In its first year, Montclair Dance Festival puts together an ambitious and eclectic program

SMPHOTOS

Members of Freespace Dance, the company that produced the inaugural Montclair Dance Festival.

A welcome newcomer to the dance scene is the Montclair Dance Festival, produced by Freespace Dance; it made its debut at Montclair State University on May 31. Promising to become an annual event like the celebrations of jazz and film that have given this city a reputation as an arts destination, the first Montclair Dance Festival featured an ambitious program, with emerging artists and schools performing in the afternoon, and more established groups appearing in the evening at the Alexander Kasser Theater.

SMPHOTOS

Members of Carolyn Dorfman Dance in “Echad.”

Not all the companies were as polished as Carolyn Dorfman Dance, the contemporary troupe that opened the main stage lineup. (Next year, perhaps, the organizers should be more selective.) Yet most of these groups shone, and a diversity of genres and personal styles insured the evening would have something for everyone. In an excerpt from Dorfman’s “Echad,” the ensemble seemed to breathe together, the dancers’ fluid, rushing energy punctuated by leaps and lifts. Taking possession of a giant metal wheel upstage, they exalted and inhabited it. But by the end, this proud symbol of their community had become a trap.

Another work built around a prop was Samuel Pott’s “Patch of Turf,” a dance for four women from his company, Nimbus Dance. Unlike Bebe Miller’s celebrated solo “Rain,” where a grassy sward becomes the dancer’s refuge, the lawn in “Patch of Turf” seems like a playing field where egos compete, and the atmosphere remains tense and wary. When they were not struggling with each other, the women manipulated the artificial turf, which defined their space as a platform, a backdrop and, finally, a place of concealment.

An excerpt from Mark Roxey’s “Carmina Burana,” performed by Roxey Ballet, seemed lightweight in comparison with these contemporary numbers. La-Chelle M. Dickenson frolicked while admiring herself in a hand mirror, twirling and ruffling her skirts. Following a bouncy ensemble, Tevin Johnson performed a more grounded solo— loose, expressive and filled with quick changes. He slipped between the legs of Lindsay Osten, who seemed to command his destiny.

The first half of the program ended on a high note, as Jason Samuels Smith emerged, cheerfully carrying his own tap floor. Smith’s happy-go-lucky attitude only heightened appreciation for his talent and virtuosity. Building from a steady patter, he clicked heels and toes together, and his feet seemed to converse with each other, drilling and stamping. Turning in profile, he scraped the floor and picked up speed, only to interrupt himself with sudden pauses. He circled casually, rode back on his heels and climbed onto his toes. In the end, he brushed the stage with an impatient step, as if dismissing a thought. When the audience had finished cheering, he collected his floor and sauntered off as simply as he entered. A class act!

Opening the second half of the program, Freespace Dance presented Donna Scro Samori’s “One Forward Two Back,” a gloomy piece for four women that meditates on women’s struggle for equality. On a dimly lit stage, individuals rushed at the group to be caught and lifted. The dancers propped themselves up, and adhered in spiky structures. Yet despite efforts at mutual support, entropy pulled the women apart so they wandered past each other and collapsed.

Always elegant, The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company offered “Shapes of Water,” an ensemble piece meant to evoke the shifting crowds of a metropolis. The patterns of this dance are far from random, however, and throughout the piece one could admire its carefully balanced groupings and enjoy the performers’ lyricism. As the dance grew more dynamic, its atmosphere turned passionate. In the end, however, a return to the opening scene imposed symmetry and order.

Influenced by hip-hop, a piece called “Straight & Narrow,” danced by Leanna Cotton & Company, was notable for the energy channeled through each dancer’s body, which manifested itself in rhythmic undulations and sharply darting gestures. These four dancers were not competing or showing off, however, but engaged in moral struggles. When the group parted to frame an individual, her sudden, frozen pose suggested a warning sign along the highway of life.

SMPHOTOS

Joshuan Vazquez and Denise Parungao dance in “This Bitter Earth.”

Once known for the variety of its repertoire, including numerous pas de deux, New Jersey Ballet now seems to have a single gala staple that it dusts off for such occasions. “This Bitter Earth” is an intricate yet grand duet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, in which a variety of embraces — with the partners clinging, gliding and swooning — communicate passion. Denise Parungao and Joshuan Vazquez were the skilled interpreters.

An image filled with tension opened The Umoja Dance Company’s “In the Belly,” by Karen Love. Two women held fast to their partners, as if seeking to detain them, although we could have also been witnessing an attempt at rescue. When the bond that ties them broke, the scene grew lively with kicks and spins, and dramatic falls.

A second section, titled “Deliverance,” featured Tiara Knox in an agitated solo, whipping the air and lifting the skirts of her white gown. Knox had the final “word,” pointing upward with one finger and extending an open hand to the audience as her head tilted back in ecstasy.

For more on The Montclair Dance Festival, visit montclairdancefestival.com.

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