The recurrence of contemporary American ballet performances leaves an audience nonplused. Rania Khallaf is dazed by the most recent presentation Complexions is the name of the New York-based company that last week presented a contemporary ballet at the Cairo Opera House, and complex indeed was its message. Directed by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, the programme attempted a mix of different styles and cultural hues and created, in a nutshell, an interesting audience experience. The ballet was in two acts; yet the performance seemed merely to be about the perfection of the company's dance movements. The lack of a clear and definite theme for each of the dances may be the reason why some of those who had taken the trouble to fight the Cairo traffic for an evening out found themselves yawning. In contrast to other American modern dance companies who have recently been seen on the Cairo Opera House stage, such as Momix, and Take The Floor by the Qalubi dance company, this performance was mere entertainment. Rhoden and Richardson insist, however, that the company's foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. "Complexions transcends all the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue or culture," they say in the programme statement. "Our dance is a continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world." The first act includes excerpts from the company's repertory spanning the last 15 years. "Since its inception, the company has borne witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally connected than ever before. In other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself." Act One included five dances: Hissy Fits 2006, Gone 2000, Momentary Forever 2007, Moody Booty Blues 2006, and Mercy 2009. The first four dances were performed on a highly professional level, but one could not derive any special theme from them. Mercy, the last dance in the first act, was perhaps more meaningful. The dancers were dressed all in white except for the two principal dancers, who wore red. It expressed, in one way or another, a sharp cry for more freedom for the human race. However, one could easily derive some superficial themes -- such as conflict between man and woman in society. Using African screams along with thematic music highlighted this need to free oneself from any shackles. The transparent gowns, along with speeded up body movements, give the feeling of a slave's scream for mercy. Are we not all slaves to the rapid-speed rhythm of present life? Who is not? The black American dancer Gary Jeter, taking the principal role in Mercy, matchlessly mastered the stage, and his spirit had a good impact on the audience. Before joining Complexions in 2007, Jeter danced with the Eleone Dance Theatre and has also worked with Fernando Bujones and Eddie Shelman. With choreography by Rhoden, the creation and staging of Mercy is supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The group movements and dancing in Mercy are par excellence, but in the other dances there were hints of chaos on stage. One dance covered the whole of the second act. Rise is a 25-minute ballet that starts with one wide spotlight on the bare stage, and with one dancer, who sprints as if in a race. Then the spot becomes two, and then three, and the number of dancers doubles. And then the spots of light become so many intersecting circles. Couples are swinging their bodies to the music, which mostly features the sounds of the 1980s; the music of U2 that has become the anthems of a generation worldwide gave a special boost to the dance and brought the audience into an intimate involvement in the dream world created by the dancers. After a few minutes the stage turned red. Was it an early celebration of Valentine's Day? All the dancers are in red and were dancing with exuberance. With its euphoric physicality and highly energised movement, Rise, also choreographed by Rhoden, presents a rare occurrence for the audience to believe in the power of red. At certain times during the dance one might have experienced the feeling that they were digging a hole in a bare desert, a hole to plant a rose. What a heavenly garden of red roses that might make! And what could the audience do more than to rise up and try to pick a flower from the vast garden. Sometimes it works. And then the joy of the audience comes as no surprise. Complexions is the name of the New York-based company that last week presented a contemporary ballet at the Cairo Opera House, and complex indeed was its message. Directed by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, the programme attempted a mix of different styles and cultural hues and created, in a nutshell, an interesting audience experience. The ballet was in two acts; yet the performance seemed merely to be about the perfection of the company's dance movements. The lack of a clear and definite theme for each of the dances may be the reason why some of those who had taken the trouble to fight the Cairo traffic for an evening out found themselves yawning. In contrast to other American modern dance companies who have recently been seen on the Cairo Opera House stage, such as Momix, and Take The Floor by the Qalubi dance company, this performance was mere entertainment. Rhoden and Richardson insist, however, that the company's foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. "Complexions transcends all the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue or culture," they say in the programme statement. "Our dance is a continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world." The first act includes excerpts from the company's repertory spanning the last 15 years. "Since its inception, the company has borne witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally connected than ever before. In other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself." Act One included five dances: Hissy Fits 2006, Gone 2000, Momentary Forever 2007, Moody Booty Blues 2006, and Mercy 2009. The first four dances were performed on a highly professional level, but one could not derive any special theme from them. Mercy, the last dance in the first act, was perhaps more meaningful. The dancers were dressed all in white except for the two principal dancers, who wore red. It expressed, in one way or another, a sharp cry for more freedom for the human race. However, one could easily derive some superficial themes -- such as conflict between man and woman in society. Using African screams along with thematic music highlighted this need to free oneself from any shackles. The transparent gowns, along with speeded up body movements, give the feeling of a slave's scream for mercy. Are we not all slaves to the rapid-speed rhythm of present life? Who is not? The black American dancer Gary Jeter, taking the principal role in Mercy, matchlessly mastered the stage, and his spirit had a good impact on the audience. Before joining Complexions in 2007, Jeter danced with the Eleone Dance Theatre and has also worked with Fernando Bujones and Eddie Shelman. With choreography by Rhoden, the creation and staging of Mercy is supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The group movements and dancing in Mercy are par excellence, but in the other dances there were hints of chaos on stage. One dance covered the whole of the second act. Rise is a 25-minute ballet that starts with one wide spotlight on the bare stage, and with one dancer, who sprints as if in a race. Then the spot becomes two, and then three, and the number of dancers doubles. And then the spots of light become so many intersecting circles. Couples are swinging their bodies to the music, which mostly features the sounds of the 1980s; the music of U2 that has become the anthems of a generation worldwide gave a special boost to the dance and brought the audience into an intimate involvement in the dream world created by the dancers. After a few minutes the stage turned red. Was it an early celebration of Valentine's Day? All the dancers are in red and were dancing with exuberance. With its euphoric physicality and highly energised movement, Rise, also choreographed by Rhoden, presents a rare occurrence for the audience to believe in the power of red. At certain times during the dance one might have experienced the feeling that they were digging a hole in a bare desert, a hole to plant a rose. What a heavenly garden of red roses that might make! And what could the audience do more than to rise up and try to pick a flower from the vast garden. Sometimes it works. And then the joy of the audience comes as no surprise.
