welcoming and unpretentious experience

By E. Joyce Glasgow SGN A&E Writer

Men in Dance Festival 2006 October 13-15 & 20-22 Velocity Dance Studio

I attended the second weekend of performances at the Men in Dance Festival and arrived to a warm, welcoming and unpretentious experience in dance that reminded me of the dance scene in Seattle during the 1980's. There was a sense of community, simplicity, intimacy and relaxation in the dancing. Over the course of the two weekends, the performers participating ranged from 11 to 60-years-old. This was the sixth bi-annual festival. The Velocity Dance studio was full to capacity, which added to the intimacy for both the dancers and the audience, who were only several feet away.

One dance performance, which I found especially fascinating, was a trio choreographed by Jason Ohlberg called “Song of the Siren”, accompanied by a recording of absolutely beautiful singing by a mezzo-soprano from Henrik Gorecki's Symphony # 3. Both the music and the dancing were introspective, slow and deliberate. The quietness and intensity of the music helped to bring tension to the interactions of the dancers and the sleek choreography created interesting sculptural forms in the artistic negative spaces amongst the performers: Jason Ohlberg, artistic negative spaces amongst the performers: Jason Ohlberg, Patrick Pulkrabek and Michael Rioux.

Choreographer Wade Madson and dancer Jeffrey Fromme performed “Clowns”, a funny and slightly lascivious dance, in wild clown costumes by Mack Leger.

In contrast to the modern dance choreography, two lively and delightful pieces featured six performers singing, dancing and acting in a musical comedy format, singing the music of Broadway composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick.

Both “Politics and Poker” and “Little Tin Box” were choreographed by Gary Reed and performed by Christopher Anderson, Kyle Cable, Raymond Houle, Richard Jessup, Chris Nardine and Gary Reed, with Bret Federigan on piano.

“Urba Natis” by choreographer, Pilar Villanueva, was very architectural, echoed by videos of buildings and 3D animation by THOUGHTcam and an original, live, spatial piano score by Peter Stevens. “Positive Reinforcement” by Richard Jessup explored the dynamics of physical intimacy between male partners.

Geometric shapes, angles and relationships were expressed crisply by four dancers in Deborah Wolf's “arc angle”. “Drew + Stephen + Tom” by Laura Curry featured three performers in a funny talking piece with movement and “Seeking Intrepid” by Gerard Theoret reminded me of a flock of birds, gracefully soaring, as the seven dancers moved through the space. Sound designer, Giovanni Siano, helped create an upbeat and relaxing atmosphere with music by AfroCelt before the show and the surprisingly lovely score from “The Moderns” at intermission.

I found all the dancing on the program to be graceful, expressive and professional. The performers over the two weekends included dancers from Cornish, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Spectrum Dance and the general Seattle dance community. Choreographers included in the first weekend's performances included: Donald Byrd, Vicki Lloid, Olivier Weavers and Raymond Houle.

There will be one more chance to catch a performance of “Men in Dance,” which will include a variety of these works, on November 4th at the Bainbridge Performing Arts Center on Bainbridge Island.