Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Delights Another Audience

That Hubbard Street Dance Chicago thoroughly entertains dance audiences is a total given. And they did not disapoint a large audience in the University of Denver's Newman Center Gates Concert Hall on October 20, 2009. The company presented four sumptuous works by Hubbard Street Resident Choreographers Alejandro Cerrudo and Lucas Crandall, and Jorma Elo and Nacho Duato. All of those were beautifully danced and all were visually ravishing.

Cerrudo's "Lickety Split" with its creative use of simple lighting and multiple black drops was as lovely to watch as when we first reviewed it at the 2007 American Dance Festival (www.worlddancereviews.com/dance/archive.php?page=reviews_archives&id=105'). Not unlike other now popular dances to contemporary music - all seemingly inspired by the success of Twyla Tharp's 1982 "Nine Sinatra Songs" - the work is a wonderful ornamentation of the music of Devandra Banahart. Much of that ornamentation's success lies in Cerrudo's movement inventions - even in lifts - and creative uses of space.

Crandall's "Set" was a virtuoso romp of competition between what seem to be two delightfully bisexual "ladies" - Meredith Dincolo and Alejandro Cerrudo - for the affection (or was it disaffection) of a clueless but oh-so-loving male danced by Terence Marling. Creative movement choices on and around a huge couch kept this work so very alive.

Elo's "Bitter Suite" opened in silence to a large ensemble, clustered with arms raised under a center-center down light. A diminutive female moved separately as she gave "instructions'" to the ensemble with minimalist hand signals. A male dancer also separated, gave her hand "instructions" and proceeded to manipulate her body into a puppet-like, eclectic dance. The ensemble first became a bass background to that dance and then exploded into a space gobbling, unison dance. Constantly creative ensembles formed throughout the space. As they clustered they become organic creatures from which individuals tried to escape. or did escape, always to be confronted or joined by another dancer just before that cluster again exploded. Often the escapee came under total control of whoever followed them, even to a point of being locked into Graham-like positions on the floor and virtually dragged into the wings. Mendelssohn music pervaded the space demanding a tender pas-de-deux type duet, and instead Elo set a robot-like duet in which the male partner - Terence Marling - turned the female - Robyn Mineko Williams - into a virtual puppet, her only departure from the puppet state being to cooperate in stunning and inventive lifts.

In "Gnawa" Nacho Duato has made a work that constitutes and amazingly luxurious feast of movement set to North African and Spanish sounds. It opened to three male female pairs staggered in the space and slowly walking downstage in dim, dim lighting. Sounds of drums and bass string and bright lights filled the theater and a dance began. Shirtless men and women in black dresses moved through large ensembles with multiple exits and entrances, all woven around stunning duet sequences performed by Kellie Epperheimer - in a body suit and phrasing that magnified her diminutive stature - and Benjamin Wardell - whose on-the-spot strong partnering allowed Epperheimer to shine.

Hubbard Street has developed a strong resident base of choreographers in Alejandro Cerrudo and Lucas Crandall. Adding to that the company's continuing connections to people like Elo and Duato, and repertory resident in Nederlands Dance 1, virtually guarantees their audiences delightful experiences.

Donald K. Atwood MFA, Ph.D.

© Copyright World dance Reviews 2009