Dance Preview
BalletX is rehearsing for its summer run, opening Wednesday, at the Wilma Theater. In one corner, dancers try on shoes, speaking softly so as not to disturb the duet across the room, under the choreographer’s eye.
By Merilyn Jackson
FOR THE INQUIRER
It's a privilege to observe a dance rehearsal. After a while, you're not noticed. You become like that fly on the wall — the wall of a studio at the University of the Arts, where BalletX is rehearsing for its summer run, opening Wednesday, at the Wilma Theater. In one corner, dancers try on shoes, speaking softly so as not to disturb the duet across the room, under the choreographer's eye.
A tall, lanky dancer, Richard Villaverde, has just banged his nose into the barre while doing pull-ups. He sits out his duet with the velvety Francesca Forcella, who begins dancing it a bit self-consciously, pantomiming his absence broadly. A little embarrassed? Possibly. But the mirror in front of her demands perfection, and she obeys. Next, the redheaded Daniel Mayo solos jauntily to a Tom Waits flavored song. Mostly, the dancers just step it all out during the three-hour rehearsal, saving themselves for the performance, hoping not to sustain an injury beforehand. Villaverde stretches his calves on the slant board and leaves the studio.
They are rehearsing an unusual program of three works by one choreographer, Adam Hougland, fresh from his successful world premiere, Ask Me, that he set on San Francisco's Smuin Ballet in May. His work will be familiar to BalletX audiences: Two dances previously premiered by the company, Risk of Flight (2007) and Mashup (2012), will be on the program.
Hougland is a much-in-demand dance maker who spends more of his time in the air these days than he did when he was onstage. The 38-year-old flits between jobs as principle choreographer for the Louisville Ballet, resident choreographer for Cincinnati Ballet and artist in residence at the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Texas-born, he makes his home in Bristol, England, and flew to Philadelphia to rehearse the new work commissioned by BalletX, When We're Alone.
Neither flies nor wallflowers, Christine Cox, BalletX's co-founder and its artistic and executive director, and Tara Keating, associate artistic director, sit in on the rehearsal with laptops and pads, taking notes. Each had roles in Hougland's previous works; Risk of Flight marked Cox's final performance, she notes wistfully. They will tutor the new performers in their previous roles.
The premier of Mashup, a big, madcap comedy, was a memorable night, with Keating featured as a whip-slinging dominatrix. It was set to music by the parody band Big Daddy, and the group's cofounders, "Lightnin'" Bob Wayne and Tom "Bubba" Lee, will fly in for opening night to mill around with the sure-to-be sellout crowd.
A 1999 Juilliard grad, Hougland studied there with Philadelphia-based former Martha Graham dancer Jeanne Ruddy, and went on to dance with the José Limon and Lar Lubovitch companies. His first choreography while still a student won the Hector Zaraspe Prize, propelling him into an earlier-than-usual retirement from dance.
At rehearsal, Hougland and his assistant mark off an imaginary rug with blue masking tape, within which the ethereal Chloe Felesina and mischievous Edgar Anido will dance. "You two imagine your own rug," Hougland says to Gary W. Jeter II and Caili Quan, off to the side shadowing their moves as understudies.
They are working on When We're Alone, with music by Philadelphia-area songwriter Chris Kasper, who will play selections from his 2013 album Bagabones live on the Wilma stage.
At a lunch break, Hougland talks about how he approached creating a new work. "It's different every time," he says. "I'm mostly a music-influenced choreographer. So, I'm on Spotify all the time. With this new work with Chris, I didn't know his music, but I asked the company to send me music from a local singer/songwriter, so they compiled some options and emailed me a list of artists that I listened to online. And there was so much great music here. It's amazing."
He continues: "Chris's music had a pace that I thought would fit nicely with my movement vocabulary. I liked his lyrics and the softness of it; there aren't a lot of instruments fighting for attention. It's about everything that we do every day. He's a romantic, and I think I am, too. So, I approached him, and he agreed to play live for all the performances, and he suggested he could make my selections faster or slower, shorter or longer.
"I listened to it a lot and really got it in my body, until I felt like it had kinda seeped in, and then put it away for a while. As I got closer to working on the project, I didn't want to be sick of it. I don't really prepare any movement prior to seeing the dancers, because I don't want them to try to dance like my body. That's limiting them. It's about making them feel special. I ask, 'Oh. what would you do there?' And if it doesn't work I just say, 'Not that,' and we try something else."
The Limon and Lubovitch companies are very specific choreographers whose movement styles are easily identified. Hougland left after only a short time with each. "Yes, I didn't want to keep dancing with one choreographer because you become too much like them. It messes you up when you are trying to do your own stuff."
The break over, the dancers take their places to rehearse Risk of Flight. Composer/cellist Zoe Keating's music explodes from the speakers. They are all leaning forward, walking in a crouch across the studio, hands knifing the air in front as if to clear a path. Hougland nods approval.
The Wilma Theater
265 S. Broad St., Philadelphia
Box Office: 215-546-7824
July 8-10 8:00PM, July 11, 2:00PM & 8:00PM
July 12, 2:00PM & 7:00PM