BWW Reviews: DanceNow NYC at Joe's Pub

Since 2010, DanceNow NYC Joe's Pub Festival has tasked choreographers with the challenge of presenting an artist statement in under 5 minutes. As evidenced Friday evening, conciseness does not mean a choreographer has to compromise on conceptual rigor. Of the ten pieces featured, here are some highlights:

Jordan Isadore's premiere of "Thousands Place" opened the program with a witty reunion of Irish step staccato and vogue femme sensuality. Isadore, Eloise DeLuca, and TJ Spaur synchronously executed hard hitting hip pops, squats and arm sequences to the iconic Riverdance soundtrack. Isadore's club meets concert dance style brought cabaret performance to new heights and unsurprisingly, the audience declared Isadore as the DanceNow Challenge winner of the evening.

Space was optimized most effectively in "Cheek to Cheek," a tender duet by Loni Landon. Christopher Ralph and Caitlin Taylor's legs and arms stretched and hinged onto each other as if they were one moving body. The sweeping momentum initiated by Landon's signature deep pliés and high, dramatic extensions transformed the Pub's small stage into a boundless landscape.

raja feather kelly's "James" was an investigation of presence and vulnerability and most certainly the standout solo performance of the evening. Kelly quivered in a coccyx balance under soft yellow lights designed by Lauren Parrish. When he rose, he stared at the audience and shook softly, hands crossed in front of him like a swan. Philip Kraft emerged from the audience at the end to give kelly a long kiss that calmed his quivers to stillness. kelly's solo piece unexpectedly ended as a duet, and the audience silently shared this intimate moment.

Also exploring presence, but in a digital landscape, were Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, who incorporated screen projections in "Merge." Their live bodies danced with their projected selves in various city and natural landscapes. The use of the screen projections was at times an interesting perspective shift and at others a distraction. The technology could have been more seamlessly integrated into the piece if the duo spent more time dancing alongside their avatars rather than constantly sneaking and emerging from behind the screen.

David Dorfman and Dan Foot pushed slapstick silliness to its limits in "Bull," where Alex Bielson and Tyner Dumortier did just that--slapped each other. Donning tuxedos and armed with megaphones, the duo politely exchanged slaps across the face. Their dialogue was saccharine sweet but the redness that swelled their cheeks relayed the frustration their words tried to hide. Though rousing laughter from the audience at first, the piece was comprised mostly of this face-slapping, which made it quickly lose its shock value.

Photo: TJ Spaur, Eloise DeLuca and Jordan Isadore in "Thousands Place." Courtesy of Joe's Pub.

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