Displaying items by tag: modern dance

Five years is an important milestone for any arts organization, but for a contemporary dance company it also marks an artistic coming of age. Identity Performing Arts celebrated its fifth anniversary at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art with a program of three works - Enliven, Muted, and the premiere of Untitled Identity - that reflected both how far the Chicago-based company has come and where it is headed.

Founded as an organization dedicated to dance education, Identity Performing Arts transitioned into a full-season contemporary dance company in 2021, presenting its inaugural live concert that fall. This anniversary gala demonstrated how that evolution has expanded into a confident repertory of original work.

I had the privilege of sitting with Rehearsal Director Mollyanne Nunn during the performance, and her insights helped me better understand what I was seeing. Contemporary dance often communicates through gesture rather than narrative, and Nunn's perspective revealed how intention, relationships, and emotional shifts were woven into the choreography.

The afternoon opened with Enliven, choreographed by Founder and Artistic Director Ginny Ching-Yin Lo, a vibrant celebration of energy in motion that blends Eastern and Western artistic influences. Performed by a nine-member ensemble, the piece moved effortlessly through an eclectic musical landscape, from delicate instrumental passages to expansive contemporary compositions.

What stood out was the company's sense of connection. Rather than presenting individual showcases, the dancers created a shared momentum, with movement passing organically from one performer to another. It was easy to see why this work earned a place at the 2024 Seattle International Dance Festival.

Identity Performing Arts in Muted. Photo by Peter Hinsdale.

The mood shifted dramatically with Muted, Lo's deeply personal exploration of silence and communication. The work examines what it means to be muted, to silence another person, and to experience connections that exist beyond words.

The seven dancers gave physical form to emotions that are difficult to articulate. Gestures of distance, hesitation, and reconciliation suggested that our most significant conversations often happen without speech. The score, culminating in a reimagining of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, reinforced the work's emotional weight without overwhelming it.

The evening concluded with Untitled Identity, the program's premiere and its most ambitious work. Featuring a twelve-member cast, the piece explores how identity continually shifts between our inner understanding of ourselves, and the perceptions imposed by others.

The expanded ensemble created striking visual patterns, while cinematography by Cem Koc, visual effects by Simon Parfrement, and Hannah Wien's expressive lighting design gave the performance an added theatrical dimension. The varied musical score carried the dancers through moments of tension, release, and transformation, suggesting that identity is never static but always evolving.

Seen together, the three works formed a thoughtful progression - from celebration to introspection to self-discovery. Lo's choreography provided a consistent artistic voice while allowing each piece to inhabit its own emotional landscape.

Anniversary galas often look backward, celebrating past accomplishments. Identity Performing Arts chose instead to use the occasion to look forward. By pairing established works with a compelling premiere, the company demonstrated that its greatest strength is not simply what it has already created, but its continued willingness to explore new ideas through movement.

Five years after becoming a full-season contemporary dance company, Identity Performing Arts has found a distinctive voice. This gala made one thing clear: like the identities it explores, the company remains beautifully in motion.

www.identityperformingarts.org/about

I’ve seen quite a lot of wonderful, entertaining dance productions in Chicago lately - creations that include music and modern dance set to the compositions of great artists like David Bowie, Sting and also beautifully staged to outstanding selections by lesser-known musicians that undoubtedly deserve more recognition. This past weekend I was able to catch a very impressive dance spectacle by MOMIX, the Washington, Connecticut based company known for their dancer-illusionists. With incredibly spot on music by a host of talented artists, MOMIX brought their interpretation of Alice in Wonderland to life for a one night only performance at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. ALICE, by Artistic Director Moses Pendleton, really stood out as being a tremendously alluring and engaging piece of dancing, mixed media and an ingenious presentation - a unique experience of both modern and classical music. 

MOMIX: ALICE utilizes ingenious props involving full-length mirrors held by the dancers while gazing into them, silken fabrics, which seem to breathe like they are alive and glow as the dancers writhe beneath them in stunning shapes and subtle movements, and a massive whimsical swing for Alice to glide on while set in a sunny field of wildflowers and green grass. There are twenty-foot high mechanical lifts and gowns, which propel Alice high up into other worlds set to the music of Grace Slick’s “Go Ask Alice-White Rabbit” and giant rubber balls, which are bounced in unison by the seven dancers and manipulated in such a way that is both graceful and comical. Massive blood red silken roses come to life like puppets with no visible puppeteer, ever so gently brushing back and forth against the heads and shoulders of two beautiful dancers in Act Two’s “Bed of Roses” . 

Although this production is not a child’s production of the play or film Alice in Wonderland, it is marvelously colorful for a vibrant visual experience and spectacularly graceful in its execution. I loved that the final message given during this open interpretation of Alice comes in the words “feed your head, feed your head,” which was applauded wildly by the audience.

MOMIX: ALICE is a true ensemble piece and when the faces of the dancers are covered it is difficult to tell them apart, because Pendleton has cast a very specific body type and height in order to keep all of the movements and stunts unique to MOMIX as uniform as possible, yet the quality of their dance still allows for the fierceness and sensuality of individual dancers to shine through. 

All of the dancers, regardless of their dance background or number of years dancing displayed the highest quality of dance movement, which, to me, happens when the expression of each gesture and movement extends all the way through to the fingertips - the very tips of the fingertips and toes in the most elegant and intelligent way. This type of extension and attention to detail and grace in the hands particularly gives the entire production a hypnotic and floating quality that is not often seen in modern dance.

ALICE has dark moments, humorous moments and sensual moments that take us through Alice’s personal discovery in growing as a little girl into a woman experiencing different planes of consciousness. All the while, the production never veers into the realm of clowning or erotica that might tarnish the incredible combinations of superb young dancers mixed with art worthy projections and very interesting and exciting musical choices. 

Artistic Director Moses Pendleton says it perfectly in the program, “We see Alice as an invitation to invent, to dream, to alter the way we perceive the world, to open it to new possibilities. The stage is our rabbit hole. We welcome you to drop in!”

During the after-show Q&A, which was very interesting, an audience member asked why MOMIX does not have a permanent home in Chicago like Blue Man Group. Their answer was two-fold – to bring the show to wider audiences around the world by touring, and to leave the audience begging for more. I agree that the comparison to Blue Man Group (as far as being a resident show) is right on the money. MOMIX: ALICE is full of such spectacular illusions, marvelous video projections of nature and other psychedelic artworks accompanied by the highest quality of dance, that it is worthy of having its own permanent stage and is entertaining enough to see over and over again.

I highly recommend MOMIX: ALICE when it (hopefully) returns to Chicago or any MOMIX production for that matter.