Debbie Goldgaber

While it’s probably true that contemporary ballet can be defined only in terms of Balanchine, that’s not what Dance Magazine was getting at when they described Dwight Rhodan’s choreography as post-Balanchinian. Having choreographed more than sixty ballets for his Manhattan-based company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Rhodan’s oeuvre is recognized as pointing towards a new aesthetic in dance. Of course this isn’t terribly surprising if you consider the innovative artistic context from which he emerged—both Rhodan and his co-artistic director, dancer Desmond Richardson, were first principal dancers with Alvin Ailey.

While, as Rhodan insists, "his foundation is always classical ballet," the company’s impetuous energy and choreography set it apart from other contemporary ballet companies—as was evident for anyone who caught Complexion’s brief turn at September’s Chicago Dancing Festival.

If Balanchine (the Modernist) sought purity, Rhodan sees his own work in terms of "taking this form and turning it inside out, testing its limits." Concretely this means inviting interesting "contaminations"—improvisation, urban street dance, poetry and multimedia.

You can see the latest results of this formal experimentation at the Auditorium Theatre, beginning November 10, when Complexions returns to Chicago for a full-length program. The slated repertory program begins with the most enticing work, an all-Chopin ensemble work—charmingly entitled "Dear Frederic"—that the company premiered this season. Composed for eleven dancers, the piece should be the right opportunity for Rhodan to showcase his capacity to re-take the classical.

In contrast, "the pieces in the middle of the program are a little more intimate and exploratory," Rhodan explains. Works for one-to-three dancers, they include a solo created for and performed by Desmond Richardson set to the music of Prince.

While aesthetically, Rhodan’s work might be self-defined, he does see a certain "spiritual" affinity with his former teacher, Alvin Ailey: "If anything I hope this company embodies some of that man’s generosity of spirit, the capacity to really be engulfed by what you and do and perform completely without reserve."

Complexions Contemporary Ballet performs November 1o-11 at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 East Congress, (312)902-1500.

(2007-11-06)

Also by Debbie Goldgaber

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Choreographer Kyle Terry says that when words and intellect fail, the body has its own way of fixing things—of re-establishing balance and connection. This corporeal capacity is just one of the subjects of "Destructible Daytrip," Terry’s new show for Chicago Dance Crash. The other is the music of underground hip-hop legend El-Producto (aka El-P)
(2007-10-23)

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In "Six Boxes," by minimalist sculptor Donald Judd, an ensemble of mirrored cubes hide or dissimulate their own presence by reflecting the surrounding space. The effect is an apt visual metaphor for the themes of inaccessibility and self-imposed isolation explored by choreographer Michelle Kranicke (artistic director of Chicago-based Zephyr Dance) in "Just Left of Remote," premiering at The Dance Center of Columbia College on October 25
(2007-10-16)

Movement Vocabulary
Approached to work on a revival of David Spangler’s 1977 musical "Nefertiti," Bessie-nominated choreographer Kevin Iega Jeff proposed taking it home instead—to his company, Deeply Rooted Productions—and producing it for their regular season. The result, "Nefertiti: A Concert of Music and Dance"(co-choreographed by Gary Abbott), opens October 5 at the Athenaeum Theatre
(2007-10-02)

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