Even when you think you’ve seen the best of the best, you can still be surprised with new heights of perfection. One of those epiphanies detonated Saturday night on the Auditorium stage when Deeply Rooted Dance Theater obliterated the psychological barrier that separates audience and performance. From the first sound of Mikel Rouse’s soul stomping drum in the opening seconds of Vespers, to the last rapturous spin at the closing of Q After Dark; the dance company’s closing work, the bond between the ensemble and the audience was instinctive, immediate and unbreakable. From Deeply Rooted’s standpoint, it was all quite intentional. Sharing an experience that’s both visceral and emotional is their declared mission. Both of those things imply a degree of investment. With the program Deeply Rooted created for its slot in the Auditorium’s dance series this year, that two-way investment came early and only grew as the program continued.
Drama, as well as a tsunami of impeccable dance, can be credited as major factors in garnering so much audience commitment and respect. Vespers boasted a bounty of both. Inspired by choreographer Ulysses Dove’s memories of his grandmother’s church, a raw spirit dominates this dance. Rouse’s electronic score, mad with the incessant beauty of reverberating drums, trips a trigger. Is it fear? Is it danger? Or is it an awakening? The dance, once it begins, amplifies the music’s energy. Or more correctly, its ferocity. It opens with a single dancer, Emani Drake, sitting in a chair. She composed, but taut; ready to spring. When she does, she moves like a lightning bolt, a flash that the zings, leaps and streaks with the grace of a sprite and the power of a tigress. She’s a conqueror, controlling everything in her sphere. Another dancer appears, also female, also phenomenal. Matching one another with the exactness of quantum physics, they dominate, surrender and dominate again. Until there are six women, each matching one another’s feats like a unified indomitable force. Marvelous for its portrayal of stark athleticism, Vespers is just as interested in creating a palette of beauty. Seeing the two elements work so harmoniously together made for a very exciting dance experience and was a thrilling harbinger for what was to follow.
A “fan favorite”, Aisatnaf comes from a completely different perspective. With whimsy as its muse and ballet as its foundation, the dance’s strength stands on the talents of one dancer as he gambols like a sylph to Lee Holdridge’s Ballet Fantasy for Strings and Harp. Notable for its flawless fluidity, Ahmad Hill’s performance held a matchless quality; leaving the impression that watching him dance was both a rare opportunity and a stroke of good fortune. The way Hill’s body would extend and reach paid beautiful homage to the dreamy elegance of classical ballet. His execution displayed the technical skills associated with ballet’s great houses and help explain why the piece is so popular. Choreographed by Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s cofounder, Kevin Iega Jeff, Aisatnaf profiles the heights of possibility for a single dancer. And it shows how well dance and music, when skillfully fused, can create spellbinding illusion.
The remainder of the night’s program was much more contemporary and ended in a party. The excerpt of Madonna Anno Domini by Deeply Rooted’s Artistic Director, Nicole Clarke-Springer, was an epic piece enlisting the entire ensemble in a call to action. The dance traveled through dark emotions and despair to eventually arrive at protest, rebellion and restoration.
It was the program finale, Q After Dark, that electrified the theater. A collaborative work choreographed by four members of the company’s leadership, Q After Dark is a toast to the genius of Chicago born and multi-faceted legend, Quincy Jones. Jones’s musical influence over the decades has been incalculable and Deeply Rooted as a dance company wanted to honor his vast contributions to music and the arts. Making Jones’s music the cornerstone of the multi-segmented dance, a live band headed by Sam Thousand flooded the house with splendid renditions of some of “Q’s” most familiar masterpieces. Accented with two superb vocalists, Tina Jenkins Crawley and Ameerah Tatum, the intimacy and intensity of live music poured even more vibrancy and warmth into the performance. Riding on classic melodies like Birdland, Body Heat, and the Michael Jackson’s mega-hit Human Nature, dancers exuded sultry confidence and flair as they covered the stage exemplifying the best contemporary dance has to offer. By evening’s end, Deeply Rooted dancers were filling the aisles with joyous movement and basking in cheers of appreciation for their talent and the superlative dance they delivered.
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
November 5, 2022
Auditorium Theatre
50 East Ida B. Wells Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
https://deeplyrooteddancetheater.org
