The creative offspring of two dance professionals, one an acclaimed dancer and the other a celebrated choreographer, New York’s Complexions Contemporary Ballet has had a few decades to establish its identity. Since its debut in 1994, the company has become known for exciting innovation, choreographic daring and dance virtuosity. Some have gone so far to accuse the troupe, somewhat admiringly, of taking a “shock and awe” approach to its performances.
A rare one night only appearance February 3rd at the Auditorium Theatre brought the company’s dance prowess to a Chicago stage, giving local audiences the chance to savor its skills. Figuring prominently in their anticipation was Star Dust, Complexions’ ballet tribute to one of the era’s most influential musical craftsmen, David Bowie. With a capacity crowd filling the theater with anticipation, the opportunity of seeing Bowie’s body of work interpreted through the gaze of internationally recognized dance talent proved an irresistible draw. As renowned for his elusively indeterminate persona as he was for the splendor of his musical output, whether and how the tribute would call forth the man himself became a lingering question.
First came the unfurling of a broad sampling of signature ballets. All choreographed by the company’s co-founder, Dwight Rhoden, every dance carried a detectable essence that marked it as a Complexions composition. Unique flashes of movement and tantalizing sparks of drama played with the eye while watching dancers tell stories, recall memories and convey emotions with their bodies. A full company piece, Hissy Fits’ frenetic Bach score stayed hard and fast through much of the first ballet. Admirably executed, the structured cool of the dance tempered the music’s stridency. A part of the company’s repertoire since 2006, the piece can be considered a staple. Still, there was an underlying hesitancy present in the ballet that seemed surprising.
All about symmetry and synchronization, Choke provided a clearer view of the virtuosity that makes ballet so enthralling. Danced to Vivaldi’s (The Four Season’s – Summer), raw energy propelled two female dancers as they rapidly mirrored one another’s movements in a duet of challenge. Directly following it, the dance excerpt from Endgame/Love Me exchanged that challenge for love in a more romantic and conventional dance for two. With its handsome lifts and gentle lyricism, the ballet conjured up a bygone age of ballet history.
Sometimes the line between old and new became indistinguishable. In Elegy, a solo ballet of remembrance danced gloriously by Jillian Davis, sound and movement blended into one. Created four years ago in memory of Dolores Rhoden and Yvonne Richardson, mothers of Complexions’ founders, it beautifully excavated and reveled in the essential emotions of life. Classical and neoclassical techniques merged completely; transforming sorrow and loss into a work of beauty.
Precursing what was to follow the intermission, Snatched Back from the Edge brought the sizzle. Performed to Tye Tribbett’s anthem of Spirit driven indomitability, “Work It Out (Live)”, dancers combined ebullience and good old-fashioned faith to dance their interpretation of grit and perseverance. This was choreography that enjoyed toying with convention and pushing the needle forward on transformative conceptualization. It also gave Complexions’ dancers a stronger backdrop to showcase their capabilities. Snatched Back from the Edge saw personality emerge, charisma take root and star turns bloom.
Elevated to grand theater, Star Dust exists in a colorful world of spectacle. Along with barriers that separate genres of music, Bowie enjoyed smashing boundaries dividing genders. That visionary daring ran through this brash and beautiful tribute. Nine songs from the Bowie discography; including Lazarus, Young Americans, Heroes and Space Oddity, powered the program with a different dancer embodying Bowie in nearly every song. True to the androgynous ambiguity the singer loved to exude, both women and men stepped into the spotlight to assume his guise. Unfettered bravado radiated from each of them individually and the from company more broadly. Togged in Christine Darch’s body hugging harlequinesque costumes, dancers strutted across the stage on pointe and displayed feats of stunning athleticism. As intriguing as it all was, all night you could sense that Complexions Contemporary Ballet was capable of even more. Maybe on the next rare visit, we’ll find out what that is.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
STAR DUST: From Bach to Bowie
Past Event: February 3, 2024
The Auditorium Theatre
150 E. Ida B. Wells Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
