All that jazz: Music Center celebrates fifth anniversary
Two weeks. That's all the time CityDance had to put together their rendition of Paul Taylor's 1977 work "Images." Patrick Corbin, who danced with Taylor's company for 15 years, drove the rehearsals that helped CityDance's five women and three men master the piece's movement.
"They are so talented," Corbin says. "I'm from Potomac originally, so I know what the culture is like down there. I don't know if the greater D.C. area fully realizes what an amazing little company they have."
Maleek Mahkail Washington, a 22-year-old native of the Bronx who has been with the CityDance since last year, says the dancers picked up the choreography with no problem at all.
"I believe in my group so much that if we needed to do it the day after we finished learning it, it would have been fine," he says.
At first glance, the choreography appears simple. Taylor even labeled the style "archaic." But Corbin says the two-dimensional moves are harder than they appear.
"It's a very specific style of dancing," he explains. "Think of putting yourself on a piece of paper with every part of your body flattening out as much as possible. It's a difficult task because there's an amazing amount of torsion involved. You have to twist your body more than you thought your body could be twisted."
Corbin runs his own company in New York and assists other organizations like CityDance. He and Taylor maintain a close friendship, with Corbin staging his mentor's dances around the world. Saturday marks the first public performance of "Images" by an outside company.
"This particular group would be able to perform any Paul Taylor dance," says Corbin.
His enthusiastic and positive approach is part of the company's quick understanding of the movement. He emphasizes mental focus as much as physical performance. The fact that he has danced almost all of the Paul Taylor cannon didn't hurt, either.
"Patrick's a brilliant rehearsal director and one of the most genuinely warm people I've ever met," notes CityDance artistic director Paul Gordon Emerson. "Those two things often have to go hand in hand. Patrick has the ability to make everyone comfortable and at the same time push them further than they ever thought they could go."
"Images" is only the second half of the show. Before intermission, Washington will team up with Elizabeth Gahl and Giselle Alvarez for a pair of duets set to Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and Miles' Davis "Blue in Green." "Take Five" is unusual because of its 5/4 time signature.
"I've always loved stuff that's in that meter," says Emerson. "I think choreography a lot of the time is more interesting in that signature. Things that are in 4/4 time — you can sometimes find yourself falling into the trap of those beats."
Robert Sykes, a pianist who will be leading the Levine Jazz Quintet for the evening, points out that the Paul Desmond-penned classic wouldn't be famous for its meter if "five" weren't in the title of the song. Few people realize that other famous tunes, like the theme to "Mission: Impossible," are also in 5/4.
"Anybody can write something that's weird," notes Sykes. "But to do something that sounds natural is in my mind is what separates a great composition from somebody who's just experimenting."
Sykes has taught at the Northwest Washington-based Levine School of Music for 16 years and chairs the jazz department, but he will be backing a dance company for the first time.
"It's such a natural extension of jazz rhythmically," he says. "It makes sense to have it interpreted visually for the audience."
The dance matched with "Take Five" is nothing new. Washington and Gahl have performed "Entangled" many times, including on a tour of the Middle East last season.
"It's a very responsive piece," Washington says. "It's very manipulative. Me touching her shoulder can move her whole body. Her touching just my leg can ripple through my upper body. Sometimes it's a story about love; sometimes it's a story about two people arguing who need to make up."
The show will take place in the Education Center's intimate room 405, a space originally set up for choral rehearsals.
"I adore the concert hall, but this is the best room I could imagine to put this music in," remarks Emerson. "The best jazz is sometimes in a club with 150 people in the room. That's what this feels more like. And you really get to see the dancers up close. There's no such thing as a bad seat."
The sensuous movements of the first half of the program are an obvious contrast to the sharp angles of "Images." Emerson says his dancers will have no problem switching from one style to the other.
"One of the things that CityDance tries to do is not have a style," he explains. "As a rep company, we go after the best dances we can find. And those can be classical, semi-classical, very modern or jazz. We have the luxury of having dancers that do a very diverse range of work."
Audiences can expect a full evening of entertainment, rounded out by a preview of CityDance choreographer-in-residence Christopher K. Morgan's "Pheasants." The dancers will be in full costume and close enough to the audience to create a connection.
"Just like I can feel the energy of my fellow dancers on stage with me, I can feel the audience's responses and energy," says Washington. "In an intimate setting, you sometimes get more nervous because the audience is so close to you."
The performance is a chance for CityDance to show off for crowds that may not be familiar with the company.
"The range of music that you end up with is somewhat reflective of the range of things that happen at Strathmore," says Emerson. "Because this is the fifth anniversary, one of the things that was really motivating for us was to draw on very different sources of music. Not just because that's what we like to do, but because that's what the building's all about."
"Take Five" will take place at 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in room 405 of the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $20. Call 301-581-5100 or visit
www.strathmore.org.
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