Under new artistic director, Luna Negra presents love, loss and longing in its fall program

Posted on Tuesday, October 19

Under new artistic director, Luna Negra presents love, loss and longing in its fall program
By Debby Storms

Last Saturday, in its first season under new Artistic Director Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Luna Negra Dance Theater treated a very enthusiastic audience to a sparkling performance of three very different works.

Opening the evening was the world premier of Ramírez Sansano’ s “ Toda una Vida,” an exploration of the ins and outs and ups and downs of a long-term, male-female relationship.

The piece has two parts, the first of which was the longer and by far the stronger. Against the relentless dynamic of Ravel’ s “ Bolero,” we watch a couple as their relationship evolves, starting with their first awkward encounter as young boy and girl, through the vicissitudes of their adulthood. The dancers strongly executed the considerable demands of lightening-quick movement showing a wide range of emotions: At first they leap about like the awkward young pup and colt that they are; then evolve into adolescents alternating between jerkiness and sinuous seduction; and finally come of age, in which their movements become straighter and more sure, an interaction that mirrors the continuous push-pull, conflict and resolution of relationships. Mónica Cervantes executed each step to perfection; Zoltán Katona was especially strong in his portrayal of the man’ s emotions.

The second part of the piece was less successful, and, to my mind, could be omitted. Dressed in a red-and-white cocktail-style dress, backed by the company (it’ s unclear what purpose they serve), Cervantes dances to a song in which the singer tells her lover that despite their great romance since the day they met, despite the fact she adores him with her soul, nevertheless she must leave him: “ No me preguntes más” (“ Don’ t ask me more” ). With his back to us, we never see Katona’ s reaction to this development in their relationship. Though nicely danced, this section seemed tacked on and, at less than three minutes long, a distraction to what came before.

The second work was the very witty and wittily danced North American Premiere of Brazilian choreographer Fernando Melo’s “ Bate” (Heartbeat). According to the program notes, it was “ inspired by Brazilian soap opera and the masculine world of Samba, where men express not only their love and devotion of women but also their troubles and melancholy.” In the opening scene, a long cloth runner lies across the stage, behind it a lone rose in a vase. The runner is pulled across the stage, bringing with it objects suggestive of bedrooms and love – a shoe, a pillow, a drinking glass. Next, from the opposite direction, a man crawls on his belly under the runner. As he emerges, he reaches mightily for the rose. Ah! – the seductive power of romance!

The next section continues the theme of seduction (and attendant frustration) through the clever device of the dancers (five men) moving behind a wall in which sections have been cut out like windows of a building. Constantly moving, the dancers are visible only partially, but the windows allow us nevertheless very suggestive glimpses of the men interacting with women’ s hands – dressing, touching, undressing, touching, done with great variety and exactness of movement, all done with verve and energy.

An amusing tour de force followed, in which the men inflate and deflate like balloons, over and over and in various combinations and sequences, while making appropriate hissing sounds (much to the audience’s delight). In the final scene, one of the men plucks the rose from that vase from the opening scene, but before he can enjoy a sniff, he’ s dumped on by an overwhelming cascade of roses falling from above. Was this a symbol
of the world’ s romantic possibilities just being too overwhelming for these poor men? Not sure, but it was comical and visually fun to watch, as was the entire piece.

The evening closed with a lovely revival of Luna Negra founder Eduardo Vilaro’s “ Deshár Alhát” (Leave Sunday). The full-company work explores the traditions, music and culture of the Sephardic Jews who settled in Latin America, through traditional songs and prayers sung and recited by contemporary Sephardic vocalist Stefani Valadez. Dressed in shades of rose and purple, each dancer beautifully expressed the feelings of loss and pain inherent in the music.

Saturday’s performance preceded the company’s second annual gala, and it was a celebration for the company in many ways, notably its first success under its promising new artistic director. Though seven of the 12 dancers are in their first season with Luna Negra and one is an apprentice, it is an obviously very talented company. As they gain more experience as an ensemble, we can expect even more exciting performances ahead.

For more on Luna Negra, visit http://www.lunanegra.org/