On East 4th Street, Sweet Dreams
Daniels' 'Wee Hours' at Connelly Theater delights
by Hilary Ostlere
On ballet’s beaten track but by no means a dead end, the Connelly
Theater near Avenue C on East 4th Street is not one of the dance venues
we frequent. Which is not to say there isn’t good stuff going on
there.
This spring, the veteran modern dance master Richard Daniels, who, incidentally,
has been seen at the Joyce and elsewhere on the West Side, brought his
talented troupe to the Connelly for an evening that was satisfyingly soothing
without ever being bland.
In his latest work, “Wee Hours,” Daniels used his considerable
choreographic talent to display seven dancers in a set of variations,
predicated on the notion that bedtime can bring out the best and worst
in us. Mostly the solos and duets were intriguing in what they insinuated
rather than stated.
Setting the mood, pianist Nurit Tilles stylishly played Ignace Paderewski’s
“Nocturne.” The dancers strolled on as if just waking, or
about to retire. They stood, sat, reclined and lay around the stage in
costume designer Karen Young’s idea of sleepwear: the obvious pajamas
for some, but what looked more like street duds for others.
On bounced Dusan Tynek, a firebrand of a dancer who comes from Czechoslovakia.
His odd attire was tank top and frilled briefs. His was a boisterous solo,
balletic in style, replete with jumps, runs and abrupt direction changes.
In a quieter moment he sat on the floor and mimed lighting a cigarette
and smoking it, so convincingly one almost expected to see Mayor Mike
Bloomberg stride in with a posse. Then Tynek was up, dashing about happily,
until the final moments, when a sort of panicky indecision set in, as
if his fanciful dream had suddenly sounded a wakeup call.
Keith Sabado, who used to be with Mark Morris and with Baryshnikov’s
White Oak Project, is a seasoned dancer with a special ability to fill
out a movement to its utmost effect. He partnered Kate Johnson, also an
experienced performer, noted particularly for the fine work she did when
a member of Paul Taylor’s company. They were a compatible pair in
peach pajamas occupying their own little dreamscape, twining in and around
each other, their twists and turns becoming ever more convoluted even
though their eyes were shut. A couple in harmony, they seemed as one –
though the music they danced to, “Le Troisieme” by Erik Satie,
suggested a threesome.
Later on, Sabado demonstrated his seamless technique and uncanny control
in off-balance poses in a midsummer reverie to Aaron Copland nocturnes.
Big gestures, plunging arabesques plus an air of uncertainty tinged Regina
Larkin’s nocturnal interlude with an edgy quality suggesting turbulent
dreams. A dancer of incisive line and high-pitched energy, she and choreographer
Daniels (all the dancers worked with him in developing their pieces) worked
out her haunting solo to nocturnes by Poulenc and Norman Dello Joio.
Roberta Cooper and Eileen Thomas appeared to be mirror images of each
other, a gentle duo until first one failed to follow the other and then,
gradually, they drew apart quite icily to dance their own different dances.
Finally Mimi Quillin’s distraught dreamer, set to “Nocturne
for the Left Hand Alone” by Feed Hersch, conveyed some of the other-worldliness
of a vivid and unforgettable nightmare.
Throughout, Nurit Tilles accompanied with admirable understanding of
the dancers’ needs.
An opportunity to see Richard Daniels’ own unique abilities came
in his brief solo “Cinder,” choreographed by Zvi Gotheiner.
Tall, elegant, Daniels has returned to dance after a 15-year absence and
learning he was HIV positive. “Cinder” is a dance full of
plunging arabesques and high-flung arms and legs. He swirls around the
stage propelled by David Hykes Oriental-tinged rhythms or sits for a moment,
meditatively.
Daniels’ ability to project an inner tranquility makes this piece
more of a glowing ember than the cinder of its title. Keep a lookout for
him and his dancers. They’re worth a trip to Avenue C or anywhere.
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