Tag Archives: Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble

By Walter Rutledge

Karole Armitage and her stunning post-modern ballet company, Armitage Gone! Dance is in the final weekend of a two-week engagement at the Joyce Theater. The company is offering two programs, a total of four works by cutting edge choreographer and founder Karole Armitage. Armitage has found a way to successfully infuse her very individual philosophy of movement and life into her work.

Program A opened with a new work entitled GaGa Gaku, which referenced the ancient Japanese court dance Gagaku. The movement uses elements of eastern art, dance, theatre and spiritualism to create an otherworldly, but distinctively Armitage landscape. The stage environment was one of the more different treatments I had ever seen for dance.

Choreographers usually feel performance spaces are never large enough; Armitage placed a wall of red curtains in front of mid-stage reducing the stage depth to only fifteen feet. In addition, low hanging visible theater lights restricted the proscenium height. The initially perceived spatial limitations soon offered the audience a different and welcomed perceptive, bringing her strong sense of architecture and design subtly to the forefront. GaGa Gaku has a cast of fifteen dancers (including three guests from the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble), who remain on stage for almost the entire work.

The look and choreographic temperament of Ligeti Essays was in total contrast from GaGa Gaku. Now Armitage used the entire stage, this made the space feel expansive. Blue lights encircled the light grey floor and a large tree/sculpture upstage right broke the linear plain. The stage more closely resembled an art installation than a dance stage.

The work was a series of encounters between seven dancers. The dancers would perform, exit, and return throughout the work, each time revealing another aspect of their relationships. There was clear movement and character development that gave the audience room to feel humanistic qualities while remaining abstract.

The program closed with Drastic-Classicism set an original score by Rhys Chatham and performed with live music. The work was an homage to New York City’s East Village club scene of the late 70’s early 80’s. At its apex four guitarists and a drummer performed with the dancers onstage.

Drastic-Classicism is a combination of dance, theatre and performance art. At one point the dancers are partnered/supported by the guitars while others performers dance to the frenzied rock music. Armitage cleverly amalgamates choreographed movement, with structured and free improvisation to create a multi-textured work.

The company performed Three Theories on the second program. This ambitious work was inspired by Brian Greene’s best selling book on theoretical physics. The concept of dancing to the themes based on Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, Quantum Mechanic and the later hypothesis of String Theory would seem an almost insurmountable task for most choreographers- not Armitage.

The evening’s length work is performed as a one act consisting of three sections and is void of pauses or an intermission. The results ranged from pure kinetic excitement, to cerebral and atmospheric. In true Armitage style breathtaking and abandoned partnering, subtle upper body gestures, and unconventional Pointe work punctuated the choreography.

You still have four opportunities to experience Armitage Gone! Dance. It will change any notions you had that ballet was outdated or courtly. For more information about the remaining programs and tickets call the Joyce box office (212) 242- 0800 or visit the Joyce website at http://www.joyce.org

Performance schedule for Armitage Done! Dance   Friday May 6 8pm- Program B; Saturday May 7 2pm- Program B; Saturday May 7 8pm- Program A; Sunday May 8 2pm- Program A

Photo by Julieta Cervantes