Repertoire
Dating, Love Stories, Couples, Friendship, Psychology, and Dieting through Dramatic and Comedic Dance
“Coupled”
Runtime: 18 minutes
Dancers: four
Musical Style: New Age with custom heartbeats by Adam Shield
Walk through the stories of consecutive couples: one lesbian, one heterosexual, and one in which one mate is transgender. Taken together, they depict universal, magical love regardless of sexism, sexual preference, or gender identity. The piece is uniquely feminist, putting women on equal terms with each other and with men, using equal partnering to do it.
“The Mind’s I”
Runtime: 25 minutes
Dancers: three
Musical style: post-modern jazz
Dancers 1, 2, and 3 personify the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, of Freudian psychology. They emerge and battle within the imaginary world of the human mind. They interact to develop coping styles and defense mechanisms that shape the individual’s behavior. With maturation, the three become more complex and finally learn to coexist adaptively by adulthood.
“Anticipation”
Runtime: 9 minutes
Dancers: one
Musical Style: Afro-Caribbean/classical
A woman gets ready to go out on a first date. She tries to pick out just the right outfit while freaking out occasionally about how afraid she is to meet this stranger. In the end she calms down and triumphantly heads out the door.
“BFF”
Runtime: 13 minutes
Dancers: two
Musical Style: classical
Two women meet and eventually become best friends. As the years roll by, they fight, make up, support each other, fail to support each other, advise each other, let each other down, and so on — it’s a real, imperfect, lasting relationship.
“Ode to Chocolate Cake”
Runtime: 13 (+ interaction) minutes
Dancers: two
Musical Style: Spanish/jazz/classical
A diabetic woman longs to eat the chocolate cake her neighbor brought over. She goes to sleep, still craving it.
In a waking dream the cake comes to life. In various animated forms, it menaces and seduces her. The audience feels her ambivalence, alternately rooting for her to refuse and submit. She ultimately rejects its charms and awakens. By audience vote, she either throws it away or consumes a tiny, carefully-measured portion of the mouthwatering cake.
PHOTO CREDITS: Coupled: Image: Kevin Michael Smith | Dancers: Nadine Azoulay/Melissa L. Tyler
© Kevin Michael Smith The Minds I: Image: Mitchell Straub I Dancers: Abigail Dias/Maria Uriarte
© Mitchell Strau Anticipation: Image: Bill Shirley | Dancer: Kerra Alexander
© Bill Shirley BFF: Image. Maverick Visuals | Dancers: Jacquelyn Buckmaster-Wright/Jessica Hillier
© Davida Rae Ode to Chocolate Cake: Image: Valentino Saas | Dancer: Stephanie Hrabar
© Davida Rae