Ribbons & relationships

Dance

Rita Kohn

George Salines in Dance Kaleidoscope's 'Silk Road'

Silk Road
Dance Kaleidoscope
Indiana Repertory Theatre
April 6-9

Dance Kaleidoscope closed its season with one of its strongest programs, April 6-9 at Indiana Repertory Theatre. Silk Road delivers a powerful social, cultural and personal history of connections with China. The company is dancing at its finest and again is proving its ability to adapt to the loss of a member and not miss a beat. (H. Bradley Cope broke his left foot last week). Production values earn a superlative WOW. Laura E. Glover’s lighting, Cheryl Sparks’ costumes and the choreographers’ choices of music seamlessly partner with the dancers on three levels: evoking place, extending story and plumbing subtext.

A distance of four years and a different set of dancers introduce new nuances while stirring memories of a familiar work. George Salinas particularly brings a layer of aching vulnerability to “China Boy.” Through remembrance of his mother, David Hochoy shares her tenderness and strength. Through the lineage of umbilical cord comes the knotting of family into the essence of selfhood. Long gone from the soil of China, its memory remains. Salinas brings himself into that disconnect, into that wistful look back and resolute turn forward.

The toddlers of 2002 now are seasoned dancers in the spotlight of Cynthia Pratt’s “Red Thread.” DK dancers become a microcosm of individuals and couples who fulfill through adoption “the longings of the heart.” Onto the stage, amidst the strands of life, parents enter as dancers exit. The children shimmer with excitement, preparing to leap into their extended arms. It’s a throat-catching moment.

Norman Walker’s “Orchids from the Cave” invokes the essence of the Confucian worldview. Humanity’s polarities of yin and yang are inherent in the educative and moral functions of music and ritual. Dance, in the categories of wen (civil) and wu (military). Here unwinds the story of a warrior’s reclamation of his heart. Kenoth Shane Patton’s transformation is a study of transparency.

Clothing and cloth are the essence of Chinese culture. In “China Boy” putting on the jacket and in “Orchids from the Cave” taking off the warrior regalia signify the evolution of selfhood. In “Red Thread” and “Writing on the Great Wall,” strips of cloth transcribe the human story. Throughout, DK dancers meticulously manipulate fabric in the aesthetics of Chinese dance. As in the Tang Dynasty (618-906), when Chinese tradition absorbed Western ideas, Silk Road’s choreography merges East with West. On the bodies of DK dancers we experience the centuries-old skills of dancing as the harmony of body and mind.

With “Writing on the Great Wall,” Hochoy continues his affinity with script. DK dancers become brushes, moving to signify the genre — poetry, adventure, history, drama, philosophy, humor. The scroll of story is endless and circular.
Those claiming a disconnect with dance should attend Silk Road. The movement, gestures and symbolism are patently clear. Log on to www.dancekal.org for more information.