Presented by the Brand Associates Dance Series and curated by producer, choreographer, and teacher Jamie Nichols, who brings in dance companies and performers from across southern California for a chance to showcase their work at The Brand Library and Art Center. Jamie Nichols introduced and spoke about getting a library card to support the library. She also outlined how important it is to support the arts at this point in time when the NEA has been gutted, and so many artistic organizations are struggling. Then, Brand Associates President, Debra Thompson spoke of the music gallery series, lecture series, poetry series, film series and of course, the dance series being offered at there.
The Pennington Dance Group, helmed by Artistic Director John Pennington, turns 25 years old this year. Congratulations were due and the company certainly earned its share presenting a short program at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale. Although the weather had other plans, the dancers took to the stage and performed beautifully for the entirety of the event. This was no easy task as sitting in the front it was noticeable that puddles of water had formed on the stage; even after being wiped down a few times by hand. “The Show must go on!” was never more keenly felt than at this juncture, in this place, with this company of dancers.
Brand Associates Dance Series – John Pennington – Photo by Jamie Nichols.
Brand Library & Art Center is the former home of Glendale pioneer Leslie Coombs Brand. L.C. Brand, often called the “father of Glendale,” built his beloved Miradero estate in 1904, here at the base of the Verdugo Mountains. Its Moorish inspired exterior was modeled after the East India Pavilion at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which Mr. Brand visited. The mansion’s striking towers, minarets, and repeating scalloped arches soon caused locals to nickname it Brand’s Castle. In a generous civic-minded gesture, Brand left his home and adjacent land to the city (of Glendale) for use as a public park and library when he died in 1925. After Mrs. Brand’s death in 1945, the city worked with architect Raymond Jones to convert the building from home to library, which opened for business in 1956. In the conversion, many original interior architectural elements were removed or obscured, including exterior and interior windows and doors, light fixtures, and fireplaces. In 1969, an addition designed by Raymond Jones and Charles Walton was built which included a large art gallery and recital hall. In March 2012, the Brand Library building closed for a highly anticipated renovation, which would restore historic features of the mansion, as well as address seismic, accessibility, and infrastructure issues. Brand Library & Art Center reopened on March 27, 2014 (Website: The Brand Library).
Brand Associates Dance Series – John Pennington Dance Group – Dancer: Paige Amicon – Photo by Jamie Nichols.
The dark clouds and architecture of the enclosed space lent an intimacy to the performance that was lovely. The stage was set outdoors in between the Art Gallery and the Library proper. There were many chairs set up and in spite of that, standing room was full also. There was a large crowd who braved the weather and made the camaraderie of the event more intense. Mr. Pennington gave a welcoming introduction speech outlining the program about to be seen. In many ways this was an excellent educational performance as Pennington spoke between dances explaining the development of a piece or the materials and construction of certain specific costumes. This usually doesn’t happen during a performance in a theater but was of great interest here and made the show more riveting.
Brand Associates Dance Series – John Pennington Dance Group – Photo by Jamie Nichols.
The opening was a reworking of an already established piece, “Warp and Weft,” set to new music for the event. The introduction to the piece was astounding as it was led by singer SkyEee. This was a Counter-Tenor riffing on an elaborate scale acapella. It was mesmerizing and purely tonal. The costumes by Suzane Reed are full bodied skirts with lots of material to work with giving the piece a solemn and sacred air and then turning it into a fashion show to rival the Met Gala. These costumes stood in stark contrast to the architectural lines of the Brand building and the colors popped, outlining the dancers’ movement in hardedge.
Brand Associates Dance Series – John Pennington Dance Group – Photo by Jamie Nichols.
Next was an essay in Improvisation technique and prompts. Here the musician percussionist Aaron Chavez blew us all away with his expert technique utilizing a tambourine. He made it sound like an entire drum set! He was joined by aforementioned SkyEee, who utilized vocal sounds and trills to create an entire background of sung environment. The dancers entered the space and followed the prompts given by Pennington. It wasn’t long before an entire piece of choreography unfolded before our eyes with three or four rules allowing it to happen. In this way we saw that the generation of material for movement can be personal as well as eternal.
Brand Associates Dance Series – John Pennington Dance Group in “Inscape” by Bella Lewitzky – Photo by Jamie Nichols.
There was an older piece shown harkening back to 1976 called “Inscape”. This filled out the program from older to newer material showing an unbroken line of development in choreography from some mentors of Pennington to his own work. This was fascinating to see. The groundbreaking work of some of the older generation in conjunction with the newer made for a history of modern dance made visual. Part of the list was Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, Lester Horton, Bella Lewitzky to John Pennington. This would make an excellent school show as so much ground was covered in an entertaining yet educational way.
The dancers: Paige Amicon, Becky Chang, Danae McWatt, Jeremy Hahn, Andrew Palomares, Edwin Siguenza. All performed admirably in the face of weather conditions. Guest Dancer Celeste Lanuza had a great time using the wet stage to augment her floor slides. She matched the weather with wild abandon. The audience was riveted and hung in until the very end though it actively began to drizzle at that point. The Brand Library is a venue equal to whatever you throw at it, and Pennington threw a lot.
To learn more about the Brand Associates Dance Series, please visit their website.
For more information on Pennington Dance Group, Please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Brand Associates Dance Series – John Pennington Dance Group – Dancer: Andrew Palomares – Photo by Jamie Nichols.
