik Satie (music), Luke Simcock (costume design), Nicole Pearce (lighting design), Zack Winokur (staging)

Joffrey Ballet: Ashley Wheater (artistic director), Greg Cameron (executive director), Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino (founders), Scott Speck (music director), Nicolas Blanc, Gerard Charles (ballet masters), Graca Sales (ballet master, principal coach), Zachary D. Lazar, Jr. (chairman of the board)

  

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