BEBE MILLER COMPANY.BEBE MILLER COMPANY THE JOYCE THEATER MAY 6-9, 11 -16, 1999 When Bebe Miller launches into her solo, Rhythm Studies, she may be creating a new genre of dance: black urban flamenco. Stamping on the floor, beating on a set of drums, and then venting her anxieties through words and gestures, she reaches for a primal place that could only be accessed by a woman of vast experience. A world premiere at the Joyce Theater, Rhythm Studies shows off Miller's quirky movement style, which can be riveting during its peak moments. Although her physical movement is somewhat limited these days, her spirit is not. Through the eloquence of her simple, always viscerally-motivated moves, she offers up what may be the female counterpart to Bill T. Jones's articulate solos. The main course of the program was a full-length work for nine dancers, Going to the Wall, a New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. premiere, with music by The Fugees, Nonchalant non·cha·lant adj. Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent. See Synonyms at cool. [French, from Old French, present participle of nonchaloir, to be unconcerned : non-, , and Don Byron. From the get-go, Miller directs provocative questions toward the audience. She slyly asks if anyone is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. the gay dancers on the stage, and she wonders aloud how many times the conversation shifts toward the fact that the company director is an African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. woman. Her troupe, composed of people of many colors, could be a microcosm of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of City--and she addresses her choreography toward the crazy quilt of city living. The sophisticated lighting by Michael Mazzola opens and closes the space, providing the right dusky arena. The most effective moments in the work reflect the energy of the tightly-wound rap music in phrases of dancing that are both acrobatic and sinuous sinuous /sin·u·ous/ (sin´u-us) bending in and out; winding. sinuous bending in and out; winding. . In one exhilarating sequence, four men (Stephen Edwards, Ted Johnson, Anthony Phillips, and Darrell Jones) stalk the stage with machismo-driven lunges and jumps, followed by a collective tribal dance by four women (Frances Craig, Sarah Gamblin, Melissa Wynn, and Cheng-Chieh Yu). Miller ambushes the climactic moment by breaking into silence and adagio a·da·gio adv. & adj. Music In a slow tempo, usually considered to be slower than andante but faster than larghetto. Used chiefly as a direction. n. pl. a·da·gios 1. post-modern choreography. At times the shift is interesting dynamically, but for the most part it is frustrating and without resolution. How rewarding it could be if Miller just created a teeth-baring rap work that seizes the audience's attention and holds the stage for its duration. There certainly would be no lack of audience for it. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion