danceJournal » Shaness Kemp

Review – ONE Gifts from Afar

Kat Richter — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:16:12 +0000

photo by Bill Hebert by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal As I’ve gotten to know the Philadelphia dance community over the past few years, I’ve always been a bit mystified by Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers. Between the hyphen, the forward slash, the abbreviation of the company’s CHI MAC studio in South Philly and the spelling of its performance series (“InHale”) I’m always afraid I’m going to get something wrong. And besides, what sort of company opens shop just down the block from Pat’s and Geno’s? Cheese steaks are made here, not great art. And yet, as I took my seat at Drexel’s Mendell Theater on Saturday night, I suddenly began to understand what all the fuss was about. ONE Gifts from Afar was a true gift: smart choreography and an impassioned, athletic execution by a truly talented group of dancers. Dancers Jessica Warchal-King and Liu Mo sat in front of the curtain opposite one another on a pair of gray cubes. Between them sat a third monochromatic box, representing a table and an imaginary chess board. The dancers swept their arms across the box, taking turns as if moving invisible pieces but their movements were abstract rather than mimetic. Mo’s hands gestured so quickly that they seemed to be made of silk and not muscles and bone and the duet ended as the pair began shouting their moves in perfect counterpoint. The curtain rose to reveal a white grid. I got a bit worried for a moment—was this going to turn into one of those Renaissance Fair human chess games?—but the lighting, designed by Stephen Petrilli, and the music, written by Cory Neale, endowed ONE-Immoral Game with just the right amount of weight. In gray tunics and tights, the dancers whirled, jumped and lunged across the board, almost always but never actually colliding. Mo sprung into the air, shooting up like a rocket, and Shaness Kemp ran into a breathtaking lift-turned-cartwheel. The work meandered through a series of trios and duets with dancers representing additional chess players and the forces of Yin and Yang. Duane Holland Jr. shook things up with a seamless transition from Lin’s classical technique into more contemporary locking and the work took a surprising turn when the dancers formed a clump in the center of the grid. Facing upstage, they clapped the outside of their hands together and stamped their feet, adding their own sounds to the minimalist score. It was unexpected and beautiful, just like a perfect game of chess. photo by Bill Hebert The company also performed Mandala Project, which premiered in 2011. Inspired by the notion of the circle, the work began with the company of dancers wrapped in oversize, papery shrouds. Slowly, they shuffled across the stage like an amoeba, their bodies just barely visible. Despite the simplicity of the choreography, the audience was held rapt with attention, almost as if they’d been drawn into a meditative state by the apparent lack of movement. Solos by Lin and Jennifer Rose broke through the stillness. Lin was solid and charismatic in a deep rust-colored robe and Rose was both athletic and fluid. Running in circles, her shadow grew and then shrank with each revolution. Like a serpent, she melted to the floor and rolled over her shoulders, and when the rest of company returned to the stage, they too seemed to embody the angular square within a circle and the round, interconnected circle within a square. Kat Richter is a freelance writer and teaching artist. She holds an MA in Dance Anthropology and is also the co-founder of The Lady Hoofers, Philadelphia’s only all-female tap company. Her work can be found at www.katrichter.com.

Kun-Yang Lin Dancers and the creation of ONE

Whittington — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:13:42 +0000

by Lewis Whittington for The Dance Journal Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers are premiering ONE: Gifts from Afar by choreographer Kun-Yang Lin at the Mandell Theater this week on the same bill as Lin’s 2011 piece, The Mandala Project. Twice this month, Lin, his dancers and Ken Metzner, executive director of the company, opened their rehearsals for their ongoing ‘open dialog’ series. The choreographic process is most often done in studio isolation, but Metzner and Lin, life and creative partners, have nurtured a welcoming and completely open environment for an exchange of ideas while they develop work. Metzner introduces the Mandala Last weekend, Metzner greeted almost every one of the 40 visitors individually the company studios in the Chi Movement Arts Center on 9^th St. for a sneak peak at ONE. Metzner, standing in front of an art book print of an ancient Mandala map, said that Lin started to formulate the program’s themes in the late 90s. Mandala, Metzner explains, means circle, but through many cultures, it also symbolizes “unity, community, connection, wholeness.“ These words can all be applied to the Chi center, which was established by Lin and Metzner, has become a magnet dance collective, but a space that reflects the very diverse community at large. ONE is a companion piece to the Mandala Project, also developed from visits and research Lin conducted at ancient temples in China. Mandala can be counted as a company classic and frames a hypnotic solo section by Lin, which he will dance at the Mandell. The choreographer was also developing after visiting ancient temples in China. Lin has a reputation for being a meticulous artist and to realize the intent, concept, or object that could figure into his choreography. Lin invited the audience to ask him about any aspect of his work and invited their reaction to what they were seeing. This approach, without question, is unique. Lin off-handedly admits that he can drive Ken “crazy” while mulling over a particular idea anytime of the day or night, but Metzner assures that he considers it a privilege to witness and be part of the choreographer’s creative process. l-r- Composer Cory Neale, lighting designer Stephen Petrilli and costume designer Heidi Barr talk with Kun Yang Lin and dancers Also joining the talk was the creative team of ONE- composer Cory Neale, lighting designer Stephen Petrilli and costume designer Heidi Barr- who described working with the choreographer as being completely collaborative from beginning to end. The opening tableau of One starts with Liu Mo sitting across from each other playing chess Evalina Carbonell calls out the Chinese names of the pieces and moves, countered by Carbonell doing the same with the western version of king, queen, knight, bishop, etc. “I’m not political. But I make sense of the world with dance.” Lin explains. He was equally fascinated that the game of chess as a spectator sport with broad intellectual appeal by people of disparate backgrounds. This scene illustrates how ancient the game is and how it had been adapted by many cultures and how it was played. “How the dancers embody the material that Kun-Yang has researched,” Metzner observes. The conflict of chess is that of adversaries, but Kun Yang said that he was very taken by the fact, that he spoke to many chess masters and a common theme among them was that winning was not their goal. The piece almost immediately moves away from the literalness of the game and chess becomes “a point of departure” Lin says. He introduces the rest of the cast- Jennifer Rose, Olive Prince, Jessica C. Warchal-King, Shaness Kemp, Duane Lee Holland, Vuthy Ou, Brian Cordova, Brandi Ou and Rachael Hart. Lin sets up the next excerpt which he describes as taking place at an imaginary ‘river’, with enemies on each side, but the battle, is meant to bring them together, not tear them down. A rehearsal moment from ONE The group segments are choreographic hybrids using martial arts idioms, hip-hop phrasing and kinetic meditation. Ensemble clusters slow up and speed up, igniting energy fields, the Lin dance alchemy that emerges from the troupe‘s most successful work. Lin gives the dancers clear parameters, spatial points, but wants them to put their personalities on the work. Lin speaks to the idea of individual and collective sensibility. For one he gives the dancers clear parameters, spatial points, but wants them to put their accents on the work. Vuthy Ou moves in with danced martial arts variations, for instance and Holland. mixes his distinct adagio hip-hop in. Each dancer bringing their own character to the pieces. Lin typically, refines and makes changes up until performance time, but the segments he previewed at Chi studios, otherwise, looked not only ready, but, like the best chess masters, thinking several moves ahead. After this segment, Shaness describes her experience working on the piece “You still feel like you are an artist, without loosing the intention of the piece, but you are not limited by what you are good at. There is a fine line where we’re still being challenged to move past what we’re comfortable, but we still feel our own artistic voice,” she said. Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers - One/Gifts from Afar Friday, March 22, 2013 @ 8pm - NOW SOLD OUT Saturday, March 23, 2013 @ 3pm + Artists Q&A after this show - TICKETS AVAILABLE Saturday, March 23, 2013 @ 8pm - TICKETS AVAILABLE Mandell Theater, 33rd and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Tickets on Dance Box Office - http://danceboxoffice.com/product_details.php?item_id=54

Kariamu and Company’s Same Father, Different Mother at Conwell Dance Theater

Steven Weisz — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:50:18 +0000

by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal Photos by Bill Hebert Kariamu and Company, comprised of dancers trained in Kariamu Welsh’s pan-African Umfundalai technique, performed Same Father, Different Mother at Temple’s Conwell Dance Theater on Saturday night. The concert, which ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary in its treatment of both joyous and somber themes, was a huge hit with the audience. Choreographer and Unfundalai Master Teacher Seleana Pettaway broke the stillness with a gorgeous a cappella solo performed in a small circle of light at the foot of the stage. As the music began, four of her students from Eastern University began to “dig” their way across the stage, bent at the waist, hands clasped, shoulders rolling, in the aptly titled Diggin Lalibela. Named for the so-called eighth wonder of the ancient world, the Ethiopian town of Lalibela is home to eleven ancient churches hewn from solid rock. The dancers’ technique, strong at times and liquid at others as the four women veered into a backward attitude turn then landed gracefully on their knees, seemed to reflect this timeless solidity. Suits, choreographed by C. Kemel Nance, another of Welsh’s Master Teachers, straddled the line between serious dance and sexy flash mob. It began with vocalist Brandon Oakley singing an a cappella version of Not While I’m Around from Sweeney Todd, then morphed into an explosion of playful masculinity as the seven dancers circled the stage while circling their heads. With such talented dancers and such bold costumes, it had the makings of a great piece but it lacked cohesion, as though Nance had too many good ideas for a single piece. Welsh’s Raaamonaah Revisted was a haunting elegy for the victims of the 1985 bombing of their home on Osage Ave. by the Philadelphia Police Department in an effort to evict John Africa and his “naturalist” community of MOVE followers. Intriguingly, the work focused on Romanah Africa, the single adult survivor, as portrayed by dancer Adrienne Abdus-Salaam, and her alter egos, portrayed by Pettaway and Shaness Kemp. The eleven dancers entered the stage slowly, a few steps forward, then one back, each carrying a large African mask. Although highly theatrical, the work avoided pathos through the use of spoken text and repetitive phrases that emphasized resilience and resistance instead of grief. Abdus-Salaam, Pettaway and Shaness Kemp jutted their hips, planting their heels firmly into the floor, then crawled across the stage as they arched their backs in perfect unison with the drums. In one particularly beautiful moment, Abdus-Salaam balanced on one leg, her weight pitched forward in a flexed-foot attitude as though caught between all the emotions of that tragic event. Following the Umfundalai Certification Ceremony, the second act took a bit of a nose dive. The evening’s title piece, Same Father, Different Mother, choreographed by Welsh to music by Me’Shell Ndegécello, felt sleepy. Although performed by the most technically proficient dancers of the company, the choreography, which veered from slow motion yoga to energetic jogging as the dancers leapt across the stage, the eclectic jazz score was ill-suited for the emotional energy of the piece. Brady Hill’s ambitious and will intentioned Style Stepping featured a trio of talented and energetic female dancers in addition to Hill but it too fell short. Wearing white blazers with sequined tops and gold sneakers, the dancers grooved to the music of Teddy Pendergrass but the choreography—although a joy to watch— felt slightly underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of the concert. Taking Flight ended the concert on a high note. Inspired by the 1962 Robert Hayden poem “Runagate, Runagate, Runagate” to work paid tribute to work of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. This was Kariamu and Company at its best: brilliant costumes designed by Firmine Houemave and Ameera Ansari, smart choreography by Welsh and a passionate, heartfelt execution by all of the dancers. The work varied between ensemble sections and smaller pairings and trios in which the dancers were constantly in motion, referencing a literal train without falling into a musical theater pastiche, as they “journeyed from can’t to can.” Kat Richter is a freelance writer and teaching artist. She holds an MA in Dance Anthropology and is also the co-founder of The Lady Hoofers, Philadelphia’s only all-female tap company. Her work can be found at www.katrichter.com.

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers moves to Mandell Theater with World Premiere on March 22 & 23

Steven Weisz — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:54:36 +0000

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers makes their Spring Philadelphia appearance at Drexel University’s Mandell Theater on Friday, March 22 at 8 PM and Saturday, March 23 at 3 PM and 8 PM. The program, ONE: Gifts from Afar, features the world premiere of One, an exploration of humankind’s rituals surrounding the drive to win. Offering contemporary, Zen-inspired works of poetic sensibility, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers will pair One with the return of its critically acclaimed work Mandala Project which serves as a complementary piece for the new work. Tickets starting at $27 are available on Dance Box Office. Mandell Theater is located at 33rd and Chestnut Streets. “We are delighted to be performing in University City and introducing new audiences to our work after four consecutive years of sold-out performances at the Painted Bride Art Center,” said Ken Metzner, Executive Director. A dynamic meditation on the journey from external division to internal oneness, One takes the game of chess as its point of departure. Chess, like dance, cuts across social, religious and cultural backgrounds. Similar to dance, the adaptability of chess to local customs and context; the variation in the way it is played in different societies reflects the infinite diversity of humanity. In addition to its competition aspect, chess, like dance, is a means of bringing people together from all classes, genders, ages and races. And chess, like choreography, involves balancing and integrating parts and the whole, as well as the arrangement of those many parts into meaningful patterns. “One proceeds from an embodied exploration of some of the more obvious parallels between chess and dance to an examination, via the dancing body, of the less apparent but compelling resonances I see, including the utility of both chess and dance as holistic vehicles for the development of an integrated human being, and chess as an art and a practice for living, which is how I conceive of dance,” explained Kun-Yang Lin, choreographer and artistic director of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers.

Lin continued: “Just as chess includes, and is not limited to, the pieces, the chess board and the way the pieces are moved on the board, so, too, dance is not confined merely to the shapes, the forms, the space and the bodies that make them. The totality of each of them is much more than that – it includes the stories communicated or explored on the board/in the space, the personal processes of the players/dancers. The dynamics among them, the politico-historical context in which the game/dance plays out, and ultimately, in my view, the relationship of all of this to our common humanity.” Mandala Project, which premiered in spring 2011, was constructed over a two-year period, during which Lin conducted research in the field, with trips to Cambodia, Indonesia, Europe and India, and incorporated these experiences into the body research of the studio. Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle, community, unity and connection. In Eastern traditions, the mandala is a form of sacred art that depicts the totality of the self as well as the path to a more awakened state of being. In Mandala Project the dances enter into conversation with the sacred form of the mandala, examining and challenging it through body, time, space and energy with reverence and wonder for the effects on the mind, experiencing and sharing the potential of dance as facilitator and inspiration for communication across artistic, generational, cultural and religious boundaries. The concert features performances by Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers’ Kun-Yang Lin, Jennifer Rose, Olive Prince, Jessica Warchal-King, Shaness Kemp, Duane Lee Holland Jr., Liu Mo, Wally Cain Carbonell, Vuthy Ou, Brandi Ou, Rachael Hart, and Brian Cordova. Lighting design is by Stephen Petrilli. Costumes by Heidi Barr. Original music for One is by Cory Neale . Taiwan-born Kun-Yang Lin, Artistic Director of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers and Founder of CHI Movement Arts Center, probes at the limits of national identity, drawing upon Eastern philosophy while expanding the perimeter of Western contemporary dance. Lin has been widely recognized in the U.S. for both his dancing and choreography including, in 2002 by Back Stage, which named him “the year’s most promising choreographer in NYC.” Before moving to the U.S., Lin toured internationally with London’s Transitions Dance Company, working with numerous European, post-modernist choreographers. In the U.S., Lin performed in iconic American modern dance companies including the Martha Graham Company and worked with post-modernist choreographers including Bill T. Jones, Trisha Brown, Lynn Shapiro & Paula Josa-Jones. Lin’s artistry has been supported by numerous sources including The MidAtlantic Arts Foundation’s USArtists International grant in partnership with the NEA and the Andrew Mellon Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through Dance Advance. Lin has been on the faculty of The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard, H.B. Actor’s Studio and The Limon Institute and he offers master classes and workshops throughout the U.S. and abroad. Currently, Lin is Associate Professor of Dance at Temple University.

The mission of Kun Yang Lin/Dancers is to draw upon its unique Asian-American perspective to create work that transcends cultural boundaries and celebrates the ability of dance to integrate body, mind and spirit. The company has performed internationally and across the United States, including at the Busan International Dance Festival in Busan, Korea, Jogja International Performing Arts Festival in Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia, Hsin Chu Cultural Center in Hsin Chu, Taiwan, Festival Internacional de Danza in Queretato, Mexico, the Victoria Theatre in Singapore, the Interlochen Arts Festival in Michigan, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Columbia Festival of the Arts in Maryland, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, in Philadelphia to sell-out audiences at The Painted Bride Art Center and in New York City at The Japan Society, Queens Theatre in The Park, and the Downtown Dance Festival. ONE: an Experience of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers Friday, March 22, 2013 @ 8pm Saturday, March 23, 2013 @ 3pm Saturday, March 23, 2013 @ 8pm Mandell Theater, 33rd and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104 TICKETS: $35 premium seating; $28 premium seating - seniors; $27 general admission ; $20 students w. ID; $20 seniors w. ID; $20 dance professionals w. ID Purchase online: http://danceboxoffice.com/product_details.php?item_id=54 Choreography: Kun-Yang Lin Collaborators: Lighting Design: Stephen Petrilli Costume Design: Heidi Barr Original music for world premiere: Cory Neale Visual object for Mandala Project: Hua Hua Zhang KYL/D Dance Artists: Kun-Yang Lin, Jennifer Rose, Olive Prince, Jessica Warchal-King, Shaness Kemp, Duane Lee Holland, Liu Mo, Evalina Carbonell, Vuthy Ou, Rachael Hart, Brandi Ou, Brian Cordova Artistic Director Kun-Yang Lin Executive Director Ken Metzner