Garth Fagan - Susan Reiter

Transitions

Garth Fagan Dance
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
October 17, 2006

by Susan Reiter
copyright 2006 by Susan Reiter

“Prelude (‘Discipline is Freedom’)” has been the traditional program opener for Garth Fagan Dance for many years. For its most recent Joyce Theater season, the company planned to perform it on the second of its two programs, but not the first. But an injury necessitated some program shifting, so the opening night curtain rose on “Prelude,” with its initially silent, meditative sequence of bodies carving through space or moving quietly in place — the elements of a warm-up, but elevated to a higher plane.

In addition to the pleasures of its stealthily accumulating power, it was useful that this became, by default, the introductory work, since the company has gone through some personnel changes in the past year, and “Prelude” always offers a valuable opportunity to become acquainted with the individual dancers’ distinctive qualities as each makes an entrance and asserts dominion over a piece of the stage. The eloquent veteran Sharon Skepple has retired since the troupe performed in New York a year ago, and Keisha Clarke — whose lithe, magnetic presence had been a highlight of the past few seasons — is no longer on the roster. Meanwhile, veteran Micha Scott has returned after a five-year absence, and there are some younger newcomers.

The program reshuffling meant that only the last of the three section’s of “Life: Dark/Light,” last year’s premiere, was performed. The music, selections by jazz violinist Billy Bang, bears titles that allude to the Vietnam war, and one regretted not having a second look at the full piece, with its fiercely haunting central male duet. The finale, “Light,” opens with a line of women snaking across the stage, pausing at times to balance calmly with a bent arm held to the hip. They look so serenely comfortable poised there that it seems they could remain suspended ad infinitum. Annique Roberts — a vibrantly committed performer and a newly strong presence this season — seizes the eye when she bursts into a fleet, intense series of moves. Dancers seem able to rock forward and back within a single leap that scoops through space.

“Senku,” a world premiere, takes its title from the record album of pianist William Chapman Nyahu; Fagan has chosen four of its selections as his score. “Senku” refers to a Ghanian keyboard instrument, and the music, by different composers, is united by its blend of African elements with more traditional western sounds. The first section is a feisty, wary solo for Khama Phillips (replacing the injured Guy Thorne). Wearing plum-colored tank top and shorts, he seemed to be listening intently for something, as he alternated between speeded-up bursts of surprising bursts of speeded-up movement, and moments of near-stillness, as when he unfolded his leg extremely slowly. Whenever he broke free, he seemed defiant, even confrontational as he looked out at us.

During the second section, an intriguing, undefined yet potent relationship between two women unfolded. The majestic Nicolette Depass appeared protective of Roberts, yet perhaps was also testing her. In the final moments, when they stood with their backs to us and looked at each other, it only seemed to imply more questions about the nature of their connection — a power struggle, perhaps.

The initial nervous ostinato phrases of the third section’s music were matched by a flurry of rapid pivot turns and traveling jumps. When it slowed to a meandering pace, two couples engaged in totem-like partnering. The tone, and the groupings, kept shifting, and the section ended on a note of unresolved uneasiness. Norwood Pennewell brought “Senku” to its conclusion with an eloquent, unpredictable solo delivered with his distinctive command and fervor. As the sad, lilting phrases of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Deep River,” he made the simple act of slowly bending over and rising up resonate deeply. His sudden falls, the way he twists his arms around the torso and his sudden freezing into positions with a look of fear in his eyes — all were delivered with mesmerizing spontaneity.

Closing the program was “Translation Transition,” a 2002 work set to three selections by the Jazz Jamaica All Stars, which has its slyly exultant moments as well as some of Fagan’s trademark beautiful oddities. Each of his leading dancers made a strong impact, as various duets and trios succeeded each other in shifting alliances. Everyone looked chicly glamorous in the costumes of black pants and beautifully designed shirts, there was something both celebratory and sobering in the cumulative impact of Fagan’s juxtapositions of unpredictable wildness and plaintive calm.

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Transitions