It’s been a banner year for Portland’s
Northwest Dance Project, which specializes in dancing work by
international contemporary choreographers. The company won two European
dance competitions and was invited to perform in New York next month.
And in advance of this month’s holiday show, In Good Company, six of its
members learned to work a record player for the first time.
Feel old yet? You will. In Good Company bucks
NWDP’s convention by having six company dancers choreograph work on
each other. The only limit was that pieces had to be set to vinyl from
Executive Director Scott Lewis’ 10,000-record collection, but as
twentysomethings, the dancers weren’t used to records and weren’t sure
where to start: “At one point, [dancer] Andrea Parsons asked me ‘Who’s
Alan Parsons?’ and I realized she was searching by her own last name,”
Lewis said. “I had to teach them how to handle records, how to work a
turntable. One of them asked me, ‘How do you know when one song ends and
another begins?’”
Final
selections include Nina Simone, Steve Martin, Godspeed You! Black
Emperor and Nick Drake. Dancer Lindsey Matheis, who was charged with
coordinating rehearsals and gathering program information, says the
pieces offer variations—grounded floorwork, character dances, breakaway
gestural sequences—on the company’s contemporary balletic vibe.
Thematically, the pieces cover anything from the progression of
relationships (Franco Nieto’s I Love My Baby) to gravity (Andrea
Parson’s The Art of Standing Up) to the gossipy chaos of a houseful of
aunts (Ching Ching Wong’s Tsismis). DJ
Anjali will spin the tunes live during the show; records hung from the
ceiling will decorate the studio and warm wassail will be served.
In Good Company
is a fundraiser for two upcoming tours: As winner of the 2011 Sadler’s
Wells Global Dance Competition, NWDP will perform at London’s Olympic
Arts Festival next June. Before that, the company will dance repertory
works Jan. 7-9 at New York’s FOCUS Dance festival. Neither performance is likely to feature wassail.
SEE IT: In Good Company at Northwest Dance
Project Studio, 833 N Shaver St., nwdanceproject.org. 7:30 pm
Friday-Saturday, Dec. 9-10; 4 pm Sunday, Dec. 11; 7:30 pm
Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 15-17. $30-$40.
