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Rita Kohn

Performance Reviews

Indianapolis Museum of Art - The Toby Theater

United States

Indiana

Indianapolis, IN

Dance Kaleidoscope's IMA program scintillating

by Rita Kohn
May 2, 2014

Indianapolis Museum of Art - The Toby Theater
4000 Michigan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46208-3326
(317) 923-1331

This review was originally published in NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis, IN.

Rita Kohn is a member of the Board of the Dance Critics Association.

Dance Kaleidoscope's new set of revivals scintillates with a company of dancers finessing the intent of each program. Remembering the original performances and succeeding comebacks over the years, what happened May 2 at The Toby seemed magical to those of us who 'have been there and seen that' one or more times. Choreographer David Hochoy admits to delving into nuances as he brings back a work and the dancers speak of finding depth and breadth to portrayals they either are repeating or are taking on for the first time.

For "Girl at the Piano: Recording Sound" (1994) Timothy June speaks of the leap from previously dancing the lover to now encompassing the not-so-nice father. There is a metamorphosis as a work matures, and one of the bonuses of being a long-time subscriber is finding oneself in the midst of artistry at work. Hochoy constructed a story around they melancholy feel of Theodore Roszak's painting. Jillian Godwin embodies the vicissitudes with such compelling honesty you want to reach out and snatch her from the clutches of the epitome of a dysfunctional family. June, Liberty Harris, Mariel Greenlee, Justin-David Sears-Watson, Brandon Comer, Noah Trulock and Caitlin Negron equally match mood and movement to Rachmaninoff's richly textured Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43. Barry Doss's costumes remain amazing, as does the set by Laura Freison, Doss and Frank Weiner. Hochoy commented that he wished Roszak could have seen this performance. "I think he would be pleased," mused Hochoy. We replied that somehow transcendence did take place.

With "Georgia O'Keefe: Heart of Joy," (2003) the dancers also bring individuality to the essence of Hochoy's vision of a floral landscape coming alive. Building upon three movements from Philip Glass's Symphony No. 4 "Heroes," the work moves from the framework of the painting "Jimson Weed" as a flowing interaction within itself, to a broadened landscape as flowers relate to the elements, and finally, as Glass's music buzzes to a sense of germination and recreation. It's a fast-moving, emotionally building exercise. Laura Glover's subtle lighting interacts so beautifully with Cheryl Sparks' costumes it's hard to define where one ends and the other begins.

A beautifully satisfying program, with the DK-IMA partnership as a fulcrum. Being in the presence of the paintings at the IMA prior to the program is a boon.