Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Hubbard Street Dance Chicago delves into Naharin and Pite’s striking body of work

• By drediman
• March 17, 2019
• No Comments

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs at the Joyce Theater. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

This weekend, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is completing a highly successful, well-sold two week residency at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea. The renowned dance troupe performed two discrete programs, delving into the works of two important contemporary dance choreographers – Ohad Naharin and Crystal Pite.

Program A featured Mr. Naharin’s evening-length “Decadance/Chicago”. Ironically, I had seen the piece – which consists of excerpts from the sought-after Israeli choreographer’s acclaimed body of work – a decade ago when Mr. Naharin’s prestigious Batsheva Dance Company brought it to the Brooklyn Academy Music (they return next week to with “Venezuela”). Hubbard Street’s version, which has been specifically tailored for the Chicago company to highlight the its considerable assets (the HSD dancers are fluid, thoughtful movers, many of them with a subtle flair for the theatrical). Although I found the tapestry that is “Decadance” perhaps a tad unfocused, it was nonetheless a hit with the audience, particularly the crowd-pleasing “Minus-16” segment – a signature piece for both Hubbard Street and Mr. Naharin. Indeed, that excerpt broadly characterized the evening: defiantly and forcefully attention-grabbing.

Program B was comprised of three short but haunting pieces – short stories, really – by Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, who specializes in works that boldly straddle dance and theater. All three pieces (strikingly, dramatically lit) delve into the dark, existential aspects of the human experience, a far cry from the charged energy of the eclectic preceding program. First up was “A Picture of You Falling”, which in my mind chronicles the demise of a relationship, from both perspectives. Next up was the emotionally raw “The Other You”, a Beckettian work of sorts, depicting the tense dualities of the human condition. The piece aggressively paints a picture of the intrinsic battlefield within us all. Last up was the misleadingly titled “Grace Engine”, a turbulent portrait of a community in transition, perhaps duress (the work suggests the current global refugee situation, or maybe even the Jewish experience leading up to the Holocaust).

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HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO
Dance
The Joyce Theater
Program A was approximately 1 hour 50 minutes (with one intermission); Program B was approximately 1 hour, 20 minutes (with one intermission)
Through March 17