Columbians ‘Fall for Dance’ at City Center Festival

The Fall for Dance Festival at City Center on Friday offered an unlikely combination of routines across genres and generations of dance. Unwittingly or intentionally, the program maximized audience enjoyment, beginning lightly by unearthing a classic one act pas de deux of Ballets Russes fame and ending boldly with the evocative strength and mastery showcased in Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations.”

“Le Spectre de la Rose,” choreographed by Michel Fokine, is a lovely piece about a young girl who returns home from her first ball with a rose, and meets the spirit of that rose—personified in a male dancer—when she sleeps. They dance together, she returns to her reverie, and the spirit bounds out of her window, away into the night.

In Fokine’s heyday, this particular duet was one of the first pieces ever choreographed to showcase a reversal of conventional gender roles. The male lead performs the majority of the choreography, with the female lead pursuing whom she desires. The scenery, courtesy of the American Ballet Theater, provided the most breathtaking parts of the performance, as Tzu-Chao Chou’s spirit of the rose leapt over the windowsill onto stage in a remarkably high jeté.

Next came a journey through “Snow,” a one-man piece choreographed and performed by Sang Jijia of Taiwan. The piece presented a stark contrast to the preceding pas de deux, and explored the themes of aging, coping with inner turmoil, and the reconciliation of different dimensions of the self.

The snow itself proved to be an important character, alternating between a source of calm and an impetus for agitation for the lone dancer. The cleanness of the ubiquitous falling snow worked to emphasize the impurities of the body as it danced through space.

It was moving to see Jijia work through the betrayal and inhibitions of his corporeal self, which prevented any reconciliation between what he may have wanted to accomplish and what he was capable of showing through movement. The escalating melodies highlighted his failing struggle for resolution and after a while, one’s awareness of the theater fell away and it seemed as though one was alone, with the coldness of snow all around, watching this man as he fought the reality of his age and limitations.

Fokine’s choreographic talents were paid a much more impressive tribute by Diana Vishneva’s performance as “The Dying Swan.” From the moment she stepped on stage, one could feel the tragedy of her situation. The power of her emotive grace was palpable, even from three tiers away in the mezzanine gallery. Her face and gracefully broken angles screamed a slow resignation. This was a wonderful articulation of the Italian concept of sprezzatura: The glory of an incredible, technically skilled dancer applying all her skill to demonstrate the tragic beauty of a graceful death, while making it look effortless.

The final group to perform was the indefatigable Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in a rendition of Alvin Ailey’s famous “Revelations.” The soulful synchrony of Ailey’s “Fix Me, Jesus” pas de deux highlighted the special bond of trust that can form between two people trumping adversity.

As the company moved from the solemn communal sorrow of discrimination in “I Been ‘Buked,” to the vibrant “Rocka My Soul,” the audience seemed to creep further to the ends of their seats so to better witness the undulations, clean formations, and joyous celebration of spiritual life through dance. People cheered before the company even began their first number, and kept clapping through the last four parts of “Move Members Move.” The standing ovation was jubilant—no one wanted it to end.