The second “MaD Circle” performance at the Composer’s Voice Concert Series was another successful presentation of new music and dance. (See my other review for the first MaD Circle performance click here.) The “MaD Circle” project sought to rethink the classic forms of the waltz and tango by combining commercial dance and concert dance to create something new.
For this concert, curators Erin Bomboy and Callie Hatchett called for choreographers to create new works set to original music written for the project. Each selected choreographer was given a piece of music, based on either the waltz or tango form, and assigned to revitalize the form of classic dance “for a new generation through fresh choreographic ideas and rejuvenated music structures”. Like the first “MaD Circle” performance, the result was a variety of unique takes on innovating upon classical forms.
A stand-out work from the concert was Natalie N. Johnson’s generative grammar, performed by Anna Hulse and Justine Lee and set to music by Oldrini Norberto. Norberto’s Depistango, to which Johnson’s choreography was set, was a clarinet solo full of disjunct lines and elusive meters. Johnson’s choreography, which was performed with great energy by Hulse and Lee, matched this music quite effectively, using quick, aggressive movements and leaps across the stage to match the style of Norberto’s work. This harmony between music and dance coupled high quality of both elements made generative grammar one of the most effective pieces of the afternoon.
Another highlight of the performance was Jonathan Breton’s Carcan, which he both choreographed and performed. Breton piece was set to music by David Charles Meckler, whose A Tango dreams of Being a Waltz was one of the strongest pieces of music on the concert. In contrast to some of the other works, Meckler’s piece took a more abstract approach and went further in remaining what the tango and waltz could become. The result was music that did not at first sound like standard dance music, but was in reality set to stunning choreography by Breton that perfectly matched Meckler’s sounds. Breton’s athletic performance had him leaping and rolling around the stage in a graceful way that matched the eeriness of Meckler’s music and captured the audience’s attention.
Joseph Bohigian http://josephbohigian.wix.com/composer
Joseph Bohigian is a composer from Fresno, California and is interning for Vox Novus. He will be sharing his experiences on the New York New Music scene.
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