Members of NJ dance community unite to make ’26 Montclair Dance Festival a success

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Henry Steele Dillon and Catherine Escueta of Nimbus Dance in “Pareja,” at The Montclair Dance Festival.

New Jersey flexed its dance muscle on Oct. 4, when a terrific assortment of professional companies and student groups lined up to perform at the second annual Montclair Dance Festival, held outdoors in Wellmont Arts Plaza. Halfway through the show, the skies began to drizzle, but nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of these movers, who cheerfully defied the weather and continued to give their all. The event, organized by Freespace Dance, was a rallying point for the dance community, and the sense of solidarity was palpable.

Although contemporary dance dominated the scene, the offerings ranged from acrobatic ballroom to tap, while groups representing India and the Caucasus gave the performance an international flavor. The professional groups included Freespace Dance itself performing “One,” in which five women surrendered to the ebb and flow of movement and collaborated to assemble human structures with seeming effortlessness. Meanwhile, in a voiceover, director Donna Scro Samori meditated on her choreographic practice and the “continuity of waves.”

The couple featured in an excerpt from Carolyn Dorfman’s “Divide and Conquer” seemed to melt at each other’s touch, slumping and shrinking in an atmosphere of doubt. Yet this tricky duet, danced on a tabletop, required sure support. Maiko Adela embraced Charles Scheland from behind before leaning away, stretching across his lap, and diving over his back. Moving from the table to a chair, the action became more precarious. As Adela and Scheland stood side-by-side, their feet stirring the empty air before them, they seemed to step into the unknown.

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Francis Lawrence and Janette Dishuk dance in “Ebb and Flow.”

Slick partnering also characterized two contemporary ballroom pieces, but while the intricacies of Samuel Pott’s “Pareja” provided a light-hearted showcase for Catherine Escueta and Henry Steele Dillon of Nimbus Dance, Lynn Needle’s theatrical “Ebb and Flow” traced the arc of a romantic relationship. In Needle’s piece, Janette Dishuk and Francis Lawrence (dancers from the Art of Motion Dance Theatre) achieved ecstasy in circling lifts, only to find their ardor cool. Yet another duet, “Barriers,” choreographed by Winston Dynamite Brown and Latra Ann Wilson, described a tense confrontation. Manipulating folding chairs — one white, the other black — MiKayla Young and Jasmine Presti addressed each other with sharp gestures, stretching and tumbling before they wound up seated face-to-face.

Proud of their Circassian heritage, members of the Narts Dance Ensemble filled the stage, performing the traditional “Hakulash,” choreographed by Baturay Shaguj. Passing each other with quick, skipping steps, regimented lines of men and women quickly regrouped, their taut evolutions displaying a rhythmic lilt. Concentric circles widened to frame two pairs of soloists before the whole ensemble joined together, with arms uplifted in a gesture of celebration.

The Khushi Dance Academy featured the Bharata Natyam students of Sonal Jhaveri. Stamping and swaying, these young ladies took possession of the space with darting gestures while the angles of their bodies traced geometric figures. Expertly rehearsed, their piece, “Mahishasura Mardini,” displayed the young artists’ crisp technique in a pure-dance sequence. Then soloists emerged to dramatize a sacred tale in which the goddess Durga slays a shape-shifting demon.

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Members of Dre Torres & Friends dance in “The Set.”

The variety of the program seemed endless. In a piece titled “Linus and Lucy,” students of the Moving Youth Dance Company displayed pointed feet and taut lines, performing balletic turns and échappés. In “The Set,” an intrepid tap company, Dre Torres & Friends, made a clattering commotion, introducing themselves by turns and displaying virtuoso moves, smiling even as they hydroplaned on the wet stage. Some dances were coolly abstract, while others expressed powerful emotions of grief and loss. In Laila Garrett’s “Dies Irae,” members of her company Aquene Dance collected flowers from the floor and pressed them to their hearts. Violent gestures and a rhythmic pulse led to a political statement with fists raised, before the cast seemed overthrown, surrendering to a Higher Power.

The most political dance of all, Aidan Feldman’s “Pre-Existing Condition,” combined movement with a spoken text to dramatize the failure of America’s healthcare system. “No one is helping anyone,” this timely piece asserted. While four casually dressed dancers trotted, tumbled or crept along on an invisible walker, we heard a voice recite clinical statistics. Toward the end, the cast helped Clarence Brooks into a business suit, and Jack Randel aimed his finger like a pistol, recalling the murder of United Healthcare’s CEO in 2024. “Wait!” Randel cried, before pulling the trigger. “Pre-Existing Condition” left viewers hanging on the edge of a national crisis.

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