Studio 6 at Westside Ballet has seen its share of studio performances. However, now it is an official Black Box space with programing of its own. Taking advantage of that distinction and intimate venue was the Kenneth Walker Dance Project. The space lends itself to a Cabaret-like atmosphere where the performers are seen close-up and personal. This can be a good thing and a bad thing depending on your performers, the choreography, and the direction. An intimate venue is a double-edged sword that can be exciting but is also revealing. That being said, there was a great deal to applaud in the KWDP. He uses interesting music and works his choreography out in intricate patterns and relationships. He has a great mix of dancers in age and skill set. He is not afraid to explore an idea to see where it leads.
Kenneth Walker Dance Project – Skylar Burson, Michael Hill, Morgan Davison, Tracy Hill in “Teletype” – Photo by Scott Edwards-Silva.
Kenneth Walker himself opened the evening with a very charming welcome to the audience and a word or two about the show. He mentioned donors and t-shirts and a reception afterwards where wine would be served! He engaged us at once with his easy smile and good-natured personality. He is a 2007 Lester Horton Dance Awards Nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Company for its program, “Sheer Force of Will”. Mr. Walker is currently on the teaching staff at The Wooden Floor and is an adjunct professor of dance at CSU, Dominguez Hills where he teaches Ballet and Dance Appreciation. What I found interesting is his ‘Alternate Biography’ on his website that illuminates how he felt like an outsider to ballet as he was studying the artform and then also as he began to choreograph in it. He speaks of his ‘otherness’ and how it led him to work extra hard to make students of all diverse backgrounds to ‘understand the science and art of ballet’. This is a laudable ambition.
Kenneth Walker Dance Project – Olivia Hamilton, Morgan Davison, Victoria Manning in “Ease of Euphoria” – Photo by Scott Edwards-Silva.
The first piece on the program was titled ”Teletype” and started well as the dancers moved to the sound of a teletype machine. There were classical ballet themes interspersed with gestural movements of typing, telephones, filing papers and sundry other office activities. Unfortunately, the piece was obscure in its development. In the early sections the women were in black and white costumes while the men were in black and grey and mysteriously one female dancer was in a bright purple dress. It stood out like a flare and I could not see any reason for the difference. There was a male duet with lifts, tour jétes and pirouettes and at one point a female comes out of the wings and both men offer their hands to her in greeting, she ignores them and walks around them to shake hands with another female behind the men. This could have been a tacit comment on women in the corporate workforce not trusting men and feeling more comfortable with female colleagues – or not. The teletype corporate atmosphere dissolved into mere patterns of steps until towards the end of the piece the dancers emerge wearing only what looks like underwear in the form of tank tops and tight shorts and I wondered if this was after hours in the personal lives of the corporate climbers? It was unclear.
Another piece, “The Waiting Room,” was set for three women in three chairs…waiting. This was choreographed by Salvatore Aiello and shared the same qualities as Walker’s work. The women were obviously agitated about whatever was waiting for them in the next room. Morgan Davison, Kiara Kinghorn and Laura Mauldin each had a solo showing some form of physical agitation which never quite spilled over to actual fear, or angst, or anger. They each had a turn consoling the other two in comforting tableaux which is as far as it went. There was no denial, resignation, or acceptance of their fates. This could be a stronger piece if those emotional avenues were more fully explored.
Kenneth Walker Dance Project – Michael Hill, Tracy Hill, Skylar Burson in “Teletype” – Photo by Scott Edwards-Silva.
Throughout the many works in the evening, some of which landed better than others, there was a sort of unwritten rule to the performance and execution of the choreography. Not one dancer showed any emotion on their face while they were dancing. I found it very strange that in every piece and even while partnering, the performers demonstrated no emotion, their features remaining neutral and unmoved as if they were not participating in what their bodies were doing or experiencing. I have seen this effect now in a number of ‘contemporary’ dance companies and can only guess at its meaning or source. I suppose this is what some consider to be a Balanchine tribute and one of his signature concerns, but he had many different dancers who displayed great character and individuality in performing. I think it must be a misunderstanding of his technique. It is very much in evidence here that during a great deal of unison work every dancer is staring front with no expression of even being present behind the body that is moving. It is very unsettling. No matter how non-narrative or abstract the piece is, there are still humans performing it, and there are still humans watching it. I understand how personality can overcome some choreography, but then you need to have choreography that stands out visually and kinetically.
Most of the things I saw during the performance could be handled by a rehearsal director with a sharp eye. All of the unison phrases throughout the evening were just a tad bit off in one way or another. One person’s arm was a count behind the others, a turn was begun too soon by another, the heads were not in synch with each other in terms of focus – one person staring straight ahead while another was looking at the soloist in front of them while yet another was looking into the wings. It is not just WHAT you perform, but HOW you perform it that counts. These little glitches are all easily taken care of in the rehearsal room.
Kenneth Walker Dance Project – Dancer: Kathryn Kalamaras – Photo by Scott Edwards-Silva.
The dancers were working very hard in the hot constrained space. I appreciated their effort and attack. I only wish I could have seen more of who they were while dancing. In the last piece of the evening there was a stand-out among the group of dancers Walker assembled for the event. This was Kathryn (Kat) Kalamaras. She blew onstage like a tsunami of joy and exultation at merely being able to perform. She was not mugging, nor did she pull focus by force of will. She was present in her body and the joy of making that body move. She is a performer which is something difficult to teach. Anyone can learn the steps but the lightness in speaking the choreography to the public is harder to accomplish. Interestingly, she had an unfortunate costume as it was a brown sack tied at the waist with a rope and made her look like an extra from a medieval village. And yet, it didn’t matter to her as she was dancing, onstage! She was wonderful to watch, and her excitement was infectious as we had not seen anyone actually enjoy themselves to that degree all night. In the future, I suggest she take some of the rehearsals and spread some of her joie-de-vivre to the other cast members.
I look forward to seeing the Kenneth Walker Dance Project in the future and would love to applaud its growth as well as its sincere heart.
The dancers for the evening were: Andrew Alexander, Amanda Beasley, Skylar Burson, Gia Calhoun, Morgan Davison, Olivia Hamilton, Michael Hill, Tracy Jones, Kathryn Kalamaras, Kiara Kinghorn, Jordon Lewis, Shelby Lawson, Victoria Manning, Laura Mauldin, Rosita Rico, Ashton Titus, Samuel Villareal, Kaylee Watts.
For more information about Kenneth Walker Dance Project, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Morgan Davison, Kiara Kinghorn, and Laura Mauldin in The Waiting Room, choreography by Salvatore Aiello – Photo by Scott Edwards-Silva.
