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Members
of the 3rd Ave. Dance Company line up prior to
performing “Cell Block Tango,” from
the hit musical and movie, “Chicago.” The
piece is one of eight the company will be presenting
for the next two weekends during “Crazy,” the
2004 edition of the group’s annual show./Photo
by Todd Newcomer
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When the members of
the 3rd Ave. Dance Company sat down to come up with
a name for their upcoming show, one theme kept recurring.
“We were trying to title the show, and what
kept coming up was the word ‘crazy,’” said
Lisa Bodwalk, one of the dance company’s co-founders/artistic
directors. “With what’s going on in the
world, with the election, the war, natural disasters
and in our personal lives, we all really felt like ‘Crazy’ was
the best name.”
However, Bodwalk, who shares creative responsibilities
with co-founder/art director Suzy DiSanto, said the
show was not so much a reflection of the times as a
reply to them.
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Lisa
Bodwalk in her solo performance, “Blackbird.”/
Photo by Todd Newcomer
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“The show feels like a response to what we’re
all going through in the world,” she said. “All
this crazy art really has a place in the world. It works
to help people express themselves and to inspire people.
Art is the response to the chaos of life.”
Bodwalk said the 10 dancers that make up the company
began working on the show last June. The show’s
eight pieces range from slow, passionate tangos and
swing to modern jazz and hit Broadway musicals. Four
of the pieces were choreographed out-of-house, including
one, “River,” which was composed and set
to dance by KT Nelson, of the prestigious ODC dance
company of San Francisco. Bodwalk said choreographing
these pieces required an extra dedication on the part
of the dancers as well as the choreographer.
“We would work four or five days with the choreographer,” she
said. “We’d go from knowing nothing to
having a full piece in those few days. We’d have
to work very quickly.”
The results of all this hard effort, as well as the
time that went into choreographing the other pieces,
will be evident to Durango audiences starting this
Friday, as “Crazy” begins a two-weekend
stint at the Smiley Theater.
The show kicks off with the dramatic and striking “Rondine,” which
features six of the dancers in red velvet set against
a backdrop of dark pink. Set to music by Monteverdi,
the modern piece was choreographed by Wade Madsen,
of Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts. “Rondine” is
the Italian word for “swallow,” and Bodwalk
said the piece is meant to mimic the circling, flowing
movement of the birds.
“The piece keeps moving, and circling like the
swallows do,” she said.
In keeping with the Latin mood, the following piece
is “10,000 Kisses,” a steamy tango performed
by DiSanto and Fred Hauser. The piece was choreographed
by Hauser and is at times sweet and slow while at others,
fast and furious.
“Fred just loves tango and really wanted to
create a different style of tango in terms of previous
years,” Bodwalk said. “This one has a lot
of contrast.”
Like most tangoes, Bodwalk said this one is meant
to represent the male-female relationship. “It’s
2 a.m. and these two lovers find themselves on a street
corner under a street light,” said Bodwalk. “The
piece is sort of a glimpse into their night and the
entanglements of human relationships.”
The show’s third piece takes a departure from
affairs of the heart with the uplifting and lively “Rosie
the Riveter.” The boogie-woogie swing piece,
which features nine of the company’s dancers,
including three men, was choreographed by Bodwalk and
is set in World War II era America.
“It’s about the craziness of women having
to work at home while the men were off at war and then
having the men return home,” said DiSanto.
Bodwalk said the piece was originally done for the
company’s first show, in 2000, but has been reworked
and reset, complete with blue work shirts and red bandannas.
“It’s a liberating piece,” she said. “It’s
meant to be a fun dance number.”
The lively feel of “Rosie” is contrasted
by the following piece, an elegant solo by Bodwalk
titled “Blackbird.” A jazzy, female version
of the Beatle’s classic, “Blackbird” was
set to dance by Madsen and showcases Bodwalk’s
power as a modern dancer. Wearing dark trousers and
an emerald satin top, Bodwalk captivates as she takes
viewers on her flight, only to gracefully “fly
away” at the end as the stage fades to black.
The last piece before the intermission is the dangerously
catchy, “Cell Block Tango,” from the Broadway
hit musical and film, “Chicago.” The campy
piece features five of the company’s female dancers
in hitherto jail wear, as well as Hauser as the unlucky
male who “had it coming.” Staged by4 DiSanto,
it was originally done for last year’s “Snowdown
Follies,” where it was a huge crowd-pleaser.
“Musical theater is always fun and very satisfying
to do,” said Bodwalk. “It’s very
accessible for the audience to relate to and they can
get into it easily. It’s fun, straight-up dance.”
The company returns from intermission with the show’s
most artistically ambitious piece, “River.” The
12-minute piece features four dancers: Hauser and Eagle
Young, playing the role of fishermen, and Erika Wilson
Golightly and Talia Bamerick, playing the part of two
fish that become intertwined with the men. The piece
was choreographed by Nelson, of ODC-SF, who also wrote
and mixed the score, an avant garde mix of tribal-like
beats, the whispering voice of a woman, and chorale
singing. Using the river as metaphor, Bodwalk said
the piece is a study of life and the human state.
“It’s definitely a strong story of life
and death,” said Bodwalk. “It’s about
the intensity required to be in a relationship with
other people.”
Bodwalk said doing the piece, which has been part
of the ODC’s repertoire since 1993, is a great
honor.
“It’s an exciting piece for us,” she
said. “We’re the first company to be the
recipient of their repertory pieces. To have this piece
really feels good for us.”
For the final two pieces of the show, the company
shifts gears, first with “Crazy,” a nod
to the show’s title as well as the godmother
of country music, Patsy Cline, and “Luscious
Chutney,” a lively and intense jazz number.
Choreographed by DiSanto, “Crazy” features
a suite of Cline’s songs, performed by eight
of the company’s dancers. Unlike the other pieces, “Crazy” incorporates
costume changes as well as props, in this case suitcases.
“The suitcases are meant to represent the things
we all carry around with us,” said Bodwalk.
Like many of the other pieces, “Crazy” is
about relationships, but not just the male-female variety. “It’s
not only about women and men, but women and women and
the relationships that we have with ourselves,” she
said.
The troupe ends the night with a memorable, energetic
number, “Luscious Chutney,” which was choreographed
by Nancy Cranbourne, of the University of Colorado,
Boulder. All seven female members of the company unite
for this eclectic piece, which makes unlikely but entirely
complimentary partners of American jazz and Middle
Eastern music.
“It’s a really fun, fierce jazz piece
with a sort of Asian flair,” said Bodwalk.
And it’s just the type of piece that she hopes
to continue producing in the future, for the sake of
the company as well as its audiences.
“There’s a whole world of dance out there,” she
said. “And by bringing part of that in here,
we continue to grow. By having these relationships
with dancers outside the area, we keep it fresh.”
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