Austinist Performance Review: Dialogues from American Repertory Ensemble

When your roster of artists includes dancers from the Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre, musicians from the Tosca String Quartet, and two Artistic Directors that are already rising stars in their respective disciplines, your work has to meet some seriously high expectations. After seeing Dialogues, American Repertory Ensemble’s first performance event – a highly professional, intelligent, inventive and entertaining evening of music and dance – we think ARE lives up to the hype.

The evening was a grab bag of classical performance – from the traditional, ballet of George Balanchine, to the more modern, emotionally expressive ballet of David Justin (ARE Artistic Director of Dance). While the repertory work the company performed was well-executed, the most exciting moments of the evening were the company’s original work.

A particularly notable piece is Justin’s Solemn Opus: The Journey of Lost and Found. Justin’s highly specific, dazzlingly intricate movement highlighted the amazing ability of the dancers he had to work with (Daniela Deloe, Jennifer Goodman, Aara Krumpe, Kathi Martuza and Christine Winkler). Accompanied beautifully by the Tosca String Quartet, the audience was focused with rapt attention – entertained by the athletic movement and fully engaged with the emotional journey. Originally choreographed on students, this work was performed at the Kennedy Center last May, and has been accepted to perform at the International Conference on Dance later this year. It’s no wonder – the work is truly a triumph.

Also of note is Rob Deemer’s composition. Deemer arranged and conducted much of the music that was performed live throughout the course of the evening, but his …I To My Friends – a piece for solo violin – was especially impressive. Though quiet, contemplative and occasionally somber, the music still maintains a steady journey, keeping the attention of the listener through a consistent emotional connection. Leigh Mahoney was both bold and compassionate in playing Friends, finding the necessary peaks and troughs in a full, well-placed performance.

When the evening had shortcomings, it was when ideas didn’t seem entirely developed. For Epitaph, for instance, Deemer has written a score inspired by Luc Sante’s The Unknown Solider – a collection of short statements by imaginary characters recalling their own deaths. This score is played live as Deemer recites the text – all the while subtly interacting with movement choreographed by Justin. The individual pieces – dance, acting, music – are all good, and the piece – simply by nature of its many facets – is entertaining, but never quite comes together. With further investigation, the work has the potential to feel truly overwhelming, instead of like three interesting – but mostly separate – performances that are coincidentally occurring on the same stage.

But, criticism aside, this is an overwhelmingly successful debut from American Repertory Ensemble. As the company continues to grow, we can only hope that they perform as frequently as possible.

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