The Soraya was the starting point for Martha Graham Dance Company’s 100th anniversary tour. And what a kick-off it was: Premiering Agnes de Mille’s 1942 masterpiece, “Rodeo,” with staging by Diana Gonzalez, de Mille’s assistant from 1987 to 1993, the work featured Aaron Copland’s beloved score, but with a twist: Performed live by Gabe Witcher (he also did the arrangement) as part of a six-piece bluegrass ensemble, this was the perfect accompaniment for the dancers in full cowboy mode.
The program also gave us unadulterated Graham with “Dark Meadow Suite” and “Maple Leaf Rag.” The latter, Graham’s last choreography, was her 181st work that premiered in 1990, a year before her death at age 96. Adding icing to this dancerly cake, was the fact that all pieces were performed to live music.
It was also cool having REDCAT back in full swing again, with the US premiere of the 65-minute “takemehome.” Featuring choreography by Dmitri Chamblas, with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon providing a ravishing, albeit earsplitting soundscape in the form of five electric guitars and five amps, the opus showcased nine dancers who seemed to inhabit an alien world, an inflatable zeppelin providing a kind of campy visual.
The who, what, when, where, why of the work was, for the most part, left up to one’s imagination, yet still made for a must-see performance.
In this standout year of innovative creations, special shout-outs also go to: United Ukrainian Ballet, whose 60 elite dancers poured their hearts out in Alexei Ratmansky’s “Giselle” at Segerstrom Center for the Arts; Complexions Contemporary Ballet was seemingly everywhere in Southern California, delivering high-octane works in three different venues; Congress VIII, a panoply of commercial/cum/concert dance, rocked the LADP space; and, finally, kudos to producer/director Bridget Murnane, whose magnificent, multi-award winning documentary, Bella, beautifully brings back to life modern dancer/choreographer/teacher/activist Bella Lewitzky, with the film currently eligible for Oscar consideration. (Academy Members, please vote!)
Seriously, as 2024 is a crucial election year, our ballot goes to . . . the exquisite, often surprising—and eternally vital—art form that is dance. Onward!
Thank you for this fun wrap-up. I always tell students to use colorful verbs to describe dance, and you’ve packed in the verbs. You’ve also given me a hit of all the things I missed on the other coast. Tnx much.