celebratingour 2 0 thyear - The Parklander Magazine

mean feat. He became obsessed with not only that time period, but inparticular, spent a lot of time “imagining what it must have been like forfemales who had no say in choosing their mates and had to submit toarranged marriages whether they wished to participate or not.” The onlytime that women were allowed to contact the person they were going tomarry was when they were in a dance, and even then, they were onlyallowed to touch their respective husbands with their gloves.This pure “innocence” for those women is at the heart of “Age ofInnocence.” Liang wanted to explore “what it would feel like for thesewomen whose inner rage had to be subdued at all costs although theywere required to keep a serene front. I imagined what it would be like forthem, and what it would feel like if they were in love with someone elseand they could do nothing about it; without any support from family,they were on their own.”The piece is in five sections and it would be foolish to try to describe all ofthe interchanges between the female dancers and their men.The costumedesigns by Maria Pinto depicted the times that Austen inhabited and theprovocative and compelling music by Philip Glass and Michael Newmancreated an often stark, yet riveting score for the dancers. The red velvetdrapes, and dancers in white brought the late 18th century and the early19th century ballrooms to life. Although, it was certainly a time ofrepression for women in terms of their autonomy, it was also a time ofvirtue and honor between the sexes when even a small touch on the bodywas considered flirting with danger.The Joffrey has a long anddistinguished history, theirdancers never disappoint...”Liang wanted to capture the stories and the voices of the dances fromthe past and he quickly transports the audience to that time. Theglorious dancers of the Joffrey can do no wrong. Liang said that hewanted to choreograph “the best piece for them because the dancerswere so remarkable and came to the rehearsal studio so present andwith hearts open.” Indeed. Austen’s books are filled with unrequitedlove and societal repression (for women), and yet there was not anyobvious rancor in the dance, and the unhappiness that these womenheld is posited deep inside, but if you pay attention you can see it heldand telegraphed through the body. The piece is intricately crafted tocapture through movement the emotional lives of both female andmale dancers of that time, and that depiction of their inner life is notsomething that very many choreographers are capable of doing.Watching dance that contains that type of soul is quite different thanwatching dance where the dancers simply expose how high they canjump or how many times they can spin.The other offerings on the program included; the Gerald Arpino’s“Reflections,” a neoclassical piece set to Tchaikovsky, “Mobile,” a homageto Alexander Calder’s sculpture’s and “…smile with my heart,”choreographed by Lar Lubovitch with an on-stage piano performed byPaul James Lewis. The audience quickly recognized the timeless musicby Richard Rogers including; “Do I Hear a Waltz?,” “Where or When?,”and “My Funny Valentine.” Space won’t allow for the selection of dancerswho were shining that evening, in fact, I would have to list ALL of thecompany members who danced that night. But, I will include the namesof Elizabeth Hansen, Erin Mcafee and Michael Smith whose bodiesbecame one in “Mobile” as they melded into a movable sculpture defyingwhat we would commonly agree could not be done by the human body.It was an electrifying and sumptuous performance. (Edwaard Liang’sinterview about “The Age of Innocence” can be seen on the JoffreyBallet Web site.) YGMthePARKLANDER“...an electrifying andsumptuous performance.”57