THE HANGOVER REPORT – Continuing its evolution, HUBBARD STREET DANCE returns to The Joyce in fine form with a trio of premieres

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs Johan Inger’s “Impasse” at The Joyce Theater (photo by Michelle Reid).

This week, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has returned in fine form to what is effectively their New York home, The Joyce Theater in Chelsea. This week’s bill is notable for featuring a trio of New York premieres, indicating a company in continued evolution after decades of being honed to reflect the aesthetics of European contemporary dance and its own jazz dance heritage. Throughout, the Hubbard Street dancers exhibited technique and budding style in a program that gained in quality and confidence as the performance unfolded.

Kicking things off was Ohad Naharin’s Black Milk from 1990. Choreographed for five men, the ritualistic dance is one of the more contained works I’ve seen from the influential Israeli dance-maker. Although a welcome shift in style for Naharin, it’s also strangely generic and one of the least interesting pieces of the evening. More worthwhile were the three premieres that followed, starting with Into Being by FLOCK (i.e., choreographers Alice Klock and Florian Lochner), a fluid 2024 piece created, like Black Milk, for five dancers. In the work, Klock and Lochner demonstrate their unique movement vocabulary, which emphasizes intricate and organic ensemble work that leads to simultaneously unexpected yet inevitable places. Even better was Asure Barton’s show-stopping pas de deux A Duo (also made in 2024), which was sensationally danced on opening night by Shota Miyoshi and Cyrie Herlop. Set to an exciting score by Marina Herlop, the duet can be characterized as heightened street dance — athletic and full of character and gestural specificity — with a distinct Asian flair.

Ending the evening was Johan Inger’s Impasse. In this 2020 work, Hubbard Street has found another rousing program closer (one to join their signature and oft-performed version of Naharin’s widespread Minus 16). In short, the piece is an unabashed celebration of diversity and inclusion. Set to frisky music by Amos Ben-Tai and Ibrahim Maalouf, Inger’s choreography — danced with a wonderful sense of individuality by each member of the company (emphasized by Bregje van Balen’s inspired costumes) — is joyful and brash as it builds in momentum to its crowd-pleasing conclusion.

RECOMMENDED

HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO
Dance
The Joyce Theater
1 hour, 45 minutes (with two intermissions)
Through March 30

Categories: Dance

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