May 12-18, 2005

dance

Premiere Party

by Janet Anderson

Thirty-five years is a long time for a dance troupe to survive and flourish. So understandably, Philadanco needed two concerts to show where it's been and where it's going. Last fall, Part 1 displayed dances that made 'Danco famous. But this spring's Part 2 presented only premieres, three exclusively 'Danco's, plus a choice acquisition from magnificent Geoffrey Holder.

'Danco's terrific ladies opened with Between Earth and Home, created by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, a fabulous choreographer for her own Urban Bush Women. Pharoah Sanders' music was full of twittering sounds, suggesting that the fluttering dancers were birds. Thematically, Zollar seemed more interested in a spiritual struggle as one of the dancers (the excellent Hollie Wright) struggled to leave the security of the group and soar alone.

The mood shifted with Everything is Everything, created by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, whose choreography can be found in most ballet company reps. Turns out she's as adept working with hip-hop as toe shoes. Five songs, each a dance vignette, provided shape. The sensational 'Danco men in "Lost Ones" seemed like human pinwheels, all loose arms and high rotating kicks, suggesting 'Danco body parts work differently than everybody else's. Dawn Marie Watson brought a pert jogging-shoed presence to "Every Ghetto, Every City," holding her own small space nicely even when joined by three of those terrific huge 'Danco guys.

Geoffrey Holder isn't just a noted choreographer — he's a director, set and costume designer, dancer, actor and musician. Let's just call him a genius. The Blues and the Bible is like a great painting in which every part fits. Starting with Holder's magnificent baritone voice intoning the creation text from Genesis, the darkness lifts and fabulous abstract lighting and sets reveal a world of stars, water, earth and beautiful humans. Fabulous creatures roam this primordial world, looking something like Maurice Sendak's Wild Things. Everyone danced beautifully, but when the glittering snake (Ahmad M. Lemons) slithered around the stage, you couldn't watch anyone else.

Ron K. Brown's abstract dance For Mother officially honors Harriet Tubman and mothers in general. Using Roberta Flack's vibrant voice and Afro-Cuban rhythms, Mother celebrates 'Danco's whole ethos. It showcases African movement while merging it with every human movement form. And one female dancer was the focus of the gorgeous performance, reminding us of the lady backstage, the one the dancers call Mom, the one who's been leading the way for 35 years: Joan Myers Brown. A happy anniversary, indeed, and a big year for Myers Brown, who was recently (and rightly) acknowledged at the Kennedy Center's "Masters of African-American Choreography" series.

PHILADANCO May 6, Kimmel Center