Review: DK's 'All the World's a Stage'
by Rita Kohn
Dance Kaleidoscope's dancers magnificently proved their mettle in the two very different works that made up All the World's a Stage: "Remembrance of Things Past," inspired by - and with spoken lines from - Shakespeare's sonnets, choreographed by Norman Walker and with a commissioned score by Frank Felice; and Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet," with new choreography by David Hochoy.
Felice merged his electro-acoustic style with 17th-century period music, catapulting the poet's "wistful, sarcastic exploding out, showing resentment more than anger" into a score upon which Walker could build his three stories, with a prologue and epilogue.
"Remembrance" opened as the Poet, portrayed by Kenoth Shane Patton, surveyed his lifelong output as a writer, his memory first falling on thoughts of a Young Beloved, toyingly portrayed by Zach Young. From this wistfulness of youth grew the unsettling confrontations with the Dark Lady, passionately portrayed by Liberty Harris, and the Rival Poet, stridently portrayed by Timothy June.
With death, the epilogue showed "his work becomes the monument to his life" as we watched familiar characters circle into the ether of our consciousness. The power of the music and the poetry, and the passion of the company of ten dancers were further enhanced by the swirl of colors of period costumes created by Cheryl Sparks and the subtle lighting by Laura E. Glover suggesting layers of coming to terms with "loves, jealousies and betrayals."
Hochoy's approach was to plumb universal truths within well-known music, interpolating three sets of lovers taking us through a lifetime of emotions in less than an hour. Melanie Schreiber and Brandon Comer shimmered in discovery of each other; Mariel Greenlee and Timothy June radiated breadths of love; Jillian Godwin and Zach Young struck depths of loss. Wearing translucent costumes revealing their bodies, the company of eleven dancers took us into a fully developed world. March 29 to April 1 at Indiana Repertory Theatre.
Related Locations
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Dance Kaleidoscope
- 4603 Clarendon Road, Rm. 32, Indianapolis North (general) Indiana
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317-940-6555
- www.dancekal.org
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