The Velocity DC Dance festival was a big success

October 13, 2:54 PMDC Dance ExaminerFelicia Brown

The Saturday, October 3rd, Velocity DC Dance Festival show at the Sidney Harman Hall was fun, well paced and teeming with good dance. Most of the companies performing were modern dance based, so topping the show off with Gesel Mason’s funny piece, “How to watch a Modern Dance” was not only an excellent choice educationally, seeing also that one of the goals of the festival organizers was to cultivate a new dance audience, but it further set the exuberant tone for the night. Mason is a beautiful dancer and choreographer, but she is also a born comedienne. And she keeps the piece fresh by adding the latest pop culture dance craze. The audience roared when she did the already iconic steps from Beyoncé’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it).” However, it was Peter DiMuro, director of Dance Metro DC, who acted as narrator and straight man to Gesel in the piece, and took it to an even higher level comically.  And as host, he was perfect. Having to often kill time due to set changes and other backstage delays, he joked, shared stories and teased audience members; he was very funny, and surprisingly, I found myself  thrilled when he appeared.

This was my first time seeing Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in person, and their piece, ‘Blueprints of Relentless Nature’, was a good introduction. I was not aware how similar Lerman’s dance style is to Helanius Wilkins'. His company Edgeworks Dance Theater also presented a piece, an excerpt from ‘In Progress: Traveling’. Both companies have an effortless, swingy kind of modern dance style that often uses easy lifts between partners and suspended movement. ‘Traveling’ is one of Edgeworks more understated thematic pieces, and looking at Lerman’s work on the internet, it appears she can produce more edgy work as well. But these two pieces are perfect selections for those new to watching modern dance.   Performing with his talented band,  Edwin Aparicio’s sexy, dynamic flamenco was sandwiched perfectly between these two languid modern pieces.

It astounds me how CityDance Ensemble continues to expand their horizons and push their boundaries. In this concert, they did Paul Taylor’s 1985 masterpiece, ‘Last Look’. This is the first time Taylor has licensed this piece to a company other than his own. The ballet starts with the dancers lying on top of each other like a pile of human trash. Once they begin to move, their movement is explosive. The dancers bounce, slither, bob, twitch, scratch, convulse and dive around a mirrored stage. It is the nearing the end of civilization in the piece, and the mirrors represent humanities’ narcissism. This ballet is physically very demanding, and CityDance did a good with the apocalyptic piece.

Ron K. Brown/ Evidence’s funky, African/Modern dance piece, ‘Upside Down’ was the crowd pleaser of the night.  The only New York based company in the program and one of my favorites, has had some cast changes.  The most notable was new dancer, Francine Elizabeth Ott.  Although she is more than half the ages of the other dancers, she moved as sprightly and sanguinely as her younger counterparts, and I beamed with pride.  The rest of the audience also praised her efforts, because her solo received the biggest applause.

The show ended with The Washington Ballet’s, Wunderland. The lyrical and romantic ballet choreographed by Edwaard Liang, beautifully showcased Washington Ballet’s dancers.  Liang said a snow globe was the inspiration for the ballet, and the snow released near the end of the ballet gave the piece a dreamy effect. 

I look forward to the return of the Velocity DC Dance festival next year.  It was a big success, and I hope they can keep the tickets at $15.00 and DiMuro as the host.