Published on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com)<br/>
Diversity is at the core of Complexions<br/>

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By Jan Gaillard<br/>
Correspondent<br/><br/>

Any attempt to put Complexions Contemporary Ballet into a mainstream mold would break the mold. Its beauty lies in diversity.
Complexions, which is promoted as America's original multicultural dance company, brings its many-faceted program to Virginia Beach on Friday.<br/>
Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, co-directors, founded the company in Manhattan in 1994 to bring artists from varying disciplines together to achieve new heights of creativity.<br/><br/>

The result has been an eye-popping, hard-to-pin-down genre that combines lyricism, athleticism, experience and technical training.
The most obvious diversity within the group comes from its rainbow of dancers from all corners of the world, including Holland, America, Moscow and Canada.<br/><br/>

"The most unique thing about the company is not only that we are multicultural, but that we are diverse in every aspect," said Rhoden, who was a principal dancer for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, along with Richards. "The dancers are not just multicultural but multigenerational, as they range in age from 19 to the late 30s. We look for different body types as well, different shapes and different sizes. They are all classically trained, too, but they bring different dance backgrounds into the mix, like street dance or jazz."<br/><br/>

To accommodate the wide range of styles and abilities, diversity in music is another norm for Complexions, Rhoden said.<br/><br/>

"We've got everything from Chopin to Marvin Gaye, and contemporary ballet for sure. The dancers are strong, and the eclectic mix produces a real fusion between the pieces and performers."<br/><br/>

Each work is a dynamic statement set to music, such as "Chapters," a piece about 20-something life in a big city.
"It's danced to all Marvin Gaye, which I always loved, and it's a suite form from song to song, a rooftop party scene," Rhoden said. "It's about relationships, tensions, ideas and making connections."<br/><br/>

Another piece is "Gone," danced by a male trio.
"That's about brotherhood, and the three guys who are together and fighting a battle, about the struggle and the coming together to win," Rhoden said.<br/><br/>

Be it through lyrical, whimsical dances to Chopin, hyper-energetic ballet performed to J.S. Bach or quartets danced to live musical scores, Rhoden and Richardson try to highlight the individual strengths and skills of each company member.<br/><br/>

"I design dances specifically for an individual. We always have new dancers coming in, and we look for that indefinable quality, that certain creative spark. We want them to be able to perform diverse styles, and willing to be stretched beyond their comfort zone."<br/><br/>
 
Jan Gaillard, jangaillard007@yahoo.com<br/>