Hold onto your hats! If Ron De Jesus Dance’s first full-length Chicago concert is any indication of what’s to come, we’re in store for a wild ride inside the kinetically-charged imagination and artistry of this talented dancer-turned-choreographer. De Jesus and his splendidly versatile collection of dancers and collaborators lit up the intimate Ruth Page Theater this past weekend with an eclectic program.
The first half consisted of four short pieces performed in continuous flow, one piece blurring into the next. This was an interesting choice, if slightly confusing at first, but each of these short gems deserves to be appreciated and considered separately.
Arte Phillips’ Secret Garden opens to fog and shadowy blue back lighting, silhouetting Matthew Dorame, Kristine Bendul, and Justin Urso in a slowly-unfolding ballet of shapes, the three dancers like poet-acrobats navigating under water. The slightest of short black bodysuits revealed the natural beauty of bare arms and legs. Intricate sculptural partnering achieved a series of defined forms, one evolving into the next, with variations of the three dancers in duet and trio configurations. Particularly striking was Bendul’s head-first slide down Dorame’s spine and into Urso’s arms. The slow ooze of Phillips’ movement made maximum use of Dorame’s considerable stature and acutely sensitive articulation.
De Jesus’ duet for Dorame and Shauna Zambelli, an excerpt from ...and in the endless pause, they came (2012), at first appeared to be a continuation of Secret Garden, but the contrasting movement dynamic and ramped-up musical intensity eventually distinguished it from the previous work. De Jesus used a range of adventurous lifts to define the relationship, enticing and yet not quite a stand-alone piece in its own right.
De Jesus’s powerful Hyper Human (premiere) began with parallel bars of light pitched at an upward diagonal tilt toward the audience Through this “cage” of light, a solo male creature weaves tentacle arms into a single recurring gesture--one finger raised--as if to say, “wait,” before reentering the physical embodiment of his private mind-scape. Ben Frost’s edgy electronic score perfectly compliments Adam Nicholas McGaw’s fascinating and quirky land of twitches and squirms, achingly desperate extensions, and snapping recoils. Against this kinetic impulsiveness, Aaron Smith makes a slow, inconspicuous entrance. The two dancers’ movement intersects in an amphibian-like duet, the second as alter-ego to the first. The duet gives way to a solo for Smith, his movement suggesting the exposed nerve center of an alien humanoid. Compellingly strong dancing from the two men deliver De Jesus’s vision and originality with riveting focus.
The superb Nexus Project duo of Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Benjamin Wardell made a guest appearance with RDJ Dance in De Jesus’s 50/50 - Excerpt from Leather Tongues (premiere). Here the exciting strength of male-male partnering showcased de Jesus’s inventiveness with flying lifts and expansive unison flow.
Benjamin Millepied, (of NYC Ballet and “Black Swan” fame) pays tribute to his mentor, Jerome Robbins, in his quartet, Triade(2010), performed on point by Autumn Eckman and Meg Paul, with Brandon Koepsell and Matthew Dorame. The dancers, simply and effectively costumed in bright red and bright blue practice clothes, enter the space eyeing each other skeptically, each taking a solo turn with a nod to Robbins’ signature mix of classical ballet and modern moves. You couldn’t take your eyes off Autumn Eckman, whose vibrant energy coupled with interpretive sophistication and impressive technical facility. All four dancers were an absolute delight to watch in the two duets that comprised the glue of the piece.
De Jesus’s tour de force finale, Without A Song...Mic Check 1,2 (premiere) was a party to end all parties, clearly influenced by two key mentors, Twyla Tharpe (Movin' Out) and Lou Conte (At The Rosebud). While the nightclub setting and structure and style of choreography tapped the more conventional side of De Jesus’s dance theater chops, the contrast and balance made for a perfect finish. Jazz crooner Paul Marinaro and a live jazz quartet on an upstage platform provided a unique performance collaboration. The series of dances set to Marinaro’s collection of songs from his album, “Without A Song” offered top-notch entertainment, and Marinaro’s rich baritone song interpretation stayed charmingly connected to the dancers. De Jesus found unexpected humor in a particularly literal interpretation of “World On A String,” with Eckman and Aaron Smith in a whimsical duet that showed the dancers’ flare for comedy. The culminating song--I Get A Kick Out Of You,” gave the entire company of ten a chance to let loose with their Broadway best in big movement that ignited roaring approval.
Lynn Colburn Shapiro
April 28, 2014