As a downtown dance girl, I venture into the uptown dance world with a bit of skepticism, but I'm quickly assured that Ryan Daniel Beck's "unFOLDed" isn't typical. My program is handed to me in a crumpled wad, which I "unFOLD" to see what's in store. Judging by the titles, I see that this dance show, set entirely to the music of Ben Folds, is going to be an evening of pun-filled fun.
The New Dance Group's theater is a converted dance studio, deeper than it is wide. The mirrors are masked by black curtains which meet the gray marley floor. A pre-show consists of dancers, one by one, traversing the depth of the space to deliver a gift to the audience. They place their random item on the floor and recede the way that they came. Blackout. A spotlight comes up on a midget (pardon the politically incorrectness), Nic Reddy, in a white suit. With his gothic look, black hair, and eye make-up, he could be Chris Angel's mini-me. He lip syncs, surrounded by a chorus of dancers. These sexy anonymous girls have one leg exposed in a fishnet stocking and high heel, while the rest of them is completely covered in black. There's a hint of ballet as they bourrée and fouetté, then Mini-me ends up pinned beneath one dancer's high heel. The freak show continues (and I mean this in a good way), with three men in drag. The comedic trio can't help but show off their fierce extension with some fan kicks and grand battements within the cutesy choreography. Work. Snap, snap.
The mood shifts and the stage is set like a yoga class. Lea McGowan performs a clownish routine between two yogis trying desperately to ignore her and focus on their sun salutations. McGowan finishes with an impressive penché and shows Cirque du Soleil style flexibility. During a dramatic solo danced by Dean de Luna, the music cuts in and out. In a more avant-garde performance, I would think this is intentional, but here I'm pretty sure they're having CD issues.
The entire cast joins in for "feTE SOiree", a high energy Broadway-esque number where Mini-me is delivered to his stage (a table), this time in a black suit. In "tripLE VENti threat", Starbucks employees head-bang, and gyrate against a broomstick like it's a stripper pole. Again the music cuts in and out as Victor James Wisehart and Dean de Luna power through a high energy marathon of acrobatics. McGowan returns on pointe with some beautifully fluid upper torso movement supported by a solid center which carries her through clean attitude turns.
"birDS Eye view" is a tender duet between beautiful bodies, Chelsey Arce and Marcos Vedoveto. They move through a series of creative lifts before walking off, hand in hand, towards the horizon.
The grand finale is a toe-tapping number by the entire cast in tennis shoes, and big smiles. They fly though choreography filled with sauté arabesques and cabrioles, before collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. Blackout, but it's not over. The bows are a performance in themselves, with each dancer taking a turn to bust out their fiercest moves, tumbling passes, jumps, extension, they pull out whatever they've got. I'll set pretension aside and say that accessible is OK. Dance can be fun. Ryan Beck put an edgy twist on studio choreography, and I left with a smile.
iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Julie Fotheringham
Performance: Ryan Daniel Beck's "unFOLDed"
Venue: New Dance Group, NY
Date: January 31, 2009
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