Summer Series Reinforces Hubbard Street’s Impressive Creds

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) may be approaching 45 years young, but it’s still very much a dance company to watch.  Always on the lookout for just the right talent to highlight its aspirations, the company uses its discoveries to keep surprising and delighting audiences.  This was especially true of its RE/UNION summer series that wrapped up Sunday at the Harris Theater.  The mix of captivating contemporary choreography and beautiful dance execution made the program as memorable as it was exciting.   

Two of the choreographers featured that afternoon were also represented during the company’s Spring series.  Amy Hall Garner’s intricate As the Wind Blows returned and well as a featured work by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. 

Opening the program, As the Wind Blow would again build from silence to evolve into a complex and regimented piece that swept in a host of dancers.  Noted for its structure and dynamism, this iteration seemed to have a slightly sheared feel; making it appear more streamlined and tight. 

Ohad Naharin’s choreography thrives on the edge.  There’s often a taste of intrigue or even a whiff of the ominous surrounding his dances that make them fascinating.  George & Zalman certainly conformed to that penchant for the provocative.  Written in the movement of five female dancers, spoken word is a critical component that drives the piece’s narrative.  Clipped abrupt stances define the dance as the women respond to a narrator’s command that they “ignore all possible concepts and possibilities”.  The command grows to include other declarations until it becomes a manifesto for living. George & Zalman blurs the line between dance and performance art in very positive ways.  Messages and stories are always woven into dance and its usually up to the audience to interpret what the story means to them. Angst, confusion, strength and resolve are just a few of the messages telegraphed in this piece that relies heavily on timing and synchronization.  A gripping piece of choreography, Naharin’s eclectic dance salutes the stimulating range of work HSDC undertakes and shares so competently with its audiences.

Following George & Zalman’s foreboding with a little whimsy helped lighten the mood and transport us to France.  Music and dance blended beautifully in Ne Me Quitte Pas to do exactly what choreographer Spencer Theberge had hoped.  Aiming to showcase “dancers caring for their work and each other in real time”, this danced interpretation of Jacque Brel’s classic more than accomplishes its goal.     

Very simple on the surface, Ne Me Quitte Pas becomes a telling story of how two people come to rely on one another as they devote themselves to a common art.  Standing casually on a silent melancholy stage in seeming conversation, lacking the slightest hint of affectation, the pair are dressed as Everyman in loose modest clothing.  There’s a purity in the scene that carries through the entire dance once the first strands of music rise and the dancers, Adam McGaw and Andrew Murdock begin to move. 

A song of longing and regret, Ne Me Quitte Pas, with its plaintive lyrics and languid melody is a song that immerses itself in the profound loss of romantic love.  Using Nina Simone’s exquisite rendition of the song as the dance’s musical foundation, Theberge has not only kept the song’s intent intact; he broadens it through his sensitive choreography.  Through the dance, we see how devotion can encompass a wide range of relationships; either involving another person or an ideal.  Danced magnificently by McGaw and Murdock, a dab or two of levity is included to balance the work and cement its charm.

So bold that it could be called epic, Busk turned out to be a finale with heft.  Medieval in look and arguably sound, this was another piece of choreography that seemed to dive head first into what it is to be elementally human.  The dance unfolds in chapters as a mass of dancers take you on a journey through our collective psyche.  Wearing dark monk-like robes, hoods covering their heads and faces; dancers abandon their individual identity.  Floating over the stage as a single force, they insinuate and subtly project a host of emotions.  Once again, each person watching the dance processes its signals in their own way.  A popular work danced by several notable companies, choreographer Aszure Barton encourages that kind of personal interpretation regarding Busk. Majestic, the music adds another layer of very beautiful stimulation to help formulate those reactions.

RE/UNION

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

MAY 12 – 15, 2022

Harris Theater for Music and Dance

205 E. Randolph St.

Chicago, IL   60601