The Next Step Gala, which benefits Career Transition For Dancers, recently took place at the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. The evening was a tribute to the late philanthropist Howard Gilman, who supported dance, medical research, and the protection of endangered species and the environment.
During the course of the evening, Oct. 5, Merrill Ashley, former principal with New York City Ballet, presented a CTFD award to the Howard Gilman Foundation; it was accepted by Luigi Gasparinetti. Another CTFD award was presented to Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, by Cynthia Gregory, former principal with ABT. Actress Isabella Rossellini was the evening's host.
Ballet Hispanico of New York opened the proceedings with "Ritmo y Ruido," choreographed by Ann Reinking. This almost seemed like Hispanico's dancers had been let loose in a disco and urged to go, go, go. Did they ever blaze away!
Francia Russell, who, with her husband, Kent Stowell, is co-artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, staged the pas de deux from Balanchine's "Agon" for two PNB principals‹Patricia Barker and Jeffrey Stanton. The intricate, body-entangling "pas" was given a spruced performance by the pair.
Murray Louis/Nikolais Dance contributed "Nou-menon," which had been created by the late Alwin Nikolais, who also designed lighting, sound, and costumes. The title is opposed to "phenomenon." Thus we were treated to a comic-mysterious duo by Alberto Del Saz and Peter Kyle, who were encased in shroud-like structures, manipulating hilarious patterns from within, before finally breaking through their constricting costumes.
For DanceGalaxy, the company created by Medhi Bahiri and Judith Fugate, Ginger Thatcher choreographed "Saturday Night," a quartet consisting of Deborah Dawn, Christina Fagundes, Suzanne Goldman, and Bonnie Pickard. Expert jazzy strutting on pointes by the four charmers was quite an attraction.
American Ballet Theatre's Julie Kent and Robert Hill danced the pas de deux from Act I of Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet. Ms. Kent was one of the most radiant Juliets we've ever seen in the role. The team of Kent and Hill was soul searing in its tenderness and ardor.
Parsons Dance Company contributed "Caught" and "Instinct." The first was the famed solo originally performed by choreographer-Artistic Director David Parsons. On this occasion Jaime Martinez was the dancer. Seen under strobe lighting, the solo gives the illusion of the performer walking, running, and flying in air. Martinez excelled in his timing and the fanciful effects achieved.
Illusion also plays a large part in "Instinct," which was given its world premiere last May with Parsons and Vladimir Malakhov. This time Robert Battle and Jason McDole were the intertwined pair who led us to believe that there was only one cavorting simian. Both dancers tickled the risibilities with their antics.
San Francisco Ballet sent Yuan Yuan Tan and Cyril Pierre to perform the pas de deux from "Sonata," by the company's artistic director, Helgi Tomasson, as poetic a duet as the title would imply, and performed with breathtaking lyricism by the team.
Quite in contrast was the pas de deux "Stay With Me," choreographed by Anne Marie DeAngelo for Joffrey Ballet of Chicago's Lorena Feijoo and Steve Beirens. This was a "knock "em down," dragged-out fight between the dancers that was so realistic we expected to see gore galore covering the stage at any moment.
The Martha Graham Dance Company has been missing from the scene for too long a time. Thus, the appearance of Amy Day in the solo that Graham had created for herself in 1932, "Satyric Festival Song," was eagerly awaited. Diane Gray and Janet Eilber reconstructed the solo in 1994. Ms. Day achieved a triumphant revival and certainly rated the thunderous ovation that she received at the conclusion of the solo.
Just as anticipated, the Act II Le Corsaire pas de deux, with Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella pulling off every bravura trick in the ballet lexicon, would have been sufficient to send the audience away in a glowing state.
Still more bravura was in store. The program concluded with the Moscow Folk Ballet in "Russian Dervish," from Riverdance‹The Show. The group seemed to stress that any of the "step dancing" Riverdance could do, it could do better‹all this while adding familiar movements and forms of flight that pervade Russian folk and character dance. The energy and verve displayed by the dancers could have led us to believe that they were capable of loosening the ceiling and walls of the playhouse.
Hank Smith on Tap
Dixon Place, the performance institution which launched the careers of John Leguizamo and Blue Man Group, is bringing back director-choreographer Hank Smith to continue his series of interviews with master dancers in The Story of Tap.
Dates: Oct. 23, 24, 30, and 31, at 7:30 pm. Venue: Dixon Place, 258 Bowery (between Houston and Prince streets). Tickets: $12; TDF accepted; students and seniors, half price. Reservations/information: (212) 219-3088.
New Studio at Joyce SoHo
A new dance studio and dressing rooms have officially opened at Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer St., NYC, thanks to a major grant awarded to The Joyce Theater Foundation by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, last December. The announcement was made by Linda Shelton, executive director of The Joyce Theater Foundation.
In addition to the studio and dressing rooms, funding was applied to the cost of air-conditioning the 90-seat, first-floor performance space, making summer performances possible. The dance center now offers three studios which provide independent choreographers and dance companies with highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space.
The Joyce Theater Foundation, which also operates The Joyce Theater in Chelsea, acquired Joyce SoHo in October 1996, as part of its mission "to serve and support the art of dance."
Dance Library of Israel Honors Ann Reinking
The Dance Library of Israel will hold its annual Documents of Dance Award ceremony, October 25, at 6 pm. Each year the award honors an outstanding person in the dance community. This year's recipient, Ann Reinking, has starred in several Broadway shows, most recently Chicago. The evening is dedicated to the memory of Barrett G. Kreisberg, trustee of The Harkness Foundation for Dance. Activities will include the award ceremony, a formal dinner, dancing, and entertainment by tapper Jerry Ames and the team of Russian tap dancers Vasili and Sergei. Located in Tel Aviv, the Dance Library of Israel was founded by the late Estelle Sommers, in 1975.
Venue: The Supper Club, 240 W. 47th St., NYC. Tickets: $200. Reservations/information: (212) 581-6456. q