By JESSICA NEU
Texture Contemporary Ballet’s Fragments of Time opened Friday evening at the New Hazlett Theater. The show opens Artistic Director Alan Obuzor’s 2016 work “Un-Preservation of Humanism” and features the music of Ezio Bosso. Audiences will enjoy that the dancers are on pointe while melding together movement that is grounded, visceral, and human.
Representatives from Texture Ballet explained that this piece “abstractly takes a look at humans, human conflict, and the way that some groups of people have treated, ‘othered’ and subjugated their fellow humans throughout our existence as a species.” “Un-Preservation” features dancers Madison Jayne Cole, Kinsey Love, Katie Miller, Alan Obuzor, Madeline Kendall Schreiber, Jillian Sinko, Baylee Sullivan, and Elaina Sutula. Each dancer individually captivates audience members as they dance through their internal struggles. They also unite as a powerful force representing the raw intensity and emotion that emerges when marginalized humans come together. With choreographed fight scenes that would make Jerome Robbins proud, the dancers beautifully extended and used the stage to fill the entire performance with artistic beauty. Exaggerated, staccato-like breathing from soloists and an elevated sense of vulnerability from understated costumes (Obuzor) guided audiences on an abstract yet emotional journey pontificated with flawless technique and style.
After a brief intermission, Act 2 features Obuzor’s newest work, ‘What is a Life?’ This dynamic piece features the same dancer as ‘Un-Preservation’ and explores the concepts of an individual’s place in the universe. This unique piece features spoken-word poetry written by Obuzor and recorded by his sister, whom he did not name, but noted her beautiful speaking voice in a post-show Q&A session. Additional music for this piece features other spoken word poems and music by artists such as Old Sea Brigade and Gregory Alan Isakov. Solo performers are elegantly framed upstage as they grapple with intensely difficult questions through creative movement. The questions of “What is life,” “What is a lifetime,” and “What is it to have lived a lifetime, can you live a lifetime in a minute, an hour, a month, or a year…?” fill the theater as dancers punctuate each thought with contemporary and classical ballet choreography. They perfectly ebb and flow with grounded movement, vertical leaps, and extensions that personify the internal struggle we all feel when contemplating our own lives. The dancers unite as the spoken word poetry discusses how when we pass away, we leave everything behind; all of our belongings are left to be discarded, but every individual to whom we gave a crumb of our love can carry on a bit of our legacy. The perfectly synchronized choreography represents the strength and power of love, bonds, and connection we share with those around us.
As What is a Life? concludes, we are met with a crescendo of movement as the spoken-word poetry tells us that “fine is the suckiest word, because it is the opposite of here” and urges us to remember “that photo of us at 5 years old because we are the same compass now that we were then.”
Fragments of Time represents the juxtaposition of the ongoing tension in our lives, which is periodically released through a cathartic moment, and the opportunity we have to start anew. The control and technique that each dancer demonstrates as they navigate intricate choreography brings forth a sense of rejuvenation and also creative inspiration. Whether you are a dancer, writer, artist, or simply a dreamer, Fragments in Time will inspire you to contemplate, create, rejoice, and love.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Remaining performances of Texture Contemporary Ballet’s Fragments in Time, at New Hazlett Theater, are Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 8:00pm and Sunday, September 22, 2024 • 2:00pm. There is a children’s performance this Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 4:00pm – 5:00pm. Patrons can purchase tickets for Fragments of Time online in advance or at the door.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews
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