Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Dance recap: Hope Boykin adapts THE OTHER SIDE for dance and Jean Butler deconstructs the Irish jig in WHAT WE HOLD

• By drediman
• March 4, 2024
• No Comments

This past week, I had the opportunity to catch up with a couple of dance performances that used choreography to fascinating ends. Read on below for my thoughts.

JEAN BUTLER: WHAT WE HOLD
Irish Arts Center
Closed

Before concluding its sold out run this past weekend, I was able to catch Jean Butler’s What We Hold (RECOMMENDED) at the Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen. Butler first burst onto the dance scene in the original principal female role of the global phenomenon Riverdance. Later on in her career, she turned her considerable talents to contemporary dance, only recently returning to her Irish dance roots. In essence, What We Hold is the result of this reconsideration – an immersive and intimate promenade production that attempts to deconstruct Irish step dancing, thereby dusting it off of and disassociating it from layers of kitsch and cloying sentimentality. Over the course of an hour, Butler presents audiences with a progression of art installation-like scenes that starkly present isolated elements of Irish dancing, eventually culminating in a beguiling re-assembly and joyous reinvention of the the form. Using a diverse company of dancers ranging in age, gender, race, body type, and experience, the endeavor exudes an accessible and inclusive air that transcends nationality and culture. In summary, Butler’s exciting experiment suggests exciting new directions for which Irish dance and choreography to take.

HOPE BOYKIN: THE OTHER SIDE
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Closed

Also this past weekend over at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, I also had the opportunity to take in the dance adaptation of Jacqueline Woodson’s illustrated children’s book The Other Side (the production is a co-presentation with the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where it played earlier this year) (RECOMMENDED). Directed and choreographed by Hope Boykin and featuring a warm, charming original score by Ali Jackson, the piece tells the uplifting story of a young Black girl named Clover who is told by her mother to stay on their side of the fence. But when Clover befriends an White girl on the other side, the two kids find ways of transcending societal barriers themselves. Intended for younger viewers (the piece is recommended for children ages seven and up), Boykin’s lightly narrated take on Woodson’s gently instructive now 20 year old book is an ideal introduction to the world of dance performance. Indeed, at just 45 minutes, it’s succinct enough to keep the young one’s attention without sacrificing the eloquence and integrity of the choreographer’s steps and movements, which demonstrate the uncomplicated joys of kids simply at play. Throughout, Boykin’s company of young all-female dancers acquitted themselves admirably, affectingly channeling their inner child to animate their performances.