Some things, no matter how wonderful, seem to only get better over time. Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC), with 61 years of formidable dance legacy under its belt, is still finding ways to make its art form more imaginative, more beautiful and increasingly relevant to our times. Unlimited, the company’s biannual concert performed at the Harris Theater of Music and Dance over the weekend, acts as fitting testimony to that truth.
The program would start with a clutch of dances that showcased proficiency across dance styles and end with a company first. Entropy, unfolding slowly in low light to the music of Astor Piazolla and Dhol Foundation, reminds us how comfortably this world-renowned jazz dance company fits into the broader space of contemporary dance. Choreographed by Davis Robertson in 2002, Entropy looks at an abstract concept, the disintegration of order and predictability, and sets it to movement. Superficially, all appears intact, but then there are surprises that expose destabilizing fissures. Watching this notion expressed in dance was as fulfilling as it was intriguing. It tested dancers physical strength while demanding consummate precision. Accomplishing both within a template far afield from the company’s home terrain underscored its impressive reach.
Going back to their roots with Sing Sing Sing, four dancers rolled back the clock to enchant the audience with the dance form that defines GDC. Choreographed by the company’s founder, Gus Giordano, in 1983, Sing Sing Sing snaps with vivacious energy. Reveling in their pleasure in performing the piece, Ryan Galloway, Amanda Hickey, Adam Houston and Erina Ueda flaunted their prodigious dance acumen with unsuppressed glee while honoring a classic.
Having tipped their hat to the past, it was time to recognize the future with the world premiere of unconditional, a ravishing dance for two choreographed by one of GDC’s veteran dancers and Rehearsal Captain, Adam Houston. Love in dance, just as in life, can be expressed in many different ways and encompass many types of relationships. Danced flawlessly and movingly by Sasha Lazarus and Fernando Rodriquez, Houston chose to embed a recognizable sense of equity as well as harmony into choreography that proved as thoughtful as it was tender. In interviews, he opened the prospect of viewing unconditional love beyond its romantic default. Watching the dance flower and bloom in that light gave it greater spiritual scope and highlighted how wonderfully his interpretation was developed. That uniqueness made unconditional a quiet but lingering standout of the night’s program.
A 2018 commission piece by choreographer Ray Leeper, the sonic heat and visual wonder of Soul made it a natural closer for Unlimited’s first half. With Gladys Knight, Al Green and Tina Turner providing the musical funk, it was left to the dancers and Leeper’s choreography to deliver the same fire on stage. The choreography certainly didn’t flinch at the challenge. A go-to conjurer of movement for pop stars, theater and television, Leeper skillfully tapped into the marrow of R&B gold to create a dance that accurately and honorably reflects the essence of the genre. The sass, innuendo and often the underlying seductive tension in the music are all present in his choreography. Accustomed to bringing the oomph, GDC dancers know how to serve up rhythmic energy and it overflowed in this barn burning work. The company’s ironclad adherence to technical perfection also glowed with blinding brightness. But something much more elusive could have had a stronger presence. That subliminal connection to the music that replaces, or gives the illusion of replacing, conscious effort with something more akin to natural abandon. Its an invaluable asset in any work; and most especially in a piece like Soul. As this fiery salute neared its end, you could detect that exact link coming to life in one of the dancers. Glimpsing that spark leaves hope that the next time we encounter this thrilling piece, the entire ensemble be transformed by its magic.
Something is going on in the art world. Disciplines are converging and overlapping to become hybrid forms of entertainment. And it’s wonderful. Gershwin in B, another world premiere, this one commissioned and choreographed by Al Blackstone, falls in this burgeoning and beautiful camp. A narrative story told in dance, it counts as a Giordano Dance Chicago first and as one of its most laudatory achievements. Coupling the music of one of the finest composers of American music, including Jazz, with the country’s pre-eminent jazz dance company may have been destiny. But the end result is nothing less than breathtaking.
Using nine of Gershwin’s songs from the less familiar to the acclaimed, Gershwin in B follows a young girl along her path from youthful innocence to fearless maturity. Blackstone, who developed the story as well as created the choreography, fills that journey with dance that exploits every ounce of the company’s professional virtuosity. A fedora incidentally plays significantly throughout the entirety of her growth. Dancers are called upon to go beyond dance and to use their bodies to move the story forward and convey even the subtlest of emotions. The central character carries the dramatic weight of the narrative on her shoulders and was played, and danced, superbly by Erina Ueda, now in her third season with GDC.
Another component, one that’s too often taken for granted, rose to become an indispensable asset to the piece. Julie Ballard’s lighting design, that included astonishing uses of projection that transformed the stage and gave it startling new dimension, acted as a secret weapon. Always enhancing and never detracting, it was a marvel in its own right.
Dancers acknowledge one another like no other artists. Ryan Galloway, who will be leaving after finishing this, his ninth year with the company, received touching and well-earned recognition from his fellow dancers, the audience and the dance company’s leadership on his tenure with this illustrious ensemble.
Unlimited
April 5 & 6, 2024
Giordano Dance Chicago
The Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 W. Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601
