Double Edge Dance floats the wildcards

We knew next to nothing about the upcoming Double Edge Dance program at CPT’s Dance Works so we jumped at a chance to see a preview showing. What we found was a virtual faculty concert from a grab bag of teachers at Ohio colleges and universities.

Double-Edge was founded in 1993 by choreographer / dancer Kora Radella and saxophonist / composer Ross Feller. This program includes performance by Emily Lawrence and choreography by Julie Brody, both teachers of dance at Kenyon College where Radella also teaches. Performer Kimberly Karpanty, whose work we already knew from Travesty Dance Group, teaches dance at Kent State University.

Two wild card additions to this mix are local Lisa K. Lock, whose multi-media explorations of avant-garde ballet so impressed us at last year’s Black Box and Ingenuity Fest, and Chris Seibert, Education Director at CPT.

The concert, which seems to run about an hour plus intermission (plus Lock’s performance, which was not available for preview) is a string of duets and solos approximately 5 to 10 minutes each.

The solos we found most engaging were the 2 performed by Seibert and choreographed by Radella. Both mixtures of text and movement that rise to crescendos, they draw on Radella’s work with the elderly and Seibert’s background in, apparently, acting rather than dance. “Nerve C(h)ord” takes a close look at handshakes in general and then recounts stories of 2 of Radella’s elderly clients, one of whom was an elderly stroke victim with whom she developed an extensive repertoire of handshakes.

Seibert’s other solo, “Sit Stool Silent Shout,” begins with an extended passage of verbiage. Is it gibberish or an unknown language? A monologue or a dialogue? As the verbal escalates to the physical Seibert bounds around the performance space and over the stool she once sat on. Both solos stood out because of Seibert’s mental focus and her mastery of the emotional components of her speech and movement assignments.

Comparing and contrasting the program’s 2 duets may help to illuminate the subtle distinctions that this program is built around. “Amiss,” performed by Lawrence and Radella, seeks – according to its program note -- to suggest a musical resonance between the 2 dancers. In “Some Nerve” Karpanty and Radella strive against each other; as Karpanty puts it, “there’s more flow and more weight in theirs than in ours.”

Adding immeasurably to the program is what Feller describes as his “sliced and diced musique concrete,” a mix of sampled cello music and saxophone sounds which give tone and texture to the choreography. In one piece, “Misfire / Rewire,” he provides a distinctly rhythmic background. “That’s my roots,” Feller explains. “Back in high school I was into rock and jazz.” In “Open Improvisation,” Feller and Radella improvise live together onstage, he on saxophone and she dancing. Their easy rapport speaks to their marriage with two young sons.

At CPT’s Levin Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave. Friday, April 10 thru Saturday, April 12 at 7:30PM and Sunday, April 13 at 3PM. Tickets by phone at 631-2727 ext 501, or in person at the box office http://www.cptonline.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributors Elsa Johnson and Victor Lucas vicnelsaATearthlink.net
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