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Philadanco' was fantastic at the Publick Playhouse
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Photo by Lois Greenfield
During the morning lecture/demonstration performance, Tracy Vogt, a Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco’) dancer, stated that "if a choreographer asked us to stand on our eyelash, we will do it.” The audience laughed, but I smiled thinking don’t laugh to hard; this company just might be able do that, and that is why they have been one of the premier modern dance companies for 40 years. Their ability to perform, transform or adapt to any dance style makes them a choreographers dream and thus a dream to watch. And they did not disappoint on Friday, October 2nd at the Publick Playhouse. Philadanco' was fabulous, and the program aptly demonstrated their versatility.
In Gene Hill Sagan’s neo-classical piece, Ritornello, the Danco' dancers started the program off with a bang. Before Sagan’s passing in 1991, he was the resident choreographer for Philadanco’, and his work is still a staple in their repertory. Understandably so Sagan was a master choreographer making his dancers look good with elegant costumes which he usually designed, exciting choreography of swirling turns, grand leaps and classic lines. The Danco’ women wore beautiful large swooping red skirts and red flowers in their hair; the men also looked debonair dressed in red. They whipped through Sagan's trademark whirlwind turns like mini tornadoes all to the passionate music of Bach.
However, the audience saw a totally different side of 'Danco in Rennie Harris' hip-hop piece, Philadelphia Experiment. As pulled up (lifting through the trunk of the body) as the dancers were in the Sagan's piece, they were just that down and grounded (bent knees, body forward and weight through the trunk very heavy) in the Harris piece. To coin a phrase from Lil' C, krumper, choreographer and So You Think You Can Dance judge), Danco' was 'buck'. They danced like they were true b-boys (and girls). I love Rennie Harris' work. He is old-school hip-hop where the artists used their craft to speak for the voiceless and empower the powerless; it was used to hold up a mirror to the larger society, speaking out against degradation and isolation and celebrating resilience and transformation. Philadelphia Experiment is a retrospective of Philadelphia, acknowledging political, economic and social change using grim images of Philly and movement intertwined with hip-hop, dance from Africa and raw energy.
Milton Myers' piece Violin Concerto was a highlight of the evening. Philadanco' is so known for their power, speed and athleticism, but in this lyrical sensitive piece the dancers moved with such tenderness and delicateness that they were almost ethereal; they were so breathtaking. Philip Glass' exquisite concerto just added to the soulfulness of the work.
Enemy Behind the Gates choreographed by Christopher L. Huggins has become a Danco' signature piece, and It delves into theme of enemies among us—who is friend and who is foe? The dancers clad in black militaristic uniforms; slashed arms through the air, legs moved like stoccato whips; leaps, runs and partnering were done at breakneck speed. Steve Reich's “The Four Sections” added to the power and frenzy of the piece. I saw Philadanco' do this piece about four years ago at Publick Playhouse, and I remembered it being longer with a different ending, and that version was more powerful in the building of the piece's crescendo, so it lost something with the new ending, but it is still a spectacular piece, and it was Danco' at their finest.
[First excerpt is Sagan's Ritornello]
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