Dance Alloy balances old, new
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Dance Alloy Theater didn't offer a holiday program this past weekend in the New Hazlett Theater, but there was plenty of gift-giving in celebration of the company's 35th anniversary.
Called "From Where We Come ...," the Sunday afternoon performance began with a warm and fuzzy piece d'occasion, " ... And We Were," by artistic director Greer Reed-Jones. Touching on each era, it began with vintage footage of founding members Elsa Limbach and Susan Gillis talking about the Alloy's name and its "collective" purpose and Jerry Pearson's reign, when the company appeared on Fred Rogers' "Neighborhood" manipulating giant exercise balls. Then there was the spiritual side of the company from Mark Taylor ("close your eyes and breathe") and the work ethic of Beth Corning ("be available in your bones"), before Ms. Reed-Jones joined the company on stage, still collectively moving forward.
It was all held together through the imagery of Pittsburgh wordsmith Vanessa German. And when the metaphors and emotions had settled, it was she who conveyed the reason for Dance Alloy's continued presence -- an unwavering passion for the dance.
There were two examples of that in encore performances of works by former member Kevin Maloney ("The Son Is Father to the Man") and Mr. Taylor ("Swan Lake: Act II"). Mr. Maloney's piece portrayed the gradual role reversal in the father/son relationship, so appropriately set to traditional Yiddish lullabies and klezmer music. With Michael Walsh and Raymond Interior in place as father and son, it was a softer, gentler version this time around. Still, there was a newfound clarity at certain points -- the canonic phrases (teacher/follower) that melded into unison movement and the different ways that Mr. Walsh would allow Mr. Interior to fall/fail, but always be there to pick up his son.
Mr. Taylor's parody on one of the great classics of ballet lore looked even smarter after all these years. It began with Mr. Walsh (Siegfried) shooting at an invisible flock flying overhead and his resulting over-excitement, which translated into plenty of fluttering in odd little places throughout the piece.
First Published December 7, 2010 12:00 am
