Choreographer Stephanie Martinez founded PARA.MAR Dance Theatre in 2020 as an antidote to the pandemic's despair, loss, and isolation. Anthology is a curated selection of six dances by Martinez and some of the best new choreography from the past four years. Martinez's contribution Kiss was originally performed by masked dancers in a parking lot during the height of Covid. The accompanying works in this program explore stories of life and walking through life fearlessly or battling fiercely. Whatever your view of the subject matter, there is beauty and grace in Anthology.
Martinez choreographed Dos Lados, which translates as two sides. Martinez describes the piece as representative of her duality as Mexican and Native American. The PARA.MAR dancers were exquisitely graceful and possessed that unique athleticism that showed discipline and passion for dance. The music for each dance was carefully selected, not just for the rhythm, but also for the feelings evoked. "Luz de Luna" by Chavela Vargas is one of the songs in Dos Lados. That portion featured dancers Chris Bloom and Gabrielle Sprauve. They reject each other and then passionately join flinging themselves at each other. The chemistry of that pas de deux was palpable. The lyrics of "Luz de Luna" are about the effects of moonlight and evoking the darker side of love.
One of the hallmarks of each dance was the sense of balance being precarious on purpose. They would appear to fall to the floor in exhaustion, tip forward or lean back until their feet were almost off the floor, and then take flight. It was electric and riveting to watch. Kiss, also choreographed by Martinez, featured Justin Rapaport and the PARA.MAR ensemble in flight imagery. Rapaport is a deceptively muscular dancer in the style of Gene Kelly. He has the lithe and flexible movements of a "traditional" ballet dancer and then seems to be made of liquid. His physicality has explosive power that I have not seen in many dancers.
I also loved the simplicity of the costumes in every dance particularly Kiss, which was also by Martinez and adapted by costume designer Amanda Gladu. Simple black pants and white tops with a miniature Elizabethan neck ruff! The simplicity and contrast added to the kinetic power of the choreography. Speaking of power, Stay a Little Longer featuring Amanda Sachs was a riveting example of the power of motion seen through the body.
Stay a Little Longer is choreographed by Yin Yue and if you have the earworm of Jackson Browne playing, this would blow that to outer space. The music is an original composition by Daniel Dorobantu. His music is ambient with an infusion of sound waves and powerful percussion. Stay a Little Longer is a solo dance with Sachs mostly in place as if glued to the floor while her body seems electrified and hyper-animated. The lighting design by Kaili Story gives chiaroscuro shadows of deep blue. It was choreography, music, lighting, and Galdu's elegantly flowing costume as a picture-perfect illustration of the elements of performance
Xavier Núñez, Hélène Simoneau, and Jennifer Archibald choreographed riveting dances for Anthology that exhibit their fresh and bold contributions to the dance arts. Núñez is a member of Joffrey Ballet and won the Zach Lazar Fellowship of Winning Works from the Joffrey Dance Academy. Trace of Grace touched on the deeply felt loss of those who remain after a loved one commits suicide. Again, the dancers seem to float and be held up by an unseen energy. It is another beautifully performed piece highlighted byGladu's costume design and Kaily Story. Laura LaRussa and James LaRussa perform a gorgeous pas de deux that is possibly heightened by their marital connection. Their performance had heat and a symbiosis.
Hélène Simoneau choreographed So Soon My Love and it reflects her mission of subverting the traditional and enhancing intimacy, sexuality, and power in ways not often seen in dance performances. So Soon My Love features the PARA.MAR ensemble as a separate and entwining entity. The dancers fold over each other in continuous movement. Jennifer Archibald choreographed the very cool Walk. Again, the sinuous dancing worked in harmony with music by another ambient composer, Raul Pastor Medall aka Rauelsson. The premise behind Walk is rooted in how we tread upon the Earth and how our emotions and anxieties inflict pain. The performance gave a lesson in. how to read more lovingly and to make peace the default emotion.
The only issue I had with Anthology was that it didn't start on time and I wished that the program was briefer. The run time was two hours with a short intermission. PARA.MAR's Anthology played one night only, Friday, September 20, at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. I highly recommend that you attend a performance of PARA.MAR. Dance can be a moving experience on a cellular level with movement, emotion, and music as the grounding elements.
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