Last night, after a tiny work happy hour with non-arts-related coworkers, I headed downtown to catch VelocityDC at the Sydney-Harman Hall.
The first thing I noticed about the overall setting was the energy. Even while standing in line for will call, the audience was buzzing. They were in a wide range of casual to “evening” wear. They were a wide range of ages. But they were all excited.
As I walked into the theater right before 8:00 pm, the energy just popped up another level. I was expecting my usual pre-show habit: to awkwardly waddle around people to my seat, sit down, adjust my jacket and purse, and then peruse the program for titles and piece notes.
Instead, a DJ was spinning soul and Urban Artistry was performing for and with the crowd. The audience was clapping to the beat. There were lots of cat calls and “woo-woos!” coming from everywhere. I didn’t get a chance to look at the program, but I didn’t mind. I was immediately ushered into the performance, rather than into a piece of paper previewing the performance.
After an almost stand-up-ish intro from Dance/MetroDC Director Peter DiMuro, (could the whole night be more of a revue, with more comedy and singing and DJs?) we were sped right into a full evening of diverse dances that forced me to live in the moment.
So from here, I’d like to summarize what I learned – from a choreographer’s prospective – in seeing these pieces from the second row.
- Live music is awesome.
- Precision and rhythm is so impressive.
- Colorful footwear is badass.
- Give the audience breaks in high-powered energy with changes in pace and intensity.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company
- Lighting can be a powerful partner in a solo.
- You don’t necessarily need a face to see emotion.
- Arms and hands can lead movement and still look technically “difficult.”
- Really, really subtle eye movement translates to the audience! (Well, at least to the second row.)
- Just like with Edwin Aparicio’s flamenco, feet can be a powerful percussion instrument.
It's possible Corey Landolt's whole "look" (physique, tattoos, painter overalls, scruffy face) is the most redeeming thing about "High Lonesome." Yum.
I feel like I should preface this and say I heart the Washington Ballet so much. I love them because they’re local, they’re expressive, they’re beautiful (of course) and they’re fantastic storytellers. So, the reason I didn’t really like this Trey McIntyre piece was because it took away the dancers’ expressions and had a weak, try-too-hard-to-find-a-story story.
So, here are the “mean” things I learned:
- Pointe shoes do not work to rock music. (Too heavy!)
- Beck is not dance-friendly music. (Too slow!)
- The Washington Ballet has a great costume closet with lots of random white clothes (guessing here).
Another caveat: I cried the hardest at the end of this piece than I ever have before watching dance. And I tear up quite a bit.
- Diversity is beautiful.
- Simple shades of one color is a great, quick costume for an ensemble.
- Repeated “pedestrian” movements are very powerful when they are repeated in different themes with different people in different numbers.
- Looking the audience in the eye is a powerful emotional tool.
- Bootay looks awesome peeking out of shorts on both men and women (professional-dance quality men and women, obviously).
- Making an abstract movement-focused piece’s intention clear in the program notes is extremely helpful.
- Yummy modern dance extensions that feel SO GOOD as a dancer can also look really well-done on stage.
- I want to see them more.
- You know, sometimes the forgotten works of Balanchine should remain forgotten. (Yikes! I am mean to the ballet choreography today!)
- Ballet music does not make for a good show closer for such a high-energy evening.
There’s one more VelocityDC performance tonight, and especially at the $18 price tag, there’s no excuse not to go.
(I actually paid almost as much for parking as much as I did for my ticket. I’m not sure which message is stronger: This is an awesome dance ticket price, or parking is way too ridiculously expensive.)
