Dance Review: Doug Varrone & Dancers at the Joyce, NYC

Doug Varone And Dancers had a brilliant turn at the Joyce with their signature style of music in motion. Three dances were presented, each portraying a different aspect of the human spirit. Tomorrow (2000) builds from concepts of touch and intimacy. The company beautifully portrays this with great maturity and vulnerability. What is apparent about his company is that Varone allows the dancers to take center stage and tell human stories without overt dramatization.

In Lux (2006), Varone is the true master of timing, space and counterpoint as he illustrates Philip Glass’s compelling sore, “The Light”.  The company is fabulously trained in his more classic contemporary modern vocabulary.  The dancers are alive in this work and use an incredible amount of stamina. What makes the work a masterpiece is the feeling that each time it is exactly the same. Where more contemporary modern works have done away with counts, Varone has embraced the madness.  His work is clear even through the thick layering of dancers in complex ensemble variations.  It is like a kaleidoscope alive with body and image.

The NYC premier of Alchemy (2008) closes the pitch perfect night. The company dialed up the emotionality in this narrative story of the human spirit and raw perseverance.  Inspired by Steve Reich’s “Daniel Variations”, the dance blends biblical reference with the story of slain journalist, Daniel Pearl.  Upstage huge boulders are painted onto the darkness of a black scrim. The women in blue and the men in gray each represented Marianne and Daniel Pearl respectively.  Varone captured the stark reality of life/death and longing for one’s other half but does not allow sadness to overtake the work.  Both Daniels submitted to fate without loosing their humanity.

The dancers achieve this sense of "humanity" through embedding their souls in the movement and loosing anything that is irrelevant. The subtly “gaga-esque” gestures often cover the face or include subtle jerks of the extremities.  Varone’s movements live in a moment of extreme physical and emotional trial. The audience cannot peel their eyes from the frailty of the bodies—their vulnerability became universal. There is thickness on stage. There is oppression, desperation, anger, doubt, fear…. Yet, always there is faith.  The ‘irrational’ relationship between life and death is depicted with dignity.  Mrs. Pearlman is quoted in the program as saying “in the end, you can only oppose them with the strength they think they have taken away from you.”

Nothing was taken away from the outstanding performance of Doug Varone And Dancers Wednesday night at the Joyce.  Get out and see them this weekend.

Photography by © Phil Knott

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Sasha Deveaux 
Performance: Doug Varrone and Dancers
Choreography:  Doug Varrone
Venue: The Joyce Theater, New York City
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 7:30pm
www.iDANZOnline.com

Click Here To Become a Member of iDANZ Today!
iDANZ - The Social Network Where Dancers Live!