Complexions Contemporary Ballet Presents SNATCHED BACK FROM THE EDGES and LOVE ROCKS Review — Muscled Movement

Complexions Contemporary Ballet Breaks the Mold of Traditional Ballet

Don’t conjure an image of a swan ensemble swimming on a lake.  This is off-beat and every move seems to communicate, , at least to this writer, a world out of kilter, capturing the zeitgeist of recent years.  It starts with the costumes— one leg bare and on the other pants to ankle.  A studied off-balance in both costumes and choreography, it is a movement time capsule of our recent years roiling with pandemic, cries for racial reckoning, and unending gun violence.

Super-Athletes

The distinct moves of the dancers in both this first act opener and in the concluding Love Acts, set to the music of Lenny Kravits, underline what is so obvious about the Complexions Contemporary Ballet dancers, especially the male dancers. These are super-athletes, with the type of toned bodies one only expects to see in Olympic Gold Medal winners or world champion boxers.  Not just six-pack abs, these torsos seem to have added extra muscles to ripple.  Ah-ha!, that is why they seem to not just twirl their partner in pas de deux, but rather roll each other gracefully across their midsections.  It also somewhat explains how dancer Vincenzo di Primo flies in circles in place,  as if he is a twizzler powered by an electric drill.   And, as each opening ensemble huddle in Love Rocks breaks into a spotlight on one soloist it creates a rotating pedestal that each dancer deserves.

In the relatively intimate Joyce Theater space, regular ballet patrons might also be impressed by the smooth  transitions from pointe to flat toe. Somehow, this also lends a feel of Broadway dance moving downtown that will appeal to many.  There isn’t a dancer in the troupe who doesn’t do effortless 180degree splits after a slide.  Like this first time Complexions Contemporary Ballet audience member, you too may find their athleticism astounding.

This performance, dubbed Program A, shares the ensemble’s stint at the Joyce Theater with a second program of four works (see below).  Schedule permitting, if your love of ballet is stoked by grace and athleticism, you may want to see both.

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WHEN:

Thru November 28, 2021

WHERE:

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue (at the corner of 19th Street)
New York, NY 10011.

TICKETS:

$10+

For more information please visi Joyce website.

Photos: Rachel Neville, unless otherwise indicated. All images courtesy of Complexions Contemporary Ballet.