WINTER DANCE CONCERT

January 2002 Table of Contents

WINTER DANCE CONCERT
by Jack Hardy & Kermit Fernander

The Momentum Dance Company of Miami gave its second annual Winter Dance Concert literally under the stars at the Garden Theatre, Black Sound, Green Turtle Cay, on the evening of 8th December. Host Alton Lowe always seems to be able to guarantee perfect weather for these cultural occasions.

Well, almost perfect. The temperature was comfortable, the sky was clear and there was no wind. This caused condensation on the open air stage and the first performance was that of Dr Sandra Riley on the push broom and towels, drying out the surface for the dancers. During the evening there were one or two slips caused by the damp conditions but no injuries. Certainly there seemed to be no holding back of leaps and landings by the dancers.

Each item on the programme was introduced by the Momentum Dance Company's Artistic Director Delma Iles and quite a few of the dances had been choreographed by Ms Iles and Artistic Assistant Irmah delValle.

The first item of the evening was the longest, Handel's Concerto , a graceful, joyous and balletic interpretation for three women which appeared on the company's first programme 20 years ago. It was clear that the dancers had originally been classically trained from a young age. As well as pirouetting and leaping prettily to the complex baroque music, they did not neglect to interpret the emotions conveyed by the music; now tender and gentle, now proudly exuberant.

The evening's presentations seemed to move gradually away from the conventional to the decidedly experimental. The most memorable work for many in the audience must surely be Water Study, which Ms Iles described as one of the most important works in modern dance history, created by modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey in 1922. The Spandex-adorned dancers performed in blue lighting (courtesy Travis Neff) to no music, merely the shushes of their own voices. They recreated the ebb and flow of tides; the splashes, eddies and currents of flowing water; the sweep of mid-ocean swells and the sprawl of waves on the beach. It proved a truly remarkable experience which must have brought home to many in the audience, used to the movements of the sea, the power of the creative and interpretive processes in modern dance.

Another highlight of the evening was Delma Iles' The Tyranny of Beauty: Beautiful/Unbeautiful which is a recent work (2001) and one she noted was still in the stage of being refined. Tyranny brought many chuckles of appreciation from the audience as the pas de deux disdained conventional, beautiful dance movement and featured slumped shoulders, splayed feet and gauche, almost risqué interaction. The two dancers owed more to professional wrestling in their gambols than classical ballet.

Also outstanding were two works by Artistic Assistant Irmah delValle. The first, An Anguished Cry, performed by six female dancers to music by Vanessa May, could be open to several interpretations but Ms DelValle's Cuban heritage somehow brought to mind suffering under despotism, the inability of the individual to break away from a highly ordered society, and the complete lack of self-expression or protest. The work ended with an eponymous cry from the performers.

The second, Movimento Feroz, was an Afro-Cuban presentation that ended the evening in high style. The music was ebullient, pulsating and driving. The costumes were a visual delight with ghoulish strips - some of them moved with the dancers, some of them seemed to be their own skins - that produced a zombie... santorina... voudou... other-worldly aura. The title - ferocious movement - was borne out in the vitality of the dance. It provided an exciting climax to the evening's entertainment, the intimate setting allowing the threatening approach and retreat of the dancers to be fully appreciated. This work is a hot number, worthy of performance anywhere in the world from the Garden Theatre to the Edinburgh Festival. Congratulations, Irmah delValle and the whole troupe!

There were other delightful performances, including a newly-found love situation (until reality sets in) by Delma Iles featuring black and white lovers, and an interpretation of a cynical Brecht/Weill pre-World War II song that came over the speakers thinly but exactly set the tone for the thirtiesh era.

Alton Lowe and the Abaco Cultural Society should be congratulated for once again bringing top class performers to the island. In addition to the Momentum Dance Company's evening performance there was a matinée for schoolchildren which featured talented balladeer Judy Gail along with the dancers. The public were also invited to a rehearsal for an upcoming water ballet by the company.

January 2002 Table of Contents