JENNIFER LISEO
Members of Freespace Dance perform “We Will Be the Ones” at the “Under the Stars” event.
Summer is traditionally a time when dancing moves outdoors, and grassy lawns replace hard stages. Benefiting from the mild weather on July 16, the Montclair Dance Festival invited its supporters to “Under the Stars,” a fundraising event al fresco, held at a private home in Montclair. Cocktails in hand, the crowd was treated to a breezy performance by Freespace Dance, the festival’s instigator, and the organization inched closer to meeting its $50,000 goal.
The Montclair Dance Festival has already registered 42 companies, schools and solo artists to perform at its next installment, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Montclair’s Wellmont Arts Plaza. For information, visit montclairdancefestival.com.
The July 16 event featured three casually athletic pieces choreographed by Freespace artistic director Donna Scro Samori.
The opener, “We Will Be the Ones,” was a populous ensemble work created earlier this year, and dedicated to the idea that women must liberate themselves. The dance’s composite score ranged from ambient, electronic music to the roiling sound of Keaton Henson’s 2019 album Six Lethargies. Assembling to one side, the 12 young women in the cast advanced in a low profile, like a platoon of soldiers crossing a battlefield under fire. JJ Burlage led the charge, lunging and scooping the air with her back foot curling behind. As the others followed in a staggered formation, individuals would fall back only to rise and keep going. Some were caught and lifted, as helping hands returned them to the forward track. This migration ended in two pile-ups at the other side of the space.
A series of double-duets followed, with partners scrabbling around each other, or yanking each other through the air. In tender moments, the women took hands and embraced, or offered support as they leaned against each other’s backs. As the group reassembled, dancers cradled their partners and gently spun. Lines began to form and mesh, or topple sideways. Despite these formal structures, the piece retained its human warmth and a sense of physical integrity with the women appearing calm and self-possessed. With an audible breath, they seemed to find their centers before exiting.
JENNIFER LISEO
Freespace Dance members perform “One Step Forward Two Back.”
In a quartet titled “One Step Forward Two Back,” Samori explored the theme of wandering and falling, as Nancy Sinatra’s recording of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” set the mood. Yet this mid-sized piece also seemed to lend itself to building architectural structures. Lining up side-by-side on all fours, three dancers created a platform that then dropped to another level as they flattened themselves on the ground. In another striking image, the dancers formed a chain with straight limbs spiking upward. Entropy seemed irresistible, however. At the end, the women touched their chests and bellies and contracted, perhaps signaling a profound loss. The performance featured Kierstyn Edore, Lindsey Garnhart, Emma Gentile and Juliet Goswell.
The program as a whole took an interesting direction: With each successive piece, the number of dancers grew smaller, and the movement became more intense.
The concluding duet, “Intersection,” hit the bullseye like a missile zeroing in on its target. The energy began to build from the moment Alphonse Napolitano stalked forward, devouring Goswell with his eyes. Napolitano’s self-restraint — locking his hands together, or touching his side and twisting away — only seemed to intensify his need as he prowled restlessly around Goswell, perhaps debating with himself. Yet she pushed him away, and they engaged in polite, gestural conversation, before getting down to business. Suddenly, a spinning shoulder lift caught the dancers in a whirlwind and the two seemed to set each other on fire, with waves of energy passing through their bodies and powering dives, tumbles and flips. Since the dancers preserved their independence, however, Scro Samori’s athletic choreography suggested an intense, emotional relationship as much as a physical encounter.
You never know whom you’re going to meet dancing “Under the Stars.”
For more about Freespace Dance, visit freespacedance.com.
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