“Cosmati Variations” was danced by the terrific Axelsen and Ward, to John Cage’s composition “Third Construction,” a sound scape of percussion that ranged from drums to rain stick to what sounded like the clattering of pans. The dancers orbited each other with a sense of play, their only physical contact was a light hand placed on a shoulder and holding hands during some unison work. Performed in bright light, the dance was all about the path the footwork makes on the floor—specifically the serpentine mosaic floors found in Roman churches and cathedrals.
“Current Pieces 1, 2 & 3” featured sequential solos by Fenley, Axelsen, and Ward, each to its own musical composition, performed live on grand piano by Enriqueta Somarriba. The dancers were dressed in slightly different versions of the same body hugging shorts and stained glass-like top designed by Khadda Madani. Each solo seemed to build on qualities introduced in the previous one. For instance, Axelsen added fluidity to Fenley’s prominent port de bras, and Ward brought attention to the legs. He used his arms to power his leaps more than to speak for themselves, although there was a moment near the end where his arm unfolded in more segments than technically possible.
Lynch and Trusnovec joined these three for the premiere of “Etruscan Matisse/Blake,” inspired by, you guessed it, Etruscan frescoes, Henri Matisse, and William Blake, danced to a spacey recorded musical score by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The dancers were spread, five points of a star, as they rotated and struck poses. A trio with Trusnovec and Lynch, emphasized Fenley’s diminutive size—at one point, I got the feeling of a mother being cared for by her children. Trusnovec didn’t perform every night, so I wondered if this part was sometimes a duet, which may have changed how I perceived it.
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