ICONS Choreographic Institute Showcase 2023 at Atlas

ICONS Choreographic Institute Showcase 

World Premieres by Millicent Sue Parker, Noa Kamiya, Angel V. Ramirez, & Faith Rokowski The Atlas Performing Arts Center Lang Theater 

May 13, 2023 

By Sylvana Christopher, BFA in Dance & Choreography from The Ohio State University, ICONS Graduate* 

Four courageous and bold one-act works premiered at The Atlas Performing Arts Center, driving home statements about breaking up, breaking out, border-crossing/blending and bonding in outer space after the atomic end of our world. Atlas’s Artistic Director and Executive Director Douglas Yeull and ICONS Choreographic Institute Artistic Director Vladimir Angelov cracked open the show with Millicent Parker’s work Tr(us)t before an eager audience of family, friends, choreography buffs, and program alums. 

Tr(us)t opens with a solo performed by Gaby Milazzo who becomes a central figure in the dilemma around whom to trust. Dancers are dressed in sheer burgundy leotards and wrap skirts that highlight their legs. Juggling all the things, a horizontal line of dancers repeatedly scoops upward with alternating arms, shoulder to shoulder. This poignant action relates to Parker’s opening to the audience to trust yourself before trusting others. In the work, tension and strained relations cloud the ability to trust oneself. 

A little while into the piece, Rachel Lawal and Lydia Hill sit upstage center in a symmetrical, seated exchange eye-to-eye. Is this a letter to self? Could Lawal be alluding to the challenges ahead and empowering Hill to stay strong even in the face of heartache and disappointment? Is being trustworthy without anyone to trust still a win?

A super eye-catching duet by Alex McGriff and Victoria Davis portrays the emotionally heated work inherent when one realizes that it is impossible to fully trust another and achieve different things out of the relationship. Consequently, they are not mano-y-mano. 

Parker found ways of depicting both harmony and disquiet in the same piece. At times her score was deafening in the house. One must balance the need for amplified sound onstage with the right amount of volume for the house. Parker’s choice to omit projections allowed the audience to truly focus on the performance of her choreography, the dance artists, and their relationships. 

Within the institute, Angelov illuminates the works of internationally acclaimed choreographers and their various methodologies. This part of the program helps young choreographers understand the evolution of the art form and its purpose, practice, and place in society. Chain-linked elbows and hands create the illusion of a snake. A vertical line of dancers gives contactless hugs from the backside. Lawal, Davis and McGriff huddle around Milazzo, each intrusively trying to get a piece of her.

The chain-link is reminiscent of a piece by Doug Varone. Second visual felt like a nod to a scene from the documentary Piña about iconic choreographer Piña Bausch’s work (a must see). Multiple forms of weight-sharing and contact with one another were exciting to watch and made the ensemble that much more palatable as a group of dancers who did indeed trust each other. 

Noa Kamiya’s The Perfect Doll tackles the shift in expectations placed on girls in Japan versus America. Tussling between conformity and individuality, the choreographer includes in her program a Japanese saying that “the nail that sticks out is hammered down”. The opening piece of music is an original piece by Kamiya herself. 

Striking projections frame this piece. They include a beautiful Shoji screen, the Japanese character for harmony, and orbs of colored light similar to scenes from the film Taxi Driver. Dancers push and pull against the status quo. We see the ensemble hovering over another dancer, manipulating their shape which alludes to societal pressures. Each dancer must be perfect, proper, and not too showy. Forced restraint breeds discomfort and a need to break free.

Simple and elegant ombre costumes with a kimono sleeve designed by Anne Liberman show a contemporary version of traditional dress. The uniformity of boxy arms and bladed hands no longer serve them. These perfect dolls want to give up their stiff robotic ways. 

Gradually, the ensemble transforms to a flow state with sequential initiations and free limbs that slash expectations. Each dancer sheds her kimono-style tops to reveal different colored leotards (slightly predictable). Supple spines curl and lengthen, rebounding from the floor with great strength and ease. Clearly, this group of seven dancers are well-trained and musically driven with impeccable timing.

In the finale, the musical selection “Wind Song” by Emile Mosseri and Han Ye-ri rhythmically uplifts the mood and uses the tops as props. The dancers veer downstage one-by-one, threading through the arms of the person behind them and gorgeously unfurling as if embracing and rejecting tradition. 

Can Kamiya play more with finding and celebrating imperfections and still highlight differences amongst her cast members? Can one’s liberation from conformity pave the way for others? What does the imperfect doll look like or does she prefer not to be a doll at all? 

Renacimiento by Angel V. Ramirez uncovers the travels and travails of leaving home in Central America for a better life in the United States. “I am one of those so-called immigrants” is a line from Camilo Montoya’s Original Poem that confronts the stigma of immigration to a so-called united country. To get an idea of Montoya’s work check out this video of “Seguimos Pa’ lante” . 

In his introduction of the choreographer, Angelov shares that Ramirez’s work reminds him of his own journey immigrating from Bulgaria to America with grit and grace to succeed. 

Ramirez’s beautiful music choices include marimba and guitar instrumentation, making his environments lush and expansive. “New York – Mad Rush” by Phillip Glass played by Thibault Cauvin and Adélaïde Ferrière really caught my attention. Unique gestures of the hands, ensemble lifts, and gorgeous extensions marked the work.

Ramirez’s art projections create natural texture and terrain, giving context to the work. Projected photographs of car rides with softened edges look like paintings. His humanizing choreography and imagery reflect a certain optimism. Bodies are strewn across the floor reminding us of the perils of border-crossing. The hand-gripping on a barbed wire represents the thousands of people who died en route to America. A red suitcase with a red silky button-down shirt evokes the passion and purpose immigrants carry. 

Watchers positioned in a semi-circle around soloist Victoria Davis appear underutilized. Is their inaction and judgy stance forcing Davis to adapt with zero assistance? Is this an all-too-common narrative that immigrants in America face? Is the amount of federal and state aid immigrants can receive slowly changing and improving?

Undoubtedly, dance in America is that much richer with the influence of immigrants belonging to all generations. In this portrait of rebirth, Davis exudes a sense of triumph against the odds. The courage to tell one’s story through dance is both empowering and inspirational. Can self-portraits and reflections on society move the needle further beyond equality to equity? 

Renascimiento’s earthy sunset-colored costumes designed by Liberman highlight the dancers’ physiques. Beautiful scenes move the main character through a dark place into jubilation and light. A striking urgency and newness are conveyed in the music selection “Air Waltz” by Oliver Davis for the section Confused but intrigued. Certainly, the fact that this angel on earth was able to carve out a new life with exultation is truly awesome. 

they had light inside by Faith Rokowski was not only about the end of the world but also about the possibility of our humanity existing in perpetuity. This ensemble of twelve dancers costumed in hues of earthy greens by Liberman portrays nuclear proliferation, atomic explosions, and the

extinction of our human race. Rokowski’s alternation of apocalyptic, utopian, and romantic imagery is cinematic and engaging. Allusions bound to the infinite depths of outer space where we will disintegrate into stardust, leaving a resume of accomplishments and failures behind. 

I visited Micronesia with my mother at a young age and learned about the atomic bomb testing on the atoll of Bikini in the Marshall Islands. For a lifetime, I was left pondering the photographs of mushroom clouds and the prospect of nuclear winter killing islanders and the Pacific Ocean’s delicate sea life for miles around. 

A trio with Julia Conte, Sarah Moore, and Rachel Timmerman are keeping each other company dancing in an abandoned midwest town. The Grahamesque photograph contrasts the gaiety of their frolicking with the bleakness of the surroundings. Together, these three will make the best of what is left. Perhaps they are sisters playing a game unaware of impending doom. 

Chynna Golding falls trustingly off the edge of the table into the arms of others and then a black scarf is placed on top of her head signifying that she is the first to succumb. The table consequently becomes a place for dancers to stargaze and hide underneath. Eventually, each of the deceased are marked with this black scarf atop their heads and we are left wondering how in the world we would cope with the loss of all of our loved ones.

A lovers’ duet between Sarah Coady and Meghan Letizia is set amidst dewy sunlit grass. Warm embraces and partnering reveal an unwavering bond. In the final moment of the piece, these lovers stand atop the table cementing their union. Will their memories stand the test of time? How will we be reviewed by extraterrestrial life? 

Rokowski’s vignettes toggle between the lovers and the end of the world. These clear breaks allow the viewer to focus on the interpersonal within the big picture. Love in the 21st century must grapple with global cataclysms. This unfettered love imprints light and faith in humanity.

In a do-or-die survival of the fittest scene called borders unmanned starring Rebecca Scruggs and Jack Kilka we see a slowly turning projection of a rusty deserted carnival swing in an overgrown wasteland. These Chernobyl Exclusion Zones set the stage for conflict. Scruggs confronts us with a snarl and a battle with Kilka ensues. The Amazonite takes the head of Kilka while he is down, sharply jerks it sideways, then drags him offstage. These two dancers exhibit a powerful dynamic. Kilka performs several exciting flips and dives into the floor throughout the piece.

Towards the end of the work, we see the dancers getting sucked into a black hole of sorts. Has their cosmic timeline run out? Will we see our loved ones again in the nether? they had light inside, though grim, touched on an eternal love while leaving the future ponderous. Can we inspire generations to lobby to put an end to nuclear testing once and for all and slow down the need to send things to space like in the film “Don’t Look Up” for fear that we may be tampering with the balance of time and space? Great work and look forward to seeing more from this choreographer. 

As a fellow graduate of the institute, I encourage these artists to explore presenting, share opportunities, cast a wide net, and deliver their messages. Kudos to them and the robust body of dancers that helped these four choreographers realize their visions.

All photos by Michele Egan (michelegan.com) except for photo #9, 12, 13/13 (#9, 12, 13 are by Christopher at sylvanachristopher.org) 

Copyright © by Sylvana Christopher, *Graduate and Alumna of Instruments of Choreography as Objective Norms (ICONS) Systematic Method for Artistic Research and Training (SMART) 2021