|
|
|
October 1, 2005
Four Dances Recalling an Abundance of Previous Lives
By Erika Kinetz
 Richard
Daniels has had several lives. He spent a good 15 years off stage, working
as an arts manager, producer and consultant before returning to choreography
in 1995, and at 54, he's been H.I.V. positive for some 20 years.
Both of his newest works, which had their premieres on Thursday at Danspace
Project at St. Mark's Church, render those lives in delicate, patient
detail.
"Telling Tales," a set of four dances choreographed by Dusan
Tynek, Mr. Daniels and Scott Rink, begins with Mr. Daniels taking a few
steps backward on the stage. It's a fittingly pedestrian start to a piece
Mr. Daniels calls an evolving dance diary, which includes bits about hygiene
as well as love (in its both new and anguished varieties).
The sections he choreographed stand out for their clarity of gesture.
In "Not Too Long Ago," he runs his hands over his legs as if
testing them; perhaps this body is not a thing to be trusted, after all.
And he makes great, gentle use of his impressive wingspan. This is a small
dance, set in a small space, seen by a small audience. At its best, it
achieves a trick of intimacy sometimes created by literature: you can
almost feel Mr. Daniels's consciousness pressing up against yours.
"Apollo & the Muses" is a reimagining of George Balanchine's
1928 classic, performed to a piano version of Igor Stravinsky's score.
(Nurit Tilles provided live accompaniment throughout the evening.) Mr.
Daniels cast two Apollos, one young (Mr. Tynek, who later becomes Melpomene,
the muse of tragedy) and one mature (Keith Sabado, whose generous dancing
was a highlight). Megan Williams, Emmanuele Phuon and Regina Larkin played
the muses.
Mr. Daniels's Apollo includes an overt nod to Balanchine's: at one point
the dancers make a fan of their legs, though this involves a handstand
and some matter-of-fact hoisting - a far cry from Balanchine's ennobling
arabesques. In Mr. Daniels's hands, the myth is writ lovingly small.
"Telling Tales" runs through Oct. 2 at 8:30 p.m. at Danspace
Project at St. Mark's Church, 131 East 10th Street, at Second Avenue;
(212) 674-8194.
|
