Catwalk or club, or both? The nine dancers in New York choreographer Sidra Bell's new work, Risoluta, slink, pose and posture their way through a "subterranean ball." Men and women alternate with hands high on the rib cages as if modeling couture fashion; others seem to be engaged in a subtle form of voguing; a few appear to hang out on the side lines absorbed in their own laidback beats. Risoluta, with original music composed by Bell's jazz musician father Dennis, premieres during River North Chicago Dance Company's fall engagement Nov. 13 at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Drive. According to artistic director Frank Chaves, this 21st season concert centers more on the group's eclectic contemporary style than its lush and full-bodied lyricism. He calls it "a hefty program," with Bell's piece one that called upon the dancers' full collaboration in deconstructing and reconstructing phrases to create an aloof and sexually ambiguous underground club atmosphere.
With various combinations of couples moving in and out, Risoluta plays with ideas of competitive courtship and coy lust -- an emotion-less sensuality in an overtly me-centric environment. Bell incorporates semi-robotic moves with unison sections to show how movement evolves in a social setting that has the potential to be an extended predatory, but standoff-ish, tease. Most interestingly is the alternating casual and calculated mood, and a few satiric moments that place the personable River North dancers in scenarios of such unapologetic self-involvement, they seem to be seducing themselves.
Also on the bill are Robert Battle's Three; Kevin Iega Jeff's Sky; Lauri Stallings' Suppose; and The Mourning and Forbidden Boundaries by Chaves. Performance takes place at 8 p.m. Tickets: $30-$65. For tickets, call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. In addition, River North will present excerpts from its program on Nov. 12 at noon during the Harris Theater's "Eat to the Beat" event. For $5, audiences can bring their lunch, catch a one-hour show and meet the artists. Plus, the company hosts a family matinee, titled Street Beat -- Dance Through the Decades, devoted to the evolution of jazz dance, on Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. Tickets: $10. More info: www.rivernorthchicago.com.
Also playing...
In Course of Empire, her new multimedia dance performance for Breakbone DanceCo, artistic director Atalee Judy addresses the rise and fall of civilizations through architecture, Nov. 11-20, at The Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N. Western Ave. The hour-long excavation, enhanced by Carl Wiedemann's Omnimax-scale projections of decayed spaces (from collapsed abbeys to an abandoned train terminal), centers on three vintage aviatrix-clad dancers exploring how architecture inspires, intimidates, immortalizes, and divides our physical and psychological states of being. Performances run Thu.-Sat. at 8 p.m. Tickets: $12-$22. Call 773-296-6024 or visit www.viaducttheatre.com. More info: www.breakbone.com.
Michelle Kranicke, artistic director of Zephyr Dance, remounts Chewing, her highly abstract full-length work for five women, Nov. 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. at Holstein Park Auditorium, 2200 N. Oakley. She delves into the rituals associated with food and breaks them down into ideas of labor, culture and sensuality. Throughout, one gets the sense that the dancers represent society's tug of war between so-called civilized behavior and its primal connection to the earth. Tickets: $10-$15. Call 773-489-5069 or visit www.zephyrdance.com.
Core Project Chicago presents Bonesbare 4 on Nov. 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. It's a rare opportunity to experience a reconstruction of Alwin Nikolais' historic 1982 multimedia fantasy, Pond, in which (through masterful lighting and props) the dancers are transformed into primordial creatures. The concert includes additional choreography by Erin Rehberg, Matt Pierce and Kim Neal Nofsinger. Tickets: $18-$22. Visit www.coreprojectchicago.org.
END
Comments