THE HANGOVER REPORT – In its spring performances at The Joyce, GIBNEY COMPANY basks in both the shadows and the light

Gibney Company performs Johan Inger’s “Bliss” at The Joyce Theater (photo courtesy of Gibney Company).

This week through Sunday, dance fans will be able to catch Gibney Company in its return engagement at The Joyce Theater. Assembled just about two years ago, the newly-formed contemporary dance company is at the heart of the institution’s reinvention, which has refocused efforts toward performance. Since banding, the Gibney dancers have developed admirably both individually and as a company. For its spring program at The Joyce, they’re performing a set of contrasting works that bask in both the shadows and the light.

The sold out opening night performance commenced in the shadows, beginning with Sharon Eyal’s 2013 Sara. The short piece is vintage Eyal — sleek, relentless, severe — setting the scene nicely for the evening’s world premiere. Indeed, Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond’s tense and fraught Ghost Town seemed to grow out of the opener, both in its choreographic aesthetic and excessively dimly lighting design (both also even use the same pre-dance mood music). Tregarthen and Raymond have conjured a silhouetted apocalyptic landscape in which society has been forced to evolve and shed its humanity, as evidenced by the work’s animalistic and zombie-like movements. If the work’s rhythmic repetitiveness and hypnotic glacial progression eventually wore out their welcome, the overall mood cast was captivating, if not necessarily groundbreaking.

At the other end of intermission, the company launched into an altogether different kind of dance — Johan Inger’s Bliss. Set to “Köln Concert” by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, the piece exudes eloquent emotion and a light touch. In stark contrast to the heavy works that preceded it, Bliss is a celebration of individuality and the best of humanity. Although it was more affectingly performed when I first saw it at last year’s Fall for Dance Festival, I was still moved by the sheer pleasantness conveyed by the piece. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Gibney Company is establishing itself in the mold of iconic troupes like Nederlands Dans Theater and Batsheva Dance Company. The question then becomes, is this mission enough to artistically sustain let alone advance the company in a meaningful manner?

RECOMMENDED

GIBNEY COMPANY
Dance
The Joyce Theater
1 hour, 40 minutes (with one intermission)
Through May 21

Categories: Dance

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