like punching bags, exhaling fiercely. But the group gasp had the effect of piercing the ballet\u2019s harsh tenor. Dancers dropped their heroic personas and muttered to each other, as though they had lost the thread of their thoughts. A duet ensued in which Harumi Terayama and Oscar Ramos performed a series of unrelated movements, which were simultaneously discussed by the two on a recorded voice over. \u201cTake me downstage, Oscar,\u201d said Terayama. \u201cOoh, I like this part,\u201d she continued.<\/span><\/p>\nThe commentary was pretty meaningless; consequently Terayama, who is not an empty-headed individual, came across as a dancer who doesn\u2019t think beyond the steps. And Ekman reinforced the typical stereotype: that those who dance are vapid. Then he abruptly changed course. With Chopin\u2019s <\/span>Nocturnes, Op. 9-2. #2 in E fla<\/em><\/span>t<\/em><\/span>, Ekman decided to demonstrate how the dancers are just like you and me. In more recorded voice overs, we learned that one of them has a crush on the other; one calls his mother every night. Unfortunately, Ekman\u2019s last-ditch effort to humanize the dancers felt discordant, out of tune with the rest of the work\u2019s steroid-induced mood.<\/span><\/p>\nAlso on the program were Jo Str\u00f8mgren\u2019s <\/span>Sunday, Again<\/em><\/span> (2008), a company standby about a badminton match in which the players are cold and cruel to each other, and Jacopo Godani\u2019s <\/span>Unit in Reaction<\/em><\/span> (2009). The latter played with the idea of mechanized force (think Power Rangers) and entanglement (think Scylla, the Greek sea monster). <\/span>Godani alternated between the two movement qualities to create a composite vision of six prowling Jeckl and Hyde dancers (one minute they\u2019re languid, they next they lash their limbs like vampires hungry for blood). Dressed in unisex, dark, mesh wrestler suits and lit in near darkness (both care of Godani), the brooding, bass-driven, metallic music (by Ulrich M\u00fcller and Siegfried R\u00f6ssert of \u201c48Nord\u201d) further heightened the apocalyptic mood.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat was life giving was the dancers. They gave flight to choreographers\u2019 ideas. They embodied diverse movement styles. They approached all of the material passionately. It would be nice to see them portrayed as caring. Watching them as defensive line backers, mean badminton partners, and humorlous denizens of the dead gets\u2014all in one sitting\u2014was hard on the eyes.<\/p>\n
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In choosing the next round of \u00a0dances, Cedar Lake’s artistic director might heed Shakespeare’s words, “Farewell, fair cruelty.” The bard knew how to leaven cruelty with a little love and tenderness.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n