Lights. Music. Dancers. Go. That’s Parsons Dance. No props or sets to detract from the raw, yet refined choreographic vision and intent of choreographer and artistic director David Parsons and his company dancers. Only one prop graced the stage the entire evening; its significance profound and intriguing. In his curtain speech on Saturday, July 16 at The Mahaiwe, Parsons said that the company was going to “take you [the audience] on a ride,” and what a ride it was.
To open the program was “Kind of Blue” (choreographed in 2001), a light, smooth jazz work of moody, sultry energy. To the music of Miles Davis, jazz musician and composer, “Kind of Blue” was lit with none other than blue lights and created the atmosphere of a jazz club with most of the choreography consisting of partnering work. As a jazz piece, improvisation was a key element of this work, as well. Improvisation was built into the structure of the piece’s choreography to allow the dancers to find self expression and creativity on stage to share with their audiences.
In “Balance of Power” (choreographed in 2020), the audience was stunned by the soloist beginning in a handstand, which he held for quite some time before lowering himself with the utmost control. “Balance” was certainly key in this work through the strength and control of the dancer coordinating his movement with each and every drum beat. It was almost as if the dancer was instigating the music. Or was it the music instigating the dancer? It was certainly a question for the audience to ponder as the work progressed. Musically, it is a rare gift for a musician, in this case Giancarlo de Trizio, to be in the studio the entire time during the creative development and choreographic process, thus making “Balance of Power” an even more intriguing work to witness the “balance of power” between musician, dancer, and choreographer.
The third piece of the evening was “Nascimento” (choreographed in 1990), to music by Milton Nascimento, a Brazilian composer. “Nascimento” was bright and lively, especially with the colorful costuming of each dancer and the significant influence of jazz and African dance in the choreography. The duets within this work alluded to a story of joy, reverence, and lessons—certainly a story that each audience member could interpret with their own idea. The physicality of the lifts performed in this work caught the attention of each audience member through the bated breath during their lift sequences, but then the roar of applause at the successful conclusion of the work.
Following intermission was the comedic, theatrical piece of “The Envelope” (choreographed in 1984). A dancer began with an envelope that they keep trying to rid themselves of by throwing it offstage. Yet the envelope keeps getting thrown back onstage from all directions. The envelope was without a doubt the main character with the dancers emulating mischievous, quirky thieves… cartoonish in a lighthearted, amusing manner. A call to classical ballet was made in brief moments of choreography reminiscent of the four danse des petits cygnes, or the four little swans from “Swan Lake.” From rolling out a red carpet on stage to one dancer vocalizing operatically, the envelope was treated royally throughout the work. Despite the envelope being thrown off stage yet again at the piece’s conclusion, the envelope was tossed back, evoking laughter and applause from the audience. For this reviewer, the only thing “missing” from this engaging piece was that the envelope did not get a bow of its own. Perhaps next time we can applaud the envelope in its own spotlight?
“Caught” (choreographed in 1982) was a visual sensation. The soloist, Zoey Anderson, stunned the audience with her perfectly timed and executed jumps and leaps in the midst of strobe lighting effects. With the dizzying, flashing strobe lights, it appeared that Anderson was floating and flying through the air. We never saw her touching the ground in between the flashes of light because she was endlessly “caught” in air as the piece’s title suggests. Anderson deservedly received enthusiastic applause for her bravura in “Caught.”
To conclude the evening’s performance was “The Road,” which told the story of a journey and was danced to music of Yusuf/Cat Stevens. This highly athletic and joyous work exemplified the strength of each dancer, especially in the number of challenging lifts the company executed one after another. The concept of a road and journey was demonstrated visually with the dancers traveling from stage right to stage left for the majority of the piece, creating this continuous flow of movement direction across the stage. The piece’s high energy level was received with a standing ovation by the audience.
Parsons Dance indeed took the audience on a ride at The Mahaiwe with their vibrant musical selections, energetic and virtuosic dancing, brilliant lighting design, and exciting artistry.
