The Star Ledger<br/>
Troupe flies on the wings of Dove<br/>
Friday, October 13, 2006<br/>
BY ROBERT JOHNSON<br/><br/>

This weekend, Complexions Contemporary Ballet will remind dance lovers how much
was lost when choreographer Ulysses Dove died of AIDS in 1996 at age 49.<br/><br/>
As the centerpiece of its program at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark,
the Manhattan troupe will revive "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven," a poignant yet
joyful masterwork in which Dove celebrates the passionate, unbreakable connections that
people make with one another during their fleeting time on Earth.<br/><br/>
The engagement also will feature a premiere commissioned by NJPAC and
choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, co-director of Complexions, with international dance
star Desmond Richardson. Called "Hissy Fits," this light-hearted new work for five
couples will open a mixed bill that also features "Red," an aggressive dance that is part of
a trilogy exploring the symbolism of the colors in the American flag.<br/><br/>
The revival of "Dancing on the Front Porch" has a special meaning for Rhoden and
Richardson, who worked with Dove as he prepared to set the piece on the Royal Swedish
Ballet, where it had its premiere in 1992.<br/><br/>
"Desmond and I were part of the creation," Rhoden says, explaining that much of the
ballet's second section, "Friendship," was choreographed on their bodies.<br/><br/>
Seen last week in rehearsal, this male duet revealed an amazing sequence of figures
composed of complementary parts. By leaning against his companion, for instance, a
dancer completes a stunning choreographic tableau.<br/><br/>
Rhoden and Richardson danced other works by Dove at different times in their careers.
"Because of our relationship with Ulysses, and because of the number of works that we
performed, we can pretty much stage any of his ballets," Rhoden says. They decided to
revive "Dancing on the Front Porch" because, although PBS telecast the work in 1995 as
part of a program called "Two By Dove," no American company has danced the piece
before.<br/><br/>
All three artists were associated with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and
"Dancing on the Front Porch" was inspired, in part, by the death of Ailey, who was
Dove's mentor and gave him his first choreographic assignment. Dove went on to enjoy
great success in Europe. His talent was extinguished at a moment when his career showed
limitless promise.<br/><br/>
Set to music by Arvo PŠrt, "Dancing on the Front Porch" is in four segments: "Love,"
"Friendship," "Loss" and "Letting Go."<br/><br/>In the third movement, women dancing on pointe represent the angels who come to
usher the dying man's soul into heaven. "The piece has an emotional undertow," says
Rhoden, although Dove ends the ballet on a note of consolation. "The soul is complete
because it was loved," Rhoden explains. "That was his interpretation of that fourth
movement."<br/><br/>
Because he made the work for a classical ballet company, "Dancing on the Front Porch"
channels energy differently from other Dove pieces like "Episodes," "Vespers" or "Urban
Folk Dance," which the Ailey company performs.<br/><br/>
"He was able to use their classical line and sculpt it into these beautiful images that are
almost like the Pieta," Rhoden says. "In a lot of his other works, it's more about the
dynamic and the visceral quality of the movement, and rhythm. This piece has energy,
but it's harnessed in the middle of their bodies, in their core.<br/><br/>
"The simplicity and the through-line are very, very powerful."