Review: Black Grace dances out a different kind of buzz
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 1, 2024


Review: Black Grace dances out a different kind of buzz
Black Grace performs in “O Le Olaga — Life,” a premiere by Neil Ieremia, the New Zealand company’s artistic director and founder, at the Joyce Theater in New York, Aug. 2, 2022. Ieremia, who was born in Wellington and is of Samoan descent, is perhaps most clearly a fan of a particular modern dance classic: Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade.” Erin Baiano/The New York Times.

by Gia Kourlas



NEW YORK, NY.- I was expecting an energy boost, and then some. But Black Grace, a celebrated company from New Zealand known for dazzling, fast dancing, returned to the Joyce Theater with “a different kind of buzz,” as the Lorde song “Royals,” quoted in the first dance of the evening, puts it. Was it contemplative? Was it intimate? In any event, for much of the program, modern dance struggled to hold its own against traditional movement drawn from the South Pacific. And vice versa.

Led by its affable artistic director and founder, Neil Ieremia, who delivered speeches from the stage, the ensemble was formed in 1995 and is admired for blending traditional and contemporary dance. But Ieremia, who was born in Wellington and is of Samoan descent, is perhaps most clearly a fan of a particular modern dance classic: Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade.” It pops up in Ieremia’s dances, from its moody crawls to its breathtaking leaps.

This was especially true in “O Le Olaga — Life,” a New York premiere inspired by his aging parents and featuring traditional performers; within it was the stomping ferocity of the Māori haka dance and scenes with poi, strings attached to white balls (used by Kura Te Ua), and a taiaha, a wooden spear (used by Edmund Eramiha). Yet while the traditional performers were vivid in their grounded presence — they also included Tuaine-Nurse Tamarua Robati and Jasmine Leota — that presence neither meshed nor contrasted dramatically with the more lyrical contemporary sections. They remained separate worlds, at least for me.

But the biggest problem in “Life,” which is set to the Vivaldi cantata Gloria, is that there were more false endings than actual beginnings.

Included in the score was “Malu A’E Le Afiafi” by the Five Stars. At the start, the dynamic Aisea Latu gently swayed his arms while singing softly, almost wistfully; stopping every so often, he would begin again. Dragging dancers in from the wings, he set them up, one by one, to form a diorama of sorts. He pointed a finger; he made a face smile. They froze in place like a captive audience for his drifting, dancing body.

After explosive, joyful sections paired with Vivaldi — the structure placed the dancers traveling along a predictable diagonal — the traditional dancers mixed in with the others, which at times seemed forced and at times essential. But ultimately “Life” felt patched together rather than sewn into something new.

For another New York premiere, “Fatu,” Ieremia was inspired by his friend, the Samoan visual artist Fatu Akelei Feu’u, who gave the choreographer a painting during a COVID lockdown. (“Fatu” is both the artist’s first name and the Samoan word for heart.) Ieremia spoke about how it didn’t look like Feu’u’s previous work; instead of his typical grid patterns, it featured three wiggly lines — at least that’s how Ieremia’s arms charmingly illustrated them — in gold, red and white.




In the work, three dancers, dressed accordingly, moved to live drumming by Isitolo Alesana. (Singers also appeared in its second half.) Demi-Jo Manalo in gold, was delicate, but ferocious, too; she flew across the stage like a feather swept up in the wind, leaping into the air and landing in a spin on the floor with seemingly invisible momentum. James Wasmer and Rodney Tyrell joined her, and they delved into a slippery, pushing-pulling generic kind of movement vocabulary, which transformed them into dancing ribbons, but little more.

The opening dance, “Handgame,” was the oldest, from 1995, and the strongest. A section from one of Ieremia’s earliest works, the piece is based on a story he read about a boy being beaten by his father for going against his wishes and attending a school dance. Here, we see echoes of abuse through the bodies of seven men seated in evenly spaced chairs as they rhythmically smacked their thighs, their chests and even their faces. Within this sasa, or seated dance, is an orchestra of body percussion, loosely incorporating traditional fa’ataupati, or Samoan slap dance.

This is where Lorde, the New Zealand singer-songwriter, came into the picture — specifically, her song, “Royals,” which the dancers performed, first pounding the rhythm into their bodies and then singing the lyrics — clipped, measured and starkly resolute.

Before it ended, a different beat filled the stage: the percussive opening to Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” You couldn’t hear the words — “You got mud on your face, you big disgrace/Kicking your can all over the place” — but they somehow commented on the dancers’ pain. It was haunting.

——

Black Grace

Through Aug. 7 at the Joyce Theater, Manhattan; joyce.org.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

August 5, 2022

For Black artists, the great migration is an unfinished journey

Max Hollein consolidates roles as Met Museum's Chief

West Harlem Art Fund presents Brooklyn artist Tanika William this weekend with a new pop-up installation

Storm King announces ambitious $45M redesign and Capital Project

The Indra and Harry Banga Gallery presents "Hunters, Warriors, Spirits: Nomadic Art of North China"

Two-part official charity sale of 60 lots celebrates 60 years of James Bond

Veteran artist-respected Lalitha Lajmi works offered at Prinseps Auction house

Berlin Photo Week offers a big boost for photography skills: Over 50 talks and lectures

Rare early 12-cent U.S. postage stamp brings $19,520 at Holabird's Wild West Auction

Nara Roesler announces the representation of artist Thiago Barbalho

UCCA Edge presents 'Thomas Demand: The Stutter of History'

National Portrait Gallery announces shortlist for Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

The story of a glass of absinthe

Shutting the door on the hard-knock life

Opening this weekend: Bill Lynch's first UK institutional show at Brighton CCA

MCA Australia launches C3West 2022 Being Together: Parramatta Yearbook by Artist Cherine Fahd

Performance Space announces Jeff Khan, Artistic Director and CEO to step down after 11 years

Barrington Stage Company names Alan Paul as Artistic Director

Theater at Geffen Hall to be named for two key donors

Review: Black Grace dances out a different kind of buzz

George Bartenieff, fixture of downtown theater, dies at 89

Dan Smith might teach you guitar

Rzewski for lovers? A pianist mines a prickly modernist's gentler side

Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, and Marilyn Monroe, among fine autographs and artifacts up for auction

About the Reasons Why Choose to Live in Kost

15 Free YouTube Video Makers to Make Intro Videos

What to do to spend time in your 50s?

Now You Can Get Term Paper Help and Actually Enjoy Studying

Step By Step Guide On Reading Books Using Zlibrary




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful