Lucy Bowen McCauley's "Between Two Worlds"By Nora Fitzgerald
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They leapt out of a larger-than-life Robert Longo painting, or so it appeared: dancers in the business attire of the bothered beleaguered, their anxiety penetrating the stage. "Between Two Worlds," a premiere by Lucy Bowen McCauley performed over the weekend in Arlington's Gunston Theater, seemed a tad hackneyed at first. This is a dance built on the banal tensions of workaday life contrasted with other life -- either actualized or internal -- that we all for. But as in all of Bowen McCauley's dances, there was an astonishing musicality and deep beauty to the movement that revealed artistry. And "Between Two Worlds" takes an emotional turn that creates a rich melancholy feeling. Each of the works takes traditional dance vocabulary and makes it savvy, self-referential and fun. Balletic modern dance can often be forced and annoying, but Bowen McCauley's small pelvic thrusts in "Two-Bas" and manic flailing in the humorous "Allegro Energico" showed a joyous spirit busting out of a classical sensibility. At times, though, the choreography comes across as facile, like the Lady Macbeth-style repetitive hand wringing in "Between Two Worlds" and some of the fly swatting of "Allegro." The choreographer is obviously talented, yet she sometimes takes the easy way out of her compositions. Most affecting are Bowen McCauley's partnering and solo work, both as a dancer and choreographer. They areimmediate, beautifully structured and touching. |