NorthJeresy.com<br/>
Choreographing love, loss, violence<br/>
Friday, October 13, 2006<br/>
By EVELYN SHIH<br/>
STAFF WRITER<br/><br/>

WHAT: Complexions Contemporary Ballet.<br/>
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday.<br/>
WHERE: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark; 888-466-5722 or www.njpac.org.<br/>
HOW MUCH: $38.<br/>
At the mention of ballet, most of us picture classically trained ballerinas, slim and supple, with their hair tightened in prim buns.<br/>
But Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, co-artistic directors of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, beg to differ.<br/>
"Why not represent the world of many in dance?" Rhoden said. "We want the people who come to our
performances to be able to see themselves onstage: not just physically, but on a level where they can
relate personally."<br/>
Rhoden and Richardson founded Complexions in 1994 with the idea that integrating dancers of
different racial, ethnic and technical backgrounds could change the way general audiences view dance.
They met as dancers in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which was known for its pioneering
work in African-American and contemporary dance, but the two collaborators wanted to push the
envelope even further. A one-time project turned into a company, and 12 years later, Complexions is
going strong.<br/>
The Complexions program Saturday and Sunday kicks off NJPAC's Alternate Routes season. The
program will celebrate human relationships with three pieces that marry the company's past and future.<br/>
Heaven's porch<br/>
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something ... red?<br/>
A U.S. premiere of the 1994 "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven" by the late choreographer
Ulysses Dove will take the stage with the world premiere of "Hissy Fits," by Rhoden. At the end of the
evening, the company will revisit Rhoden's 2002 work, "Red/The Force," an excerpt from a longer
ballet titled "Anthem."<br/>
Rhoden said he is excited to direct the first performance of "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven" by
an American company. Dove, who died in 1996 and worked with Alvin Ailey, was a mentor and friend
to both Complexions artistic directors.<br/>
The male duet in the piece was choreographed using Rhoden and Richardson as "guinea pigs" after
Ailey company rehearsals, Rhoden said. Within the larger framework of the piece, which explores love
and loss on different levels, the duet is a tribute to friendship.<br/>
Into the abyss<br/>
"It's about how nothing, not even death, can come between two people," said Rhoden. The duet is
based on the relationship between Dove and Ailey, who died in 1989. Dove choreographed the entire
suite after a year in which 13 of his loved ones died.<br/>
In the current incarnation, dancer Clifford Williams turns his pain inward in fluid contractions, closing
in on himself until Matthew Prescott physically snaps him out of it. As the dance proceeds, Prescott has
his share of breathtaking falls, but always arrives in time to pull Williams back from the abyss. He
returns time and time again to his position behind Williams, just touching his shoulders as they dance
in tandem. When a trinity of severe ballerinas toe their way onstage, however, he is doomed to lose his
friend to death.<br/>
A score by Estonian composer Arvo Part magnifies the narrative and emotional quality of Dove's
choreography.<br/>
Passionate duet<br/>
Rhoden's "Hissy Fits" takes a page from Dove's masterful choreography. Less frenetic than many
Complexions originals, the piece -- still being created two weeks before the performance -- explores
the relationship between lovers with the duet format. Rhoden sets a contemporary dance language to
the music of J.S. Bach, creating an atmosphere at once impassioned and austere.<br/>
And the stories Rhoden tells are like viewing a relationship in time-lapse photography, each desire and
its denial flowing seamlessly into the next. Limbs intertwine and untangle; violent kicks turn gentle.<br/>
The audience may find much less comfort in "Red/The Force," which NJPAC curator Baraka Sele
hand-picked for its critical angle on America after the 9/11 tragedy. Choreographed as a reaction to the
terrorist attacks, "Red" is part of a trilogy -- "Red/The Force," "White/The Clearing" and "Blue/The
Game" -- that deconstructs America and what it represents. "Red" is the anger, passion and violence in
that formula.<br/>
"It makes a statement, but it's open," Rhoden said regarding its pacifist message. "It's a humanist's point
of view, more than political. Basically we need to examine, take a good look at ourselves."<br/>