PREVIEW: JAEMA JOY BERRY'S "THE WAY WE DANCED 'TIL THREE"
2010-08-12 1:07:50 PM
By Sid Smith
Young, up-and-coming choreographers are the life blood of dance, and Chicago's increasingly sturdy dance movement suffers no shortage.
Even some of the more important names in recent years--Alejandro Cerrudo, resident choreographer at Hubbard Street Chicago, and Thodos Dance Chicago arrivistes Jessica Miller Tomlinson and Jackie Stewart, both winners of the annual "The A.W.A.R.D. Show"--could still be said to be in the early years of their careers.
Another novice, who graduated from Northwestern University in 2008, is Michigan-bred Jaema Joy Berry, just 24. Her work impressed me greatly with its style and promise when on view a while back at Links Hall, and she's back this weekend with what she says is her most ambitious undertaking so far. "The Way We Danced 'Til Three" plays Aug. 13-15 in the Fasseas White Box Theatre of the Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls at 1535 N. Dayton St.
The title is a lyric from "They Can't Take That Away From Me," a song classic by George and Ira Gershwin, whose music scores the 75-minute piece.
"I've always been a fan of the Gershwin brothers," Berry says. "Even as a kid, those songs were among my favorites. As I got older, what drew me to them is that not only are they standards, but they lend themselves to so many different interpretations. Their writing opens itself up to that."
She's referring both to the many styles of vocals and instrumentals the Gershwins accommodate, but also to the layered meaning embedded in the songs. "They can be sunny, happy and cheery, but they can have a dark tinge, depending on who's performing them," she notes. "There are a lot of emotional connections that don't strictly come from the music itself."
That relates perfectly to the choreographer's task in exploring emotions and themes with ambiguity and complexity. "If you're dealing in dance with modern love and romantic relationships, there are so many ups and downs, so many perspectives to grapple with," Berry says. "The music helps me out choreographically that way."
That pursuit of variability, of subtle differences and distinctions, may be why Berry's piece--somewhat ambitious in using 13 dancers, herself included--features mostly excerpts from Gershwin songs and from a wide variety of interpreters at that. Only two songs are used in their entirety--the familiar classic "Someone to Watch Over Me" and the more obscure "Beginner's Luck," written for the great film classic "Shall We Dance?"--and some of the selections are purely instrumental.
Berry describes her work overall as modern choreography, "with some classical things added." But, given the Gershwins' pop appeal, "The Way We Danced" boasts what could be described as hints of tap. "I did a lot of tap dancing growing up," in Traverse City, she says, where she also trained in ballet and jazz beginning at ages 5 and 8 respectively, adding modern by age 13. "Even at Northwestern, I was elected to run the 'TONIK Tap' student tap company. There's not actual tapping in this piece. It's not allowed at the venue. But it affects how I choreograph different steps rhythmically. There's a little bit of Broadway and jazz sprinkled in, more a flavor in contrast to my modern movements."
Berry may well be a case study in emerging choreographers of our day in that she combines a bit of practicality with her artistic pursuit. She obtained an engineering degree from Northwestern in addition to her dance training and actually worked here as an engineer for Accenture, the global consulting firm, before taking a leave of absence in May. Her field of expertise is a mouthful: "a supply chain analyst for manufacturing and retail companies," is how she puts it. Accenture's willingness to let her take a break to devote time to dance may be something of a signpost of how to pursue the arts in these troubled times. Meanwhile, her engineering background may actually give her a somewhat special vision.
"As a way of thinking and solving problems, and in honing spatial awareness, I do think engineering study is useful to me in my work," she says. "Even musicality is all about numbers.
"I tend to be pretty abstract," she adds of her work overall. "I love storytelling, but it isn't what I tend to do. I always try to have dancers move abstractly, but with a human touch. I want every dancer to let their personality come out. The last thing I'd want is for the work to be robotic."
With the Gershwin brothers at your back, that's probably not a worry.
