Friends of dancers and choreographers filled the Ashamu Dance Theater Saturday night to watch the American Dance Legacy Institute's Winter Dance Concert.
Choreographers and independent dancers from the institute, a performing and teaching ensemble dedicated to preserving and sharing the spirit of American dance, joined forces with Brown students for the eight-piece performance. Each piece exhibited a diversity of music and choreographic styles.
"The Angel," choreographed and performed by Jonathan Riedel, was notable. The piece opened with him standing on a nearly dark stage with strained hands at his side. His stiff stance softened into a delicate fluidity. The dramatic lighting and the choice of Frederic Chopin's "Nocturne in C minor" effectively conveyed anguish and struggle.
Sita Frederick's "Trace/Generate II" was moving in its use of sound and silence. The piece was originally performed as a quartet of women, two of whom are pregnant - Frederick, an expecting mother, executed an improvised solo version with impressive strength and energy. The percussion of her heavy breathing powerfully accompanied Edis "El Guru" Sanchez's Afro-Caribbean music.
Tina Louise Vasquez displayed the strength and athleticism of a dancer in "Woman As Neptune." Accompanied by pianist and flutist Won Hee Chang, Vasquez contrasted live music with silence to complement her dramatically complex movement on stage - notably, her gesticulation.
"Ecce Etude," by choreographer Danny Grossman, seemed inspired by a painting. Like statues in their pale and feminine costumes, Laura Bennett, Amy Marie Burns and Kerry Gallagher moved stiltedly to classical music by J.S. Bach.
The performance also featured members of Dance Extension, a resident touring repertory at Brown.
Victoria Fortuna's '07.5 "Surfaces" was an outstanding medley of movement. Fortuna's piece was a synthesis of parts, with all the dancers pulsing and repeating the same sequence. The motions of the 13 dancers seemed to express loneliness and rejection, and Victoria Roth's '08 performance was particularly moving - especially in her connection to Fortuna's choice of music. Overall, the piece was flawlessly executed.
The concert closed with an excerpt from the show "Getting There" called "Goin' to Chicago." Wearing work shirts with rolled-up sleeves, the ensemble of eight Dance Extension members captured the spirit of urban America in the 1930s.
"The dancers did a good job of using the music to express themselves. They all had a lot of presence on stage," said Sophie Waskow '07.
