Northwest Choreographers Concerts, May 2004

This year’s DCO Northwest Choreographers Blue Sky Benefit concerts featured 28 choreographers and 125 dancers who shared the stage for 4 evening-length performances in the Concordia College Theatre, May 13 - 16 – Portland’s largest showcase of local choreographers ever. Each evening was entirely different and rewarding in its own way, but Thursday’s showcase of emerging choreographers proved definitively that DCO’s essential mission is dead on – to facilitate professional-level achievement by talented up-and-coming choreographers and put young developing dancers before a "real" audience.

Again Dana Loewen, this time in a solo of her own design, displayed her outstanding dance skills and deeply personal choreographic expression, leaving us hungry for more. Charmaine Gaffrey’s Guide was engaging and nothing less than perfectly executed. Sonya Duffin’s PURE DANCE displayed artistic strength and flawless technique. Casey Davenport, in 2 short pieces, set his students’ solid classical moves to music of strikingly different stripes: a neo-classical film score and a mad rapper. Another student ensemble, this one from Western Oregon University, performed Amber Davis’ desperate Trapped with intense emotion and Jody John Ramey with his partner Kathleen Lynett made a clear and joyful statement as to what in essence "DanceAbility" is about. Thursday night’s biggest surprise was Maria Kroll’s Extreme. Her strong group of 15 young, disciplined dancers performed with passion and lyricism. We’re certainly looking forward to seeing them again. In some ways it was the most interesting evening of the series, and DCO is proud to introduce this new wave of emerging talent to larger audiences. No doubt some of these names are on their way to becoming well known in the world of dance.

Friday featured more established choreographers, among them two DCO grant recipients: Tahni Holt, who served up her enigmatically titled Here is the Map, on lushly Astroturfed pedestal – a minimal, statuesque solo with equally minimal score to match – and tapper Aaron Wheeler-Kay, who accompanied himself and conquered the audience in Seven Floors Up – a masterpiece solo, tapped even upside-down! We hope the grant money will help them complete new work. Regrettably the Blue Sky audience saw only work in progress with artists running short on prep time. The predictably dynamic A-WOL Dance Collective, specializing in acrobatic-&-aerial dance, premiered a strong new work. If not for a note in the program, nobody could have guessed that one of the phenomenal quartet was on the injured list, with a competent pinch-hitter subbing in at the very last moment! Caravan Daughters and Leru Adams spiced things up with traditional folk and neo-primitive works. A cancellation threatened to cut the Friday show somewhat short, but Agnieszka Laska Dancers pulled from their repertory a full-length piece, rather than an excerpt – just what’s called for when "the show must go on."

Saturday night drew the largest audience. Of particular interest was local legend, Sahomi Tachibana’s traditional Kagami Jishi (Lion Dance), featuring Tara Tamaribuchi Gibbs in extravagant lion-mane costume – an offering that could easily have filled all yearning for exoticism. Yet, the exotic river ran even deeper; in its current, from Nepal Prajwal Ratna Vajrachara and another Japanese choreographer/dancer, Toshiko Namioka, who was joined in the professional stage debut of her talented daughter. Indefatigably, Janet Towner prepared yet another re-staging of a great choreographic treasure: Charles Weidman’s Brahms Waltzes. Towner, a former Weidman dancer, struggles to keep his legacy alive. Her dedication and effort deserves serious recognition. These timeless Waltzes should be "homework" for all students of modern dance – sobering, how modern, rich and evocative the work remains after almost 50 years. To round out the series’ most eclectic evening, Lindy Hop award winner Mija Sanders, Kinetic Images artistic director Kimm Mahoney-Watson (another DCO grant recipient) and tapper-par-excellence Judy Tibbles offered a bit lighter, more entertaining fare, set to Anglo and American vintage popular period music.

Sunday’s show included Mija Sanders, creator of Happy Feet, a full costume cartoon dance for Mythobolus Mask Theatre, which also performed Maranee Sanders’ Japanese Ghost Dance. Akagi, Ferguson and Ramey circled the stage on otherly-abled wheels. Agnieszka Laska Dancers shared glimpses of Songs of Eva, scheduled for October at PSU. From the Laurelhurst Studio, Michelle Fifis presented a surrealistically classical ballet interpretation of a gravelly blues and Shuku Iijima offered a beautifully neo-classical work. Closing out the show were Naslada Ethnic Dancers, Reclaiming Delight with live violin, recorder and drums and Grupo Flamenco, accompanied by vibrant singer/guitarist Paco de Allegre.

Finally, DCO President Bobby Fourther received the 2004 annual Lifetime Achievement Award. Look for an article about Bobby’s award in the next issue of Dance Happenings.

All images by Chris Leck (c) 2004
from the Northwest Choreographers 2004 Concert Series
entire set at www.ChrisLeck.com