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Flash Response Sandra Organ Dance Company Seen and Unseen
By Toni Leago Valle 2/21/09
Let me begin by saying I’m recovering from a nasty case of strep throat, so I wasn’t much in the mood to attend any dance concert last night. My couch was looking pretty desirable after a 3-hour rehearsal for Becky Valls’ Memoirs of the Sistahood Saturday afternoon. (We are taking it to Having attended almost every Black History Month concert of Sandra’s over the last seven years, I had reasonable expectations as to what was going to happen. SODC’s mission for this annual concert is to educate audiences of all ages about events from Black History, using text, music and dance. Often these pieces become literal interpretations of the text or lyrics, and include some form of audience participation. True to form, Sandra taught an “arm dance” – a few simple gestures for the audience to use to participate in the piece, “Freedom.” One thing I have always loved about SODC shows is the easy familiarity of the opening speech that Sandra herself gives. She is personable and laughs, making inside jokes with the audience, like cracking over her shoulder that she has to strike her own set while moving a bench. She invites you to relax and have a good time – no stuffy dance concert here; just enjoy yourself with friends who happen to be dancing. The concert opened with Sabbathday, one of Sandra’s first choreographic endeavors in 1997, performed to a cappella Shaker chants. My first impression is that it was a difficult piece to open with, with a large cast dancing contemporary ballet based movement in unison with many swift, sharp gestures. With many people leaping onstage, I was distracted by the sound of dancers landing, something that cannot be avoided when the audience is practically sitting on top the stage. As in most ballet, my sense was that this piece works better on a larger stage with the audience further removed so we cannot hear landings and can see the movement patterns. I was also pleasantly surprised at how upbeat the dance and music was, and realized that I had a preconceived idea of Shakers – after all, Sandra’s own program note is that they lived a life of “hands to work and hearts to God” – sounds like a dull existence to me. Sandra’s interpretation is one of a life of happiness, contentment with self, and singing praise. Being a contemporary modern choreographer myself, I was immediately attracted to the second piece, Howling at the Moon. An image of a moon projection is my only sense of realism which pleasantly surprises me as it appears and disappears through out the piece unobtrusively. I personally prefer to see a wide variety of dancers’ skill, ages and bodies, as was the case with this ensemble cast. The highlight of this piece and the show for me was watching a lovely duet by Paola Georgudis and Richie Hubscher. I actually smiled in anticipation as these two emerged. (I don’t even have to mention their technique – it goes without saying.) Ritchie performed with his usual theatricality, though toned down to fit the piece, which was a perfect match for Paola’s sincerity of character that she brings to everything she does. Here was a dance couple that portrayed an ease of self and with each other. I sensed love and trust between the two – something I see often lacking in love duets with less-seasoned performers. I thought, why don’t we see more of these two performing in the dance community? I make a mental note to myself to ask them later. My other favorite moment, as in any of Sandra’s shows, is Sandra performing herself. There are two things that light up Sandra like a beacon in the dark - performing solo, with the worry of performing within a group left behind, and performing about her spiritual beliefs (which pervade throughout her work – after all –I bring all my beliefs to the stage.) She does both in Creed, a liturgical representation of The Apostles’ Creed. She preps the audience by prefacing that this piece is done in churches and represents her own Catholic upbringing. Being raised Catholic myself, it felt like greeting an old friend, and I indulged in the musicality of the poetry of Sandra’s voice, reciting the Creed while she dances. To me, the movement (often literal gestures) didn’t matter. What catches my attention is Sandra herself, showing her years of mastery as she lands (much more lightly than most of her younger ensemble) without a sound – a note as a dancer that I do not miss as she performs with no music – and performs her own movement with grace and fluidity. It is also not lost on me how difficult it is to recite words and dance at the same time, yet Sandra never loses focuses, never strays from her intention, and her belief in the words are so sincere, so committed, that I actually teared up for a moment, lost in her personal devotion that Sandra has somehow personally invited the whole audience to engage in. Sandra’s face actually appears to shine from within, a smile on her lips, as she ends in a quite Amen. This type of dance does not affect everyone, depending on personal beliefs, but I can easily imagine a church audience, for whom this prayer is literally their affirmation for life, fully appreciating it. SODC’s cast includes some nice performance- most notably Erica Blumenthal, who has reappeared after having a baby, Cassandra Shaffer, Nakia Talley and Madonna Bauch. Some I haven’t seen before but show promise are Lauren Perrone, Anthony Smith and Jonathan Gutierrez. Sandra Organ Dance Company closes with its matinee performance today at Barnevelder. For more information, visit www.organdance.org
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