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AUDIENCE REVIEW: Don’t Miss Doug Varone at BAM

Company:
Doug Varone and Dancers

Performance Date:
March 30th

Freeform Review:

      Whether you are a new dance viewer or a seasoned audience member, Doug Varone and Dancers' kinetic and superb use of the stage will engage you!  Granted if you define good dance by the arch of a dancer’s foot this may not be your favorite company.  On the other hand, if watching dancers who fly through space fearlessly with a grounded sureness then this company will thrill! 

    The program includes three works with a pause and one intermission.  Each work stands on its own and in concert with one another.  The first piece, Possession (1994), set to Philip Glass’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra opens with the ensemble perfectly orchestrated into ever forming and dissolving pairs, trios and momentary unison.  The vocabulary is a tossed classical modern dance peppered with a ‘shuffle ball change’ (tap step) that may just elicit a chuckle or two from the keen dance viewer.  The second and third movement clears the stage into a pair of duets and a final quartet that explores the tender line of love and possessiveness within intimate relationships.  For Doug Varone fans you may notice the beginnings of movement ideas that Doug later, perhaps unknowingly developed in his work Chapters from a Broken Novel (2010). 

    The second piece, Folded (2016), set to music by Julia Wolfe is a duet that changes levels from the ground to the upward swinging of legs.  The eye is pulled in to see how the two dancers will relate to one another both when in contact and apart. 

    After intermission and a floor change from black to white marly the stage becomes a wash of color and figures that challenges the audience to keep up with its fast paced shifts in ReComposed (2016).  It is worth the challenge!  Oh, and be prepared for the costume change too.  The first two pieces the dancers are dressed in pedestrian loose fitting outfits that contributes to a feeling of watching a final exclusive rehearsal.  In contrast the dancers are in full-body unitards that makes the work seem more abstract in the last piece.  

    All in all I recommend going to see this program, which is perfectly housed in BAM’s Harvey Theater with 7:30pm performances March 29th - April 1st.  And if you want dinner before or after check out Lady’s across the street featuring fresh pasta, pizza and a great selection of Italian wine in a stylishly friendly setting!