Contemporary Dance Oklahoma features powerful, eye-catching works by local and guest choreographers.
The opening piece, "Time's Edge," choreographed by Austin Hartel, OU modern dance professor and Contemporary Dance Oklahoma artistic director, was inspired by his love of physics and Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time." Set to Maurice Ravel’s "Boléro," it included an obvious reference to Schrödinger’s cat and subtle references to complex theories of time and space.
Creating a stunning visualization of time running out, the dancers were perfectly in tune with one another. During the most powerful point of this piece, the dancers ran at top speed in a circle before slowly moving off stage; simultaneously fostering the chaos of time and the urgent sensation of watching oneself moving as fast as possible when running late.
"Time’s Edge" also included a dancer dressed as a cat in a cage, the fate of the cat unknown. The suspense surrounding the outcome of Schrödinger’s cat kept audience members at the edge of their seats, waiting for fate to unfold.
The program then moved into a beautiful solo, "The Man Who Fell from the Moon," choreographed by Hartel. The solo, about a man from the moon who falls to Earth only to be disappointed by violence, was exquisitely danced by Xavier Santafield. With high jumps, quick turns and articulate timing, "The Man who Fell from the Moon" was fascinating to watch.
Santafield managed to balance pure strength with fear and longing, producing a politically and socially poignant piece focusing on how selfish and cruel humans can be to one another.
"Black Lights," choreographed by guest artist Raimondo Rebeck, featured a beautiful pas de deux between Santafield and Bailey Evans. Evans played a woman affected by blindness, and Santafield acted as her guide. The movement quality of the two dancers was incredible to watch, the two moving as if they were attached and not two separate beings.
Following a short intermission, the curtain reopened with OU ballet professor Ilya Kozadayev’s piece "Lucid." The piece began with dancers waking up, startled from dreams or what appeared to be nightmares. Beautiful in its symmetry and unexpected movements, "Lucid" was beautiful and compelling with smooth, complex lifts and very modern sentiments.
Next, was Hartel’s final piece in the show, "Bach." Setting this performance apart from others was Johann Sebastian Bach’s score performed by an onstage cellist and the dramatic, physically-challenging lifts throughout the piece. Whether intended or not, the choreography begged the question, "Are dancers artists or athletes?"
For long stretches of this performance, each of three male dancers held his female partner high overhead while walking across the stage, demonstrating the kind of physical strength and balance most often associated with football players and other sports stars.
Although athletically appealing, "Bach" was also a truly joyful dance between couples. Possibly romantic, the style of lifts and partnering in the duets seemed more like a description of friendship: friends supporting each other both physically and emotionally.
The production closed with "Love Letter" by guest artist Sonia Dawkins, a darkly powerful meditation on how a letter can change your life. Dawkins' choreography embodied the notion that whether a letter is filled with love, rejection, heartbreak or congratulation, your world can be turned around by a single piece of paper.
Dancers utilized tables and papers as props, but their timing and use of breath is what wowed the audience. Although the piece lasted a little over 15 minutes, the exciting jumps, turns, and subtle nuances of frustration, fear and anger engaged the audience and left them wanting more.
Contemporary Dance Oklahoma is not a show to miss. It is jam-packed with powerful pieces of art that hit home.
Advance purchase tickets for Contemporary Dance Oklahoma are $25 for adults; $20 for senior adults, OU employees and military; and $10 for students. Tickets at the door are $35 for adults and $15 for students, cash or check only. Tickets may be purchased here or at the box office in Catlett Music Center. The show will go on until May 7.
