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The Martha's Vineyard Times

The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
May 26 - June 1, 2005 Edition
Web Comments - Email Submissions

Dance
May 26, 2005

There is no new Dance story this week.

Dancing in the light
April 28, 2005


By Julian Wise


Roberta Kirn and Margaret Knight work on a dance piece for "Lightness and Dark." Photos by JJ Gonson


Dancers rehearse at the Kelly Peters dance studio in Vineyard Haven.


(From left) Laura Sargent Hall, Anna Luckey, and Roberta Kirn rehearse for this weekend's dance concert in Chilmark.
Dancer/choreographer Anna Luckey paces the floor at the Kelly Peters Studio in Vineyard Haven, surveying the four dancers in front of her.

“Remember the energy and the connection,” she says. “Don't anticipate.... Sustain the moves where they're supposed to be sustained.”

It's five days before the debut of “Lightness and Dark,” the show she's presenting with Laura Sargent Hall at the Chilmark Community Center this weekend, and the mood in the studio is one of deliberate calm. The four dancers - Ms. Sargent Hall, Margaret Knight, Bonnie Alexander, and Roberta Kirn - are practicing Ms. Luckey's original piece, “Sketching Intimacy.”

Against the backdrop of a languid rock instrumental by the band Pavement, the four dancers walk in random, atomized arcs before coalescing into pairs and engaging in a series of movements where dancers melt into each other's arms. The movements are a blend of surrender and support as dancers sway and fall into each other. Ms. Kirn gently lifts and spins Ms. Sargent Hall while Ms. Alexander and Ms. Knight hold each other's hands and lean back in perfect equilibrium.

Somber to whimsical

“Lightness and Dark” is a collection of seven original pieces by Ms. Luckey and Ms. Sargent Hall. Three of the pieces are new, while four are older works created between 1994 and 2003. In addition to choreographing the pieces, Ms. Luckey and Ms. Sargent Hall will dance alongside six women (Roberta Kirn, Sara Ahren, Emily Sims, Bonnie Alexander, Nora Laudani, and Margaret Knight).

The seven pieces run the spectrum from somber to whimsical. “Quick Eyes Gone Under,” by Ms. Luckey, involves an unusual costume design in which dancers appear mummified under bound fabric as they move to a Philip Glass Score. “Witnessed,” a new piece by Ms. Sargent Hall, features seven dancers moving with both chaotic and lyrical energy to a Roger Zahab composition. “Gone Fishing,” by Ms. Sargent Hall, is a light duet between Ms. Hall and Ms. Luckey involving stick poles and a kiddie pool, while “Hazy Daze” by Ms. Luckey uses the music of Portishead to create a sultry, hazy atmosphere where a trio of dancers pass through edgy, slightly skewed movements. “Watcher's Journal” is a solo piece by Ms. Luckey set to Moby's “The Sky Shudders and the Rain Falls.” It conveys the sensation of voyeurism in an anonymous urban landscape. Ms. Sargent Hall's “Bounce” blends grace and absurdity as five dancers move with balls attached to their bodies, ending the piece by bouncing on the floor to Herb Alpert's lively music.

Gentle ease

Ms. Sargent Hall and Ms. Luckey have been collaborating on creative projects since 1996. In the past year they've formed Kaleidoscope Dance with Jill Bernstein, in which they offer instruction in ballet, modern, and jazz. “Lightness and Dark” presented itself as a suitable outlet for their creative energies.

“It's felt nice and doable to do a show in the off- season,” Ms. Luckey says. “There isn't much that goes on in the off-season dance-wise.”

The sense of gentle ease at the rehearsals has been consistent during the past three months of preparation. Dancer Bonnie Alexander says that for her, the most positive aspect of the experience has been working collaboratively in a spirit of friendship.

“It's a joyful thing,” she says. “It's not a tense process like a lot of performances. When we're together we're happy and laughing most of the time.”

Even in the face of logistical hurdles (the choreographers can't get inside the Chilmark Community Center for setup until the day before the performance and there are still technical challenges with lighting and sound that haven't been figured out), the two remain serene.

“Anna and I take things as they come and don't get too caught up in them,” says Ms. Sargent Hall. “It will be what it is. You have a couple of days of craziness, and then you have the fun of performance.”

“This process hasn't felt stressful,” Ms. Luckey says. “We've all managed to stay in the space of goodness of it and not been overtaken by the perfectionism and stress over details that can take over a show. It's really about the enjoyment of our experience.”

“Lightness and Dark,” at Chilmark Community Center. April 29, 30 at 8 pm, and May 1, 4 pm. $5 suggested donation. Reservations. 508-627-9503.

Julian Wise is a frequent contributor to The Times, specializing in music, film, and the performing arts.
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