Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – City Center’s FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL opens in smashing fashion with Streb Extreme Action, Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M, and a Gwen Verdon tribute

• By drediman
• October 14, 2021
• No Comments

Last night, New York City Center re-opened its doors to host in-person performances once again with the opening night of its wonderfully democratic Fall for Dance Festival. As we’ve come to expect from the beloved festival, yesterday’s program (the first of five over the next two weeks) – which was kicked off by a speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – was rousing and fabulously eclectic, as represented by works from Streb Extreme Action, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, and The Verdon Fosse Legacy.

Streb Extreme Action was a curious but – upon further reflection – thoroughly fitting choice to open the festival. With its aggressive brand of cirque inspired choreography, the Williamsburg-based company literally pounded out the frustration and anxiety of the past year-and-a-half as it performed a trio of energizing and high-flying pieces – Molinette, Add / Pole Vaults, and Air. Although Elizabeth Streb’s daredevil dances themselves aren’t all that remarkable or ingenious, the joy and irrepressible “I can do that” playfulness with which they’re performed automatically deemed the set a show-stopping opener. Suffice to say, after the curtain came down on the comically relentless Air, the capacity audience was amped up and ready for more.

Then came a New York premiere by the brilliant choreographer Kyle Abraham – the exquisitely bluesy Our Indigo: If We Were a Love Song, which in my mind was the centerpiece and artistic highlight of the evening. Set to six introspective recordings by the iconic Nina Simone, the somber and dimly-lit work commenced with the entire company of seven dancers in a segment that strongly echoed the beginning of Alvin Ailey’s evergreen Revelations. Thereafter, the piece unfolded in a series of articulate and distinctive solos and a pas de deux, which were danced gorgeously by Mr. Abraham’s A.I.M dancers — each of them understated but voluptuous movers. What makes the work so memorable is the way Mr. Abraham’s choreography seems to exist within the music, giving viewers the extraordinary sensation that the music is expanding and contracting to accommodate the choreography’s needs.

The evening closed with Sweet Gwen Suite, courtesy of the Verdon Fosse Legacy. If you didn’t already gather, the lively and nostalgic piece is a tribute to legendary Broadway hoofer and Bob Fosse muse Gwen Verdon. In stark contrast to Mr. Abraham, Mr. Fosse’s instantly recognizable choreography is acutely propelled by the music, as opposed to existing within it, which made for a fascinating transition from Our Indigo. In the “role” of Ms. Verdon was New York City Ballet’s Georgina Pazcoguin, a feisty dancer (and personality) who’s no stranger to the jazz dance vernacular (she was featured in the 2016 Broadway revival of Cats). Ms. Pazcoguin was sizzling, attacking the Fosse/Verdon choreography with plenty of attitude and technical precision. As her backup dancers, Zachary Downer and Tyler Eisenreich moved effortlessly and ably showed Ms. Pazcoguin off. Although I wish they had chosen dance selections from actual Broadway shows instead of long-forgotten television specials, I nonetheless walked out onto 55th Street with a big smile on my face.

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FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL
Dance
New York City Center
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
The festival concludes on October 24