Displaying items by tag: Isadora Duncan

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (CDE) in collaboration with Duncan Dance Chicago has put together a production that undoubtedly will tap into one’s inner most feelings by way of a stunning presentation of interpretive dance, storytelling and art exhibition. Meditations on Being, performed at Danztheatre’s home in the Auditorium at Ebenezer Lutheran Church is, according to the Executive Director and Founder Ellyzabeth Adler, inspired by the difficulty the arts community has faced over the last four year but focuses on reflection, and reconnecting – rebuilding a sense of community. Meditations is a stunning collection of eight pieces that also include contributions by author and playwright Timothy David Rey and fellow artist/performer Courtney Reid Harris who has worked with Adler on past projects The Wasteland and This Is Not a Pipe.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble opens the show with “Meditations on Nature: Birth, Decay and Renewal,” a segment co-created/performed by Wannapa P. Eubanks, that paces us nicely for what is to come after Adler sets the tone with heartfelt poetry that touches on the many frustrations we face in today’s society while offering a suggestion to reset by relinking with others to focus a peaceful mindset that revolves around the often overlooked, gift of the moment.

The production moves gracefully from one scene into the next. I was very touched by the two-woman dance piece by Duncan Dance Chicago titled “Street Salvation” with music by Chopin. The choreography was originally designed by company namesake Isadora Duncan. Duncan herself was simple and expressive. Artistic Director and Jennifer Sprowl performs beautifully as does Lila Rubin who portrays a young girl, down and out laying in the street, when an angel comes and tries to help her blossom and open up in the end. The angel walks towards Heaven and the young street girl finally able to get up and follow her.

“Confluence” created by Siwei Xu and Daria Jin is a lovely piece danced in complete silence. A beautiful girl is trapped in a maze of red velvet ropes suspended from the ceiling and her lover tries desperately to pull her out, so close at times yet so out of reach until the two are finally united.

Of the many poignant pieces the production delivers, “Elyse” created, and performed by Eileen Tull may have resonated with me the most. “Elyse” was a very well written monologue with interpretive dance about a young friend of hers who recently died of a heart attack. Tull’s delivery is compelling and her words, beautifully said in this lovely tribute to her dear friend, ever so moving. Connected to this piece, as part of the show’s visual art demonstration, one corner of the church space displays an art exhibit created by Tull, entitled “The Grieving Corner”. At one point in the piece, Tull asks the audience to call out the name of a person they were mourning, which I felt was very touching and effective.

“RIA” with choreographer and performer Anniela Huibobro and production by Gabriel Mercado with music by Victor Moris, Collen and Mercado is a stunning piece of modern dance while “Meditations on Walden” by CDE with text by Henry David Thoreau is a delightful and intriguing play on words and life. The act is summed up in the song “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” charmingly performed by Courtney Reid Harris to ensemble members Kerry Valentine Taylor, Jen Benjamin and Peyton Hooks.

The final presentation ends the show with expressive imagery that effectively sums up the program creator’s destined vision. “Meditations on Nature” includes beautiful video along with projected images of flowers and plants growing and unfolding while blossoming, as a woman donned in a wedding gown with a forty-foot train slowly walks up into the nature scenes. Her train becomes the final touch to the structure that houses a community rebuilt and reconnected.

Meditations on Being presents a powerful message thanks to inspired direction and its talented group of performers, writers and choreographers. I really enjoyed the way Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble employs so many different styles of dance from Isadora Duncan to modern along with the art installations that are available to look at during the intermission. This is a very lovely and touching, politically affecting night of entertainment and art. I highly recommended this production for audiences of all ages.

Mediations of Being is performed at Auditorium at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster Ave through March 9th. Tickets are a suggested $10-$20 donation and running time is about one-hour and forty minutes, which includes a ten-minute intermission. For tickets and/or more information on this production, click here.  

This summer the 9th annual Chicago Dancing Festival returns with four days of free dance performances throughout the city. On Wednesday evening, the MCA hosted a production entitled Modern Women in the Edlis Neeson Theater for two back-to-back shows. 

As the audience filed into the theater, a video of Loie Fuller’s “Serpentine Dance” was projected onto the back wall of the stage.  The film is from 1896 and each frame of the film was tinted by hand to give an already beautiful and fluid dance piece the additional magic of what appears to be a color changing costume. The show continued to incorporate projected video and photos at the start of each piece taking us back in time to see the founding women of modern dance. This was a great addition to the show, however each clip lasted for close to a minute and the lack of background music made for a somewhat uncomfortable silence in the theater – interrupted more than once by someone’s cell phone ringing!

The show was 1 hour with 5 pieces. The first piece was “Valse Brillante”, originally choreographed by Isadora Duncan in 1915, performed by Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Company. As the introduction video clip showed, many of Isadora Duncan’s works were performed outside in nature. This piece transported us to a summer garden with the light and airy movements flowing together perfectly to the buoyant music of a solo piano. The graceful silk costumes floated behind the dancers who beautifully executed a classic piece of modern dance. 

Martha Graham is one of the most well known names in modern dance with a long legacy. “Deep Song” is a solo work, originally performed by Martha Graham herself in 1937, recreated on the stage by Blakeley White McGuire of the Martha Graham Dance Company. It was performed in the same costume designed for the original piece, a lovely full-length black and white dress which is as much a part of the performance as the dancer and the bench incorporated into the choreography. The piece is powerful, full of fear and distress, and it had the audience entranced.

The final 3 pieces were newer works paying homage to other masters of modern dance including Doris Humphrey, Ruth St. Denis and Ruth Page. My favorite of these pieces was “A Picture of You Falling” by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. This solo piece was a short piece brilliantly performed by Jason Hortin in the show I attended.  Choreographed by Crystal Pite and set to a composition of voice-overs and sound effects, it was an amazingly athletic and noteworthy piece. With a flavor of bone breaking dance style characterized by rhythmic contorting movements of the body, it had me completely absorbed and as a short piece it left me wanting more! The level of applause for this piece in the curtain call has me thinking the rest of the audience agreed with me on this being a standout of the show!

Overall the show was a great tribute to the women whose creativity, inspiration and courage brought us a new form of dance that broke from the traditions of ballet and paved the way for so many dancers and choreographers after them. It was a great show even for those not versed in modern dance, with accessible pieces that stirred your emotions. The Chicago Dancing Festival runs from August 25th to the 29th and is a great opportunity for those passionate about dance as well as those who are just interested in a night out. If you missed it this summer, keep your eyes out for shows next summer!