Cedar Lake's performance was anything but traditional. Daring, athletic, risk-taking choreography was combined with excellent technique. For instance, at the beginning of This Mortal Coil (choreographed by Edwaard Liang), Kristen Elizabeth Weiser was very poised. She held herself very still without vibration. In between the stillnesses, the choreography was characterized by much rapid arm pumping and rotational movement on one spot. Then she would move to another spot. There was a video transition showing Kristen and four men. The men then entered the stage as Kristen exited. Both the men and the women danced well. The men began a section rolling on the floor with undulating bodies. Four women then entered, pairing with the men for quick lifts. There was good contrast in the pacing between the sections with some energetic with a Swing like feel and others darker and slower. The number of dancers on stage was also varied. Sometimes couples would dance one couple at a time. At other times one couple would dance offset from the others who were slowly walking in the background. Or two couples sharing the stage, one in darkness and still, one in brightness and moving, and then the reverse, and then dance together. I liked the intricate hand movements and the lyrical partnering with occasional swift accent movements. Floor spins and sliding entrances were also a theme of the dance. I especially liked one image where a pair of dancers stood one in front of the other and created a circle, half with the man's arm and half with the woman's arm, parallel to the floor. All in all This Mortal Coil was a quality abstract dance that showed off dancers happy to be dancing.

The second work of the night, Momentary Play (Choreographed by Jodi Gates), started right after This Mortal Coil without a break. I and other members of the audience only realized it was the second work after it was over. Without a break it looked like another passage of the first work, especially since the costumes had similarities. Momentary Play featured a woman wandering the stage playing a violin. A man danced behind a curtain on which was projected an image of the same man. It looked like it was being captured and projected in real time. Eventually there were three of these curtains with dancers behind them. Other dancers would come on stage and dance outside the curtains. There was much reaching and running. Dancers pulled the curtains off. The choreography used very open body language with spread out limbs. Stretched. Pendulum arms. In this work as in the last, the choreographer was very fond of sliding entrances, which is partly why the two works seemed like one long work. The work ended with energetic interweavings. This was another quality abstract work that made good use of framing with the curtains and the video.

The final work of the night was Seed (Choreographed by Benoit-Swan Pouffer). This was a concept piece on the theme of birth. The work started with a video projected on large upright slabs that had been set on the stage forming a semi-circular boundary with openings between each slab. Images were projected of the dancers underwater wearing large headphones with thick cords trailing off the screen. Jason Kittelberger entered the stage. He was in an embryo pose making small movements. He was connected by a thread from his knit shirt to offstage. He mostly danced on one spot and then started slowly moving across the stage. His loose knit shirt was slowly coming undone. Five women crawl out backwards . Five men walk out from behind the panels. There is static noise. The women struggle to get off the ground. The dancers perform rapid staticy movements that parallel the music. It is like they are frantic to get out. There is much running and sliding and then all are lying down. The video shows the dancers scything a field. All of the dancers walk off. A couple comes on stage. They dance with impassioned pairing. The woman is in a pale green dress and the projections show the 23rd street subway station. Eight men take the stage. They look like weary cotton pickers. They make weary swaying motions. Then the dance picks up as they get a second wind with assisted flight with half lifts. There is much up and down striving. In the next scene a woman dances alone while a spider is projected on a line on the panels. Then children enter the scene with playful jumping and kicks. They draw on the wall of the schoolyard. This is a ballet take on child games. In the next scene a woman in a knit shirt runs up to the panels and stretches against them. We are perhaps back in the womb. A coda of a video recaps the scenes. Jason Killelberger appears. This time he wears nothing but flesh colored shorts and he is wet. He performs breaking free and balancing movements. Three dancers appear with cords stretching offstage. The music gets energetic. The dancers twist and turn. A man comes up out of the water in the video. Jason breathes.

I liked Seed because it managed to tie together different choreographic ideas into a whole that was a series of disconnected snapshots as it happened, but made sense as a seamless continuum in retrospect as the final dance sequence tied the work back to the beginning.

Cedar Lake performed in their new theatre and studio complex at 547 West 26th Street in New York City. The 191 seat theatre gets the audience up close to the dancers. This complex is a prime addition to New York City's embarrassment of dance riches. http://www.cedarlakedance.com

An Evening of Three Choreographers will be performed Oct 24-25 at 7 pm, Oct 27-29 at 8 pm, Nov 3-5 and 10-12 at 8 pm, with 2 pm Saturday matinees Oct 29, Nov 5 and 12. Tickets can be purchased through SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or www.SmartTix.com.

Jessica Coleman Scott
Photo courtesy of Steven Baillie