Blog – Page 113

Ballet Technique by Michael Bjerknes

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December 15, 2006

originally published in the Focus Section on Technique, Bourgeon Vol. 2 #3

Ballet dance, like all art forms, has a technique that supports and enables artistic expression. Today we see a growing emphasis on the technical feats of dancing instead of craftsmanship or artistic expression. American audiences, more accustomed to competition than compassion, seem to focus on the execution of technique (for example, the number of turns, height of jumps, acrobatic partnering.) Technique has become the end result instead of simply one of the means to artistic results.

A student of Ballet actually has at least three techniques to master. First is the basic classroom technique, meaning terminology and basic movements. Second is a performance technique, meaning how a dancer performs across the proscenium and impacts the space. Performing technique also includes how to enter the stage, how to exit the stage, how to use one’s face (especially eyes), and how to command attention through a physical presence. Third is partnering, meaning weight exchange between dancers in small or large groups, synchronization and awareness.

Ballet classroom technique combines coordination, flexibility and strength to create fluid positions, lines, feats and phrases. The lower body uses three basic coordinations: flex/point (feet), bend/straighten (knees) and turn out (hips). All technical steps can be broken down into a series of these coordinations. Classroom curriculum often separates these elements into specific exercises. Ballet uses very fine muscle control, and the focused exercises endow dancers with unusual control, strength and precision. Ballet dance combines elements to make a step, or a phrase. From the first exercise at the barre (and even before – even walking into the studio) the correct execution of these coordinations is essential to aquiring flexibility and strength.

Ballet uses a far more expanded range of motion than everyday movement, and even than other athletic endeavors. Flexibility is increased through dedicated stretching done outside the classroom and repeated, correct use of the coordinations mentioned above. Strength can be attained through what I call ‘slow’ and ‘fast‘ work. ‘Slow’ work starts with the first initiation of the movement from the center, and works through the lines of the movement to the edge of the body, achieving a specific body orientation called ‘position’. A ballet dancer needs both slow work to build muscle recognition and bulk strength and fast work to build muscle activation and twitch strength.

The upper body coordinates through the breath, which influences not only the use of the torso, arms and head but also the lines they make. Correct breathing is not taught as much as it should be. Properly executed epaulement – the coordinated use of the torso and head – is a result of the breath used in a movement versus a specific posture mandated for a certain lower body position. Proper breathing also increases stamina.

In additional to breath control, music is a wonderful coordination tool. Breaking the musical bar into its meter allows teachers to create even rhythmic patterns such as (1 – 2) or uneven, such as (1 – (2-3)) or (1-2-(3)). These rhythms can help a dancer find the approach, stress, and energy necessary to execute the more difficult steps. Musical training can also assist a dancer in finding additional movements between the steps.

Mime and acting are critical for the development of performance technique, but are often left out of a dancer’s training. Even for abstract ballets, how one stands, walks, and looks determine the artistic expression in a piece and the awareness that comes with mime and acting training is indespensable. To paraphrase Balanchine, when there is a dancer, lights, music onstage there is a story, or at least an atmosphere of feeling. This atmosphere of feeling can not be accomplished with technical prowess.

In conclusion, technique is only a tool. Important, yes, but one of many that will give a dancer the facility he/she needs to bring the art to life. It is true that in preparing for a performance, the dancer must solve the step before he/she can express the step. Physical accomplishment is only a small step in one’s artistry.

Michael Bjerknes (Ballet) has been acclaimed as an “Inspired, supportive and precise” teacher whose “Ballet classes are demanding, well-structured and musical.” He has a “Wealth of experience in the ballet world applied with total commitment.” As a soloist with the Houston Ballet and a principal with the Joffrey Ballet, Michael was equally at home in the classical and contemporary repertories. Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, Agnes de Mille, Moses Pendleton, Ben Stevenson and Choo San Goh choreographed original roles for him. In addition to all of the classics, Michael performed ballets by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Hans van Manen, and Jiri Kylian. Michael was Ballet Master for the Washington Ballet and the Universal Ballet and occasionally teaches company class for the Joffrey Ballet. He coaches gymnasts as well.

[Editor’s Note: Michael Bjerknes passed away, at age 51, on April 14, 2008 following a battle with Colon Cancer. His contributions and spirit were honored in The Washington Post, and on BalletAlert by Alexandra Tomalonis, and in many other places. He is missed.]

Method to the Madness: Weighing in on Hip Hop Technique by Aysha Upchurch

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December 15, 2006

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Method to the Madness: Weighing in on Hip Hop Technique by Aysha Upchurch

originally published in the Focus Section on “Technique” – Bourgeon Vol. 2 #3

“Wanna see me poplock?” “I can do the robot.” Yes, poplocking and the robot seem to be the staple, go-to Hip Hop dance moves for anyone trying to show they can get down. Sure it brings a smile to everyone’s face and we usually applaud this eager, enthusiastic showmanship. It’s all good. Or is it? Music videos and TV commercials have made Hip Hop dance a golden ticket, making it accessible to anyone, anywhere. The dance form that started in an alley with such rawness has traveled far from home, crossing economic and cultural lines across the globe and becoming ubiquitous in the consumer market. One has to wonder if and how something so stylized and indigenous of a particular space and time has maintained its roots as it has been packaged and shipped across the globe. Can Hip Hop maintain its integrity as a dance form with so much focus on its entertainment value? Is there a right and wrong way to do it, to teach it, to discuss it? Is there such a thing as Hip Hop technique? We may need to work backwards to find an answer.

Hip Hop is not just a trend or fad, or young people behaving badly. It is a cultural product of 1970’s urban history. It is not something that started in a studio or under a microscope. Hip Hop began as a counter culture. In 1970’s New York, the streets were both a classroom and a playground for disadvantaged youth. It was here that they created an expression called Hip Hop that quickly made its way into the mainstream.

The four original elements of Hip Hop are: emcees, DJs, graffiti and dance. As the gang era subsided in the Bronx in the 1970s, graffiti, music and dance surfaced in a self-organizing effort, one which provided the recreational and familial aspects of gang life, but was more constructive and less violent. DJ Kool Herc ushered in a new sound on the turntables that let dancers break out on the dance floor. Herc founded the “Merry-Go-Round” technique that allowed him to spin two copies of the same song and extend the break in a song – that’s when the break boys, or b-boys, would take to the floor with new, acrobatic movement. This was the birth of breakdancing. For these African-American and Latino youth, the dance crews replaced gangs and they used ciphers to challenge each other and expression themselves, displaying aggression, bravado, and creativity.

Soon house parties could not contain the energy of the music or the dancers and they took it to an all-familiar turf – the street. These guys dared to top-rock, spin and freeze on the concrete, in the alley or in any open space. The public was the audience, the streets were the studios and the stage, and their peers were the critics. Right and wrong became about your performance quality and willingness to boldly express yourself. The dance was right if it felt right and you could execute it with style and finesse and please the crowd. If it was wrong, you would know instantly – the crowd and your peers gave immediate feedback to let you know you needed more practice. Mom and dad did not have to remind the dancers to practice; they took the initiative, driven by their own desire to be the best and earn respect. This kind of self-motivation was a fundamental aspect of hip hop’s development.
The dance was so appealing because of its boldness and style and it’s openness to individual expression. Hip Hop dance is a mirror of sorts. In its conception, it reflected the energy inside a group of people. “It’s a confident, stylized form of movement that expresses a specific culture,” says Juliana Calderon, local dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director of DCypher Dance Company. The dance did not have boundaries because it created itself and had license to go wherever the dancers decided to take it.

On the West Coast, this same need to break out translated into new styles that mixed with funk music, which also have come to fall under the Hip Hop dance umbrella. Here is where we will clarify the matter of pop-locking and the robot. Popping and locking are two different dance forms that originated in California. Don Campbell founded locking, a charismatic funk style using pointing, percussive looks and hand slaps, in clubs in the 1970s. Popping, founded by Boogaloo Sam, is a technique involving contracting and releasing the muscles – it is not the robot. It’s like what happens when someone startles you by accident and you tense up and relax. It is executed with speed and precision.

This synergy of new music and movement on both coasts appealed to the mass public as it appeared in movies such as Wild Style, Beat Street and Breakin’. As DJs and emcees continued revolutionizing the sound of Hip Hop in the clubs and house parties, the form continued its journey, attracting privileged youth who were not breaking out against the norm, “but found something in the dance that they were lacking,” Calderon explains. The media has increased Hip Hop’s appeal. The music, the dance, the dress and the lingo are used to sell almost any product from Gap jeans to iPods. There are Hip Hop classes offered in every large public dance studio. What are these students coming to learn and what are the teachers offering? “Hip Hop is a culture, a way of life,” adds Dennis de Guzman Caindec, an instructor and choreographer from Los Angeles. So, can you teach “a way of life” in a dance class?

As with Calderon and Caindec, I learned the dance from watching family, friends, and music videos. But there is definitely a technique involved with Hip Hop dance, and teaching that involves some history lessons. Under the umbrella of Hip Hop dance, you find b-boying, popping, locking, house, punking, wacking, and the contemporary fusion styles seen in music videos. Each style comes with its own terminology and history of influences. Equipping students with this knowledge, in addition to the movements, teaches them the difference between the styles and helps them execute the movement with more authenticity. Passing on a style’s history also helps preserve part of Hip Hop culture.

In Juli Calderon’s class she teaches a warm-up, follows up with stretching and then teaches choreography (class combination) that varies weekly to reflect different styles. She explains where the movement comes from and why certain movements may have more of an old school, masculine feel or a contemporary, jazzy feel. “The technique is the freedom to release, freedom to express yourself as an individual and break from rigidity.” In order to get students to let go and embrace this freedom, she may have them do breathing exercises to help them relax from their upright stance and translate that to the movement.

Dennis Caindec, a former Artistic Director of Culture Shock in Los Angeles, likes to go beyond what the dance looks like. He also focuses on execution. Though the dance began in the streets, hip hop pioneers invested time in developing movement vocabulary or steps that are the foundation of Hip Hop dance. In Caindec’s class, he carefully explains the steps and terminology, so that even if he fuses different forms together in his choreography, the technique of each style is authentic and the integrity of the movement is preserved. He looks for proper technique in performing companies, like the directors of modern and ballet companies, saying, “if you’re gonna do something, do it right.”

Hip Hop technique is taught like many any other dances, in two main parts: technique and expression. The technique is made up of specific terminology, basic steps, and movement concepts such as control, strength and body orientation. Teachers, myself included, will devote time to explaining where the movement initiates from and use analogies to describe the intent and character behind it. The second part of the technique is in the expression, the letting go, what each person uniquely brings to the movement. Kids in New York and California in the 1970s were breaking out, defining new identities, and carving out space for themselves in society that looked down on them. Their dance was a medium of articulation for their vitality, ingenuity and social concerns.

This is not to say that dance classes have to convert to history lectures. Simply adding a little blurb-factoid-word of the day here and there can suffice. That said, teachers and choreographers should be trained and educated about the history of this dance before passing on what they are calling “Hip Hop.” In this climate of mass commercialization, substance and truth can take the backseat to the glitz and hype. What the original emcees, DJs and dancers started was something positive, constructive, and proud.

These days it seems the music and the dance are headed in a different direction, so much so that the term “Hip Hop” means negativity, exploitation and excess to some. Bitches, guns, money, and the self-serving attitude of “I’m getting mine, so you better get yours” permeate the music, making this message normal and acceptable. Naked women gyrating or acting car models in music videos have become familiar, and even an indication of Hip Hop. These things are not Hip Hop. These images full of affect are being constructed under the Hip Hop label and that does not sit well with me and many of my contemporaries. In its infancy, Hip Hop dance – and the culture at large – had an empowering energy and message. As a teacher and choreographer, I like to play, create characters, and poke fun at stereotypes, but I prefer not to glorify the negativity and façade that have become associated with Hip Hop. Avoiding these things are part of my method in passing on the history and tradition of Hip Hop dance.

Sometimes Hip Hop is not taken seriously as a legitimate dance form because of its improvisational origins and some of the negative images associated with it. But Hip Hop dance is a real life force. There is a right and a wrong just as in any other dance form. There are countless Hip Hop dance companies with members of every race, age and gender, showcasing all the different styles of movement. Clearly these dancers are training and rehearsing just as any other dancer would. They are honing their craft and putting in the hours – most Hip Hop companies in the area rehearse close to midnight on weekdays on top of their 9-5 jobs. Just like Hip Hop’s founders, today’s dancers give whatever it takes to keep their art alive because they are passionate about the dance, and about the possibilities and opportunities it creates for all kinds of people.

Calderon and Caindec agree that anyone can learn the technique – the steps, the history – those things are teachable and learnable. But, since Hip Hop dance is more than just dance, but a lifestyle and an energy, there is a certain “thing” about it that cannot be taught. It is that urge inside of you that tells you to break out, to let go and get down. It is that need to challenge limitations placed on you by others. It is the necessity to express your self. It is the need to write your own story, self-motivated, self-organized, and self-actualized. These are the things that make the dancer. Hip Hop comes from the inside out, whether you do it in the studio, the street, or under the stage lights.

Aysha Upchurch is a Washington, DC based teacher, performer, and choreographer.

Introduction to Focus Section “Technique” by Brian Buck

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December 15, 2006

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Introduction to Focus Section “Technique” by Brian Buck

Technique as ideology, dance as ideology. The expressive nature of various techniques is ubiquitous with human nature. Whether it is Ballet, Feldenkrais, Contact Improvisation, Hip Hop, or Horton, the ideology of human nature is to expand upon ones own self to express what is inexpressible. To say what one cannot articulate in words. “Words are windows to a persons inner self” Beth Burkhardt once said to me in a conversation. An extension of that would be that dancing is a doorway into another’s world, reaching beyond the normal expressivity of everyday nature. Whether improvised or composed is irrelevant in terms of this section of Burgeon. We have reached a place where all techniques are recognized as tools of movement and that any technique can be expressive in nature.

No technique can express universally all human concepts, nature, or ideas but all can universally express. Movement, space, time, and most importantly the body are mediums used as a means to demonstrate something bigger than the self through movement – in whichever technique.

Hip-Hop in its counter cultural identity possibly expands upon our cultural identity “expressing oneself” through competition and artistic expression, ever changing with the times. Thirty years of existence is not a fad. Hip-Hop is an identity of a cultural generation that changes with each generation, keeping true to its own values and core identities but expressing of each generation boldly.

Horton, who wished to endow dancers with strength, extension, lyricism, fluidity, and versatility, did not do so as a means to an end, rather, he developed a pathway for dancers to follow. A pathway so the individual could continue to grow beyond which they were and move, no, dance their way into who they are to become. As Ms. Dinerman stated, the Horton technique itself “evolved through several phases into a massive body of movement vocabulary”, thus exemplifying that even techniques reach to grow.

Growing is the purpose of all techniques, for if a technique is not practiced it loses its ability to “express.” Or rather the individual dulls their ability to perform said technique. Perhaps a purpose for this Focus Section is to emphasize the need to – please excuse the cliché – practice, practice, practice. Practice incites growth.

In Ken Manheimer’s article on Contact Improvisation it is practice, he says, that allows for the “new discovery.” It is in rehearsal that a ballet dancer learns the “three techniques” that Bjerknes addresses. It is through doing that one finds “new directions for exploration of movement,” as Burkholder describes. All these technique not only express some treatise of humanity but they further develop an individual into an artistic expression of the self that would otherwise get lost in the myriad complexity of the body and a loss of words. Without technique windows would shut, ideas would be lost, and a true freedom would be gone. The essays that follow only skim the surface of what technique, any technique can do for the individual, any individual.

Brian Buck is a dancer based in Washington, D.C. He trained at the Universities of Maryland and Utah, and has performed with numerous companies. His personal practices include both set and improvisational movement. He teaches dance at Glen Echo Park in Cabin John, Maryland.Technique as ideology, dance as ideology. The expressive nature of various techniques is ubiquitous with human nature. Whether it is ballet, feldenkrais, contact improvisation, hip hop, or horton, the ideology of human nature is to expand upon ones own self to express what is inexpressible. To say what one cannot articulate in words. “Words are windows to a persons inner self” Beth Burkhardt once said to me in a conversation. An extension of that would be that dancing is a doorway into another’s world, reaching beyond the normal expressivity of everyday nature. Whether improvised or composed is irrelevant in terms of this section of Burgeon. We have reached a place where all techniques are recognized as tools of movement and that any technique can be expressive in nature.

No technique can express universally all human concepts, nature, or ideas but all can universally express. Movement, space, time, and most importantly the body are mediums used as a means to demonstrate something bigger than the self through movement – in whichever technique.

Hip-Hop in its counter cultural identity possibly expands upon our cultural identity “expressing oneself” through competition and artistic expression, ever changing with the times. Thirty years of existence is not a fad. Hip-Hop is an identity of a cultural generation that changes with each generation, keeping true to its own values and core identities but expressing of each generation boldly.

Horton, who wished to endow dancers with strength, extension, lyricism, fluidity, and versatility, did not do so as a means to an end, rather, he developed a pathway for dancers to follow. A pathway so the individual could continue to grow beyond which they were and move, no, dance their way into who they are to become. As Ms. Dinerman stated, the Horton technique itself “evolved through several phases into a massive body of movement vocabulary”, thus exemplifying that even techniques reach to grow.

Growing is the purpose of all techniques, for if a technique is not practiced it loses its ability to “express.” Or rather the individual dulls their ability to perform said technique. Perhaps a purpose for this Focus Section is to emphasize the need to – please excuse the cliché – practice, practice, practice. Practice incites growth.

In Ken Manheimer’s article on Contact Improvisation it is practice, he says, that allows for the “new discovery.” It is in rehearsal that a ballet dancer learns the “three techniques” that Bjerknes addresses. It is through doing that one finds “new directions for exploration of movement,” as Burkholder describes. All these technique not only express some treatise of humanity but they further develop an individual into an artistic expression of the self that would otherwise get lost in the myriad complexity of the body and a loss of words. Without technique windows would shut, ideas would be lost, and a true freedom would be gone. The essays that follow only skim the surface of what technique, any technique can do for the individual, any individual.

Brian Buck is a dancer based in Washington, D.C. He trained at the Universities of Maryland and Utah, and has performed with numerous companies. His personal practices include both set and improvisational movement. He teaches dance at Glen Echo Park in Cabin John, Maryland.

originally published in the Focus Section “Technique”, Bourgeon Volume 2 #3

Cathy Elliot on Light Design for Dance

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December 15, 2006

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I was recently at an event where two women asked what I do as a dance lighting designer. I fumbled with my usual two- part response, which always includes: light can create an atmosphere or a context for a dance, and lighting design is created from four basic elements – color, angle, intensity and time. The women listened politely and when I was done. One woman commented “Essentially you hope to reveal the intent of the dance.” Her friend added “ At best you can clarify how people experience the movement.” Yes. Exactly.

The ‘hope to reveal the intent of the dance’ is what keeps lighting work interesting. I prefer to work collaboratively, so my first job is to gather as much information as possible. When I watch a dance piece, I see the lighting design play out in my head fully realized like a movie. I then work backwards, deconstructing the movie in my head, while communicating to the choreographers and accommodating what can actually be done with the resources at hand. From past experiences I have learned to ask some really important, basic questions. How does the dance end? Are there any dogs, children, or fiery torches in this piece? Does anyone become naked or throw knives – especially at me?

‘At best you can clarify how people experience the movement’ is the inherent challenge to creating a lighting design for dance. I was fortunate to come to lighting design with a degree in dance from Connecticut College and many years of art school. I think lighting can be understood like a well-constructed painting. Good lighting can help guide the attention of an audience member to a specific space in a given moment, or toward the sense of relationship among the dancers.

In creating a design it is crucial to consider the space or theater where the dance will be presented. I have been fortunate to create designs in theaters with lots of electricity and lighting instruments. I have also lit dances in converted spaces, where we had to run around the building and turn off coffeepots in order to run the show. Finding the magical elements of each space, and how they can be used to accentuate the dance, is the challenge. I once lit a show in the atrium of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The evening had gone perfectly and as the dancers stood for a second bow, one by one all the fuses in the dimmer packs failed. It was a beautiful effect, as each light slowly dimmed. More than I would like to admit, much of my work is based on equals parts luck and prayer.

Cathy Elliot has won numerous awards for her light design in and out of Washington, D.C.

Maida Withers on “Thresholds Crossed”

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December 15, 2006

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Thresholds Crossed, an evening-length multimedia dance work about Russia and America, premiered in Washington, D.C. at Lisner Auditorium, April 21, 2006. The project, a kinetic fusion of East and West, explores the events, ideology and humanistic issues that link the U.S. with the former Soviet Union and contemporary Russia.

Thresholds Crossed began in 1997 when I attended a dance conference in Volgograd, the city on the Volga River that rebuffed Hitler’s army. It was my first visit to the former Soviet Union. Contemporary dance was very new in Russia at that time since it had essentially begun following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1991. Since 1997 I have visited frequently – teaching, performing and creating work. Each time I returned to the United States I wrote about my experiences. This was all done without intention.

For many of us, our awareness of Russia began when we, as children, were taught to hide under our desks in preparation for an nuclear attack. I always knew a Russian child was hiding under a similar desk fearing the same fate. Before I started spending time in Russia, the cold war was still be the frame that surrounded my views. With the passage of time, as doors opened and propaganda diminished for me, a new Russia emerged.

I discovered that Russians and Americans share deeply held values inherent in honor and patriotism, values often won through struggles associated with conflicts and war, both historic and current. I started to think about what dance piece could be made exploring these issues. I asked, “What remains of the long history of fear and distrust between Russia and America? Whom can we trust and who can trust us? Who will lead, and who must follow? How do we reconcile our need for privacy and the government’s need for surveillance and security? What about displacement of values – the value of displacement? How do we surrender to the will of the majority while protecting the voice of one? How are propaganda art and political slogans in Russia and America, often couched in humor, used to persuade? How do we express our loss and move on? What is the future for world superpowers?

On July 4, 2005 (American Independence Day) an open-call audition was held in Moscow for Thresholds Crossed. Over forty dancers showed up. Perhaps it would have been easier to collaborate with one Russian dance company. Considering the political nature of the work, it seemed important to begin with a democratic process by opening the audition to any Russian able to get to Moscow for the audition. Dan Joyce, Jennifer Stone, and Megan Thompson, American dancers working with the Dance Construction Company, assisted in selecting the dancers – six Russians and one Ukrainian. An air of skepticism was present during the audition, and why not? The dancers selected were expected to rehearse in the capital cities of Russia for one month, five hours a day, six days a week, and then in the USA, similarly, for one month. Obtaining a visa to America for most Russians is almost impossible, and for young, low-income dancers, a pipe dream. Each dancer was interviewed by my son, Marc Withers, who lives in Moscow, to ascertain the feasibility of his/her involvement in the project. The Russian portion of the project was co-hosted by TSEH, a national dance agency in Russia, and the Dance Construction Company. At the conclusion of the three-week residency, we presented Part I as a work in progress to students and faculty of TSEH International Summer School. The fall of 2005 in Washington, DC was devoted to the creation of Part III and segments of Part IV with the American dancers who had gone to Russia, and an additional American dancer (Rob Bettmann.)

Five international artists were eventually approved for visas to the United States, sponsored by the Dance Construction Company and hosted by The George Washington University in Washington, DC. When the foreigners arrived, the material from the residency in Russia, nine months earlier, was reconstructed and the international dancers were integrated into the unison section of Part III. There was a decided difference in the openness of both the Russians and Americans. Perhaps this was due to the absence of skepticism about the American residency. Whatever, the change was palpable. For the last two months of rehearsals, Steve Hilmy (composer, musician), Audrey Chen (musician), and Linda Lewett (videographer), joined in rehearsals. The addition of the live musicians brought energy to our practice. In addition, I regularly invited friends to come watch rehearsals. These additional eyes enhanced the creative energy and focus of our work.

To assist in promoting the dance I looked for partnerships with organizations that work on the issues presented in Thresholds Crossed. In the end, George Washington University’s prestigious Elliott School for International Affairs’ Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, sponsored a forum on the topic: “How Young Russian Artists View Their Recent History.” The Russians were very confident in the presentation, but not comfortable with the idea of making “politically” motivated work. Nikolai Schetnev, assisted by the other dancers, led a contact improvisation session for the Washington, DC contact improv jam, which was hosted by George Washington University at the time.

With only six days to opening night, we began to create Part IV – the grand finale – about contemporary Russia and America, where orbiting groups of USA and Russian dancers collide and intersect. It was satisfying to be working on choreography lighter in content. The international dancers were so disciplined and strong emotionally that the work fell into place quickly with the help of the Americans who had previously refined movements from the choreography. Russian dancers contributed solo materials as statements about contemporary dance in Russia.

In Thresholds Crossed, the visual installation (a video projection across the entire back of the stage) carries the historical perspective while the dance tells the human story. The music was the bridge between these two worlds. The presence of the Russians and Americans on the stage created a tension and a drama that carried the work. The audience was fascinated and captivated by the Russian artists, revealing American’s ongoing curiosity about Russians and especially Russian dancers. Thresholds Crossed will be performed during a four-city tour to Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Yekaterinburg, and Krasnoyarsk, Russia, April 17 – May 3, 2007. The tour is supported, in part, by The Trust for Mutual Understanding, the U.S. Embassy in Russia, TSEH, the Ford Foundation in Russia, The Dance Construction Company and individual donors.

Part I references the period from 1930 to 1990 – from the forced labor camps of the Soviet Era through the Cold War years. Nikolai Shchetnev collapses and recovers stability in a symbolic statement of bearing the weight of military power while wearing a World War II Russian military coat. Upstage, Russian and American dancers in groups of two and three, dressed in maroon briefs and white undershirts, begin pushing a lead dancer downstage until the structure collapses. Returning to upstage, the pushing segment repeats with a new resistant leader. Several duets express physical violence. Betrayal is often a theme. Projected images include historic video footage from Red Square, the inside of gulag prisons, and propaganda art posters. Original music by Steve Hilmy features electronic music and impassioned Russian war songs supported by the extreme music of vocalist/cellist, Audrey Chen.

For Part II, Maida Withers and Anthony Gongora, dancers, and Audrey Chen, vocals and cello, perform a dramatic trio that examines the tragic events in Abu Ghraib prison. The formal attire of the dress tie and silk handkerchief become a leash, head covering and blindfold. The projected visual installation animates photographs from Abu Ghraib with images of steel sculptures by Frank Williams, a contemporary Russian sculptor.

Part III expresses the human experience of loss and grief. Two men and two women dancers wearing black dresses and suits reveal responses to the loss of faith, the loss of love, and the grief associated with war. In the finale of Part III, international dancers join the quartet in a unison statement contrasting hope and despair. The visual installation features video of Arlington Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, photographs of sculptures at the World War II memorial on Mameyev Hill in Volgograd, Russia, and related imagery. The music has a complex melodic pattern.

Part IV is a fast-paced, running, finale depicting Russians and Americans in two orbits where dancers intersect and exchange roles. The feeling is upbeat and driven. It is a hopeful conclusion. Referencing contemporary Russian rock and roll, the music supports the race for dominance while having a very good time along the way. The visual installation features video of contemporary urban life in Moscow and the USA coupled with images of the national flags, currency, and other icons of today.