What a joy it is to see a choreography which both sensitively interprets the music and doesn’t always take itself too seriously.  And to be able to seamlessly blend together these two approaches to movement is what makes Doug Varone’s work so remarkable.  This was revealed in the performance of Doug Varone and Dancers at the Joyce Theater on Sunday afternoon, January 9.  On this program, the company presented 3 premieres— Agora, Eclipse, and Polonaise #44, as well as repertory work, Bel Canto.

The New York Premiere of Agora was as visually fascinating as the sudden pauses built into the choreography.  Quite early on, this theme of abrupt pauses in the movement is introduced with a rather startling effect.  These sudden pauses recur throughout the piece, continually surprising us when done by a single dancer or by the entire group.  Each pause adds a sense of tension and serves to create clear contrasts to the myriad of movements which are frequently taking place on stage.  The dance begins in disarming tranquility as four dancers dressed in white are revealed in soft light.  They move in gentle walking patterns as additional dancers feed in.  The movement and sound evoke something of the quality of a calm ocean at this point, leaving us unsuspecting of the chaos about to emerge.  As the piece continues, dancers move in clusters, touching and reacting to one another’s movements or proximity with surprising believability.  In fact, the piece builds to the point at which all seems a chaos of different movements spread across the stage, with arms flying and flailing.  Perhaps this is the chaos of the bustling Greek marketplace for which the piece is named.  It’s overwhelming for a time until we begin to notice points at which members of the group move— at least momentarily— in unison.  As the piece continues, Varone utilizes much partnering and group work.  His ability to create movement for each group which is reminiscent of that performed by the other groups provides a fleeting sense of unity in this midst of seeming disorder.  Varone also has the extraordinary ability to create an elaborate moving sculpture out of the bodies of a group of dancers.  Each dancer performs a different movement phrase, but when we look at the group as a whole, we see that the dancers blend together, creating shapes and an effect greater than could have been achieved by any dancer alone.  Also notable is Varone’s choice of moments of full unison movement.  These passing moments of complete contrast to chaos contribute significant power to the choreography and again help to unify the piece.  In the midst of all this partnering and group work emerge two women who dance a duet.  This later evolves into a trio.  These women are clearly connected as evidenced by their movement and focus.  We are drawn in by an inexplicable poignancy as the movement varies between frantic and playful.  These relationships seemed somehow central to the piece, but the ways in which this may have been so as well as their connection to the rest of the work seemed rather obscure.  Nonetheless, the choreography captures our interest by its marked contrasts in tempo, dynamics, movement quality and by the skillful repetition and blending of shapes and movement phrases.  Throughout, the movement rides on top of the sound composed by Julia Wolfe.  The dancers perform technically challenging movement with ease, comfort, and a sense of enjoyment. 

In Eclipse, another New York premiere, the motivation for the movement is clear— the rivalry between two women for the attention of one man.  Yet, the aptly titled Eclipse takes the idea of one woman being eclipsed by another in the attentions of male dancer, Daniel Charon one step further.  There is also a clear reference to a lunar eclipse in the full-moon-like lighting on the scrim at the beginning of the piece which fades to darkness during the piece and reemerges at the end.  The piece begins almost innocently as the trio of dancers holds hands, alternately reaching for different members of the group.  The reaching and holding movements are skillfully repeated and developed throughout the piece to reflect the changing relationships within the trio.  As the dynamics of this trio evolve, we see the group alternately clinging to one another and pushing particular members away, although dancers remain in close proximity to one another throughout.  This develops into faster and more frantic movement, and each woman’s desire to be the sole companion of the man is revealed.  The dancers’ natural incorporation of facial expressions and body language create a sense of emotional believability in the movement.  Indeed, the scenes become tense as the women push each other away more fiercely, vying for Daniel Charon’s full  attention.  Eventually, Adriane Fang is chosen and Nancy Bannon tries desperately and repeatedly to find a way back in.  The choreographic choice for her to initiate all movement toward Daniel and his chosen partner while the happy couple barely responds to her is effective in heightening our sense of her rejection.  At the end, Bannon’s sense of loss and abandonment is made even clearer as she repeats a solo phrase she performed toward the beginning of the piece when the group was unified, while the couple remains together, silhouetted against the scrim.  Throughout, the dancers’ honest performance of this drama of desire and the dark chaotic energy of Weather 3 by Michael Gordon serve to create emotional impact for the audience. 

World premiere Polonaise #44 choreographed and performed by Doug Varone in collaboration with Gwen Welliver, worked brilliantly.  Set to Chopin piano music by the same title, traditional ways of moving to classical music are effectively turned upside-down.  To one degree or another, our eyes have been trained by classical ballet to expect the shape or height of the movement to directly reflect the energy of classical music.  The choreography of this piece works on an entirely different principle.  Here we see limbs flinging and suspending in response to the music.  We see movement patterns, the tempo, and the energy of the movement vary according to the dynamics of the music.  This requires a shift in our way of thinking about the partnership between dance and classical music in order to truly appreciate the way Varone and Welliver have interpreted the music.  Then, they turn this seemingly serious performance on its head.  They begin to more blatantly poke fun at traditional ways of moving to this Polonaise— particularly ballet and court dancing.  With intelligence, playfulness, and a great sense of humor, they manage to make fun not only of the techniques of these dance forms but also of their very nature.  Varone and Welliver exaggerate the traditional movements themselves as well as their typical unnatural stiffness, appearing to have a great deal of fun while they do it.  Additionally, in court dancing and the performance of balletic feats, being seen is everything.  So, to the exaggerated performance of the movement, they add a hilarious use of focus.  As they complete a movement or a phrase of movement, they look around eagerly to be sure the audience is still watching.  The power and genuineness of this use of focus, particularly on the part of Varone, successfully draws us into the piece, making the audience a part of its humor.