Dance Review

NextMove at the Prince: New era for Dance in Philly

By Merilyn Jackson

For The Inquirer

A new era for dance swept into Philadelphia with the opening night Wednesday of NextMove at Chestnut Street's Prince Theater. After a 32-year run at Annenberg's Dance Celebration, Randy Swartz brings Dance Affiliates in its new incarnation, NextMove, back to Center City where it began decades ago. An important venue change for him and Philadelphia, it concentrates more dance downtown than ever before presenting eight companies in its first year at the Prince.

For this inaugural show, Swartz brought back a matchless American dance company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Founded in 1994 by Ailey alums Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, the interracial company made its Philadelphia debut in 2003. The incomparable Richardson is partially retired. Rhoden programmed seven of his works for this run.

He opened with Ballad Unto… set to J.S. Bach music for solo instruments. Tulsa Ballet gave it its world premiere last month, and Rhoden since tweaked it for his own company for this Philadelphia premiere. A 20-some minute tinny section solo harpsichord section didn't offer enough complexity for the 14 dancers running on and off stage with frenetically blurring speed. With multiple combinations from solos to seven couples dancing in synch, the piece only had some lift-off once the piano solo began. In fall earth tones, the bare-chested men and the women en pointe formed patterns as dizzying as leaves swirling in a backing wind, then settled into calmer movements as if the wind had died down. A difficult section where the women leaned back with arms locked around the back of the men's necks and the men's hands cradling the women's buttocks as they swung them out in circles was polished with precision and not too fast to miss.

Gone, to an Odetta song, showed off three of the company's male dancers, Kelly Marsh IV, Greg Blackmon, and Timothy Stickney, as they found consolation in brotherhood. To a Prince song, Terk Lewis Waters (who pulled much of the weight in Ballad,) gave a too-careful reading of the original god-like Richardson Solo to bring it to the boil. Hoping he turns up the heat as the week goes on.

It was the crowded finale, a world premiere to Metallica, that fueled the company's power and fanned its fire. In metallic (what else?) costumes by Christine Durch, the full company of 16 strutted out in successive waves. With one little wink at line dancing, Rhoden's choreography resisted references to club moves, staying classy and sassy with right arms upraised in graceful flourishes in tours and arabesques. Jennie Begley, YoungSil Kim, and the lissome Ashley Nicole Mayeux shone sleekly. Marsh repeated an eccentric walk dragging his toes up and over, giving the program a needed sliver of humor.