Ririe Woodbury concluded its sixtieth anniversary season this weekend with a unique collaboration. The concert included two new works, one by former director Charlotte Boye-Christensen and another by current artistic director Daniel Charon. Charon’s work was brought to life by a live performance from the Salt Lake Electric Ensemble. The company also restaged a 2020 commission by Stephanie Batten-Bland, showcasing political and theatrical works as expressions of the company’s postmodern aesthetic.
An audience of college students and seasoned dance lovers almost filled the house on Friday night. The black box provides a great view of the dancers but lacks some of the finesse of the main stage at the Rose Wagner. This could, of course, be an intentional choice to pull the curtain back and expose some of the behind-the-scenes activities.
As a whole, the concert did not ascend terribly high but moved at the pace of a burbling stream with a few punctuated highlights. The dancers are highly skilled and mesmerizing to witness, but as most will agree, an interesting dance concert provides more than impressive technique. I’ll highlight a few of the most memorable moments of the evening…
Moving Tables in Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
Batten-Bland’s dance addressed the 1960s film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. The piece comments briefly on COVID-19, belonging, race, and a proverbial “seat at the table.” I wonder if some of the work's potency was lost in the restaging. It felt like it moved at a nearly glacial pace.
There is a lovely surprise about halfway through the work. The dancers dismantle the tables and turn them sideways. This allows them to hide behind the tables and move individually through the space, taking on a ghostly appearance of changing iconography. Alexander Pham has a riveting solo on what could be a closed door, which later becomes a mirror. Pham defies gravity by hanging, perching, and launching their body into, and off of the table-turned-door, almost as if it were a partner.
The company in Look Who’s Coming to Dinner, courtesy of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company
Later in the work, the tables are assembled to resemble a low wall across the stage from side to side. Peter Farrow engages in a highly virtuosic solo in and around the front of the wall, leaping over it, dive-rolling to the floor, and flinging his limbs with reckless abandon. This section feels post-apocalyptic, with bunker blue lights focused on center stage.
While I felt this work could have benefited greatly from an editor and dramaturg, I appreciate its statement on the necessity of belonging and the difficulty of fitting oneself into the world. Tension and nuance might have improved the messaging of this theme, but I appreciate and applaud the company’s investment in making socially conscious work.
Salt Lake Electric Ensemble
Dance doesn’t pair with live music often, usually due to budgetary constraints. Ririe-Woodbury and Salt Lake Electric Ensemble made it happen for the final work of the evening by Daniel Charon. Charon has collaborated with the Electric Ensemble a few times and did not disappoint with his new Storyograph. Abstract choreography was amplified by customized leisurewear by Melissa Younker – black, white, and gray with pops of neon yellow.
In the middle section, dance and music integrate, swelling in additive unison phrases and quieting with smaller, more intimate duets. Near the end of the work, the dancers leave the stage completely, allowing the audience to take in the musicians while they continue to play live. This moment was a delightful surprise, and when the dancers re-entered, repeating choreography from the beginning of the dance, they pushed the syncopation and demonstrated a quick dynamism through to the end of the dance.
As with much concert dance these days, the works feel too long. Beautiful, flowing, overlapping solos and trios are not enough for the modern audience. We want to see the physical logic and poignant ideas made real in the moving body. Editing can amplify the heart of the work, creating tension and depth.
Of course, artists always balance making work that is true to themselves and making work that audiences want to see. This time, Ririe-Woodbury’s show was a bit self-indulgent, and didn’t measure up to the choreographic development I’ve seen in the past. However, the company is stacked with six powerhouse dancers, an experienced artistic director, an energized executive director, and an exciting summer collaboration coming up in July. I look forward to seeing what new collaborations and developments are to come in the sixty-first season.
Hannah Fischer is a professional writer and dance educator in Salt Lake City, UT. She holds an MFA from the University of Utah and a Laban Movement Analysis Certificate from Integrated Movement Studies. Hannah has written for loveDANCEmore since 2018, and in addition to dance, loves backpacking and boxing.