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An Evening with Omar

A duet featuring the choreographer himself was an unexpected treat when Boca Tuya, founded in 2018 by Omar Román de Jesús, took the stage at 92NY last week. De Jesús is a scintillating model for the liquid, undulating movement style that flows through all three works of the evening. I could track his pulse, beginning with a nod of his head, eyes lowered as if in a trance, as it snaked through his body. He and dancer Ian Spring circle and entwine as if passing an electric coil between them, surrendering and accepting each other’s full weight while rarely losing physical contact. Full of sensual vulnerability, the effect is hypnotic. The duet, “Like those playground kids at midnight,” was a crowd favorite the evening I attended.

Performance

Boca Tuya, mixed rep by Omar Román de Jesús

Place

92NY Harkness Dance Center, New York, NY, November 14-15, 2024

Words

Karen Hildebrand

Boca Tuya in “Caress them in a way that hurts a little” by Omar Román de Jesús. Photograph by Lindsay Clipner

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De Jesús seemed to explode from nowhere onto the New York scene last year when Ballet Hispanico featured his work in its City Center season. During 2022 and 2023, the Puerto Rican born choreographer quietly racked up a perfect trifecta of prizes, between the Dance Magazine Harkness Promise Award, the Princess Grace Award, and a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship. This 92NY show from Harkness Dance Center, where de Jesús is currently in residence, is a promising debut—the first full evening of his own choreography. 

De Jesús refers to his style as abstract narrative. His works are character-based—he places characters in a space together and we watch them interact according to a set of parameters not fully revealed to us. In “Los Perros del Barrio Colosal” for instance, the nine ensemble members are a pack of dogs. Clad in blazers and slacks with crisp white shirts, they crouch close to the ground and toss themselves aggressively through the air, their open jackets flapping like exuberant canine ears. It’s a rough crowd. Some of the dogs get shot. There is nuzzling. We don’t know why or how—we’re experiencing this as dogs. A poignant moment at the end has one pooch repeatedly circling in a sadistic game of fetch, panting, tongue out, the sound of his feet slapping the floor. 

Boca Tuya in “Like those playground kids at midnight” by Omar Román de Jesús. Photograph by Lindsay Clipner

The evening finale, “Caress them in a way that hurts a little,” has a baroque look to it, moody and provocative. The cast is dressed in evening clothes that hint of the boudoir (de Jesús is credited with costume design for all three works)—a midnight blue dressing gown for Rachel Secrest, a maroon satin dress that clings to Lieana Sherry’s curves. Nat Wilson wears a blousy shirt with a ruffled front and Santiago Villarreal’s tunic flares like a skirt. Ali Pfleger is a sizzling skillet of popcorn, little explosions going off all over her body in quick succession. Also impressive is Villarreal, who springs spontaneously into the air from all fours like a cat, and then flops on the floor like a slab of raw fish. Spring issues a finger thwack to a head here, and a shove from behind there, suggesting abuse. Unaccountably, snow begins to fall toward the end of “Caress,” creating a veil across the proscenium behind which the cast continues to dance. The piece goes on a bit too long without climax or shift in tone, and leaves me with the sense that what I’ve watched, though enjoyable, is not of great consequence. In much the way that I can appreciate having a good day, knowing there is an opportunity to do more good tomorrow, I look forward to seeing more of de Jesús.

Karen Hildebrand

Karen Hildebrand is former editorial director for Dance Magazine and served as editor in chief for Dance Teacher for a decade. An advocate for dance education, she was honored with the Dance Teacher Award in 2020. She follows in the tradition of dance writers who are also poets (Edwin Denby, Jack Anderson), with poetry published in many literary journals and in her book, Crossing Pleasure Avenue (Indolent Books). She holds an MFA from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Originally from Colorado, she lives in Brooklyn.

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