The north side’s Atheneaum Theatre is a place most of Chicago’s dancers know and, for better or worse, love. A stalwart of Chicago dance, the eccentricities and opulence of the place are still there, but the Atheneaum shows signs of its age. The house creaks and groans as its audiences hunker down to view a performance. Trip hazards are abundant, sight lines are poor, but somehow I forgive everything when watching shows at “The Ath,” because it has always been there, it has always delivered, it is part of our history, and hopefully part our future.
The same might be said about Hedwig Dances, whose two-night engagement Circling the Square at the Atheneaum highlighted themes centered around geometry. In its 31st season, Hedwig, for this viewer, is a comforting presence in the community. This company is not one to push the envelope, but rather a consistent voice that always puts good dances and good dancers onstage. Perhaps for this reason, we sometimes forget how important this company is.
Circling the Square featured many new dancers, with Hedwig’s roster turning over almost entirely since Victor Alexander and Maray Gutierrez's retirement, but the new dancers mesh seamlessly with veterans Jessie Gutierrez and Edson Cabrera. An appetizer of what is to become a longer project, Artistic Director Jan Bartoszek’s Trio M opened the program. The trio for three of the company’s four men (Zachary Bird, Edson Cabrer, and Jesse Hoisington) used triangles as its inspiration. Three dancers, in any orientation, always make a triangle, but the fourth character in the dance, a red bench, is employed creatively to keep the viewer guessing as to where each triangle begins and ends. Trio M is rugged and macho, showing off the men’s athleticism and partnering skills. Its choreography is merciless; if not for smartly placed pauses it might be considered oversaturated. Not so here – Trio M feels just right in its pacing and stingy in its length. As Bartoszek’s latest project continues, my hope is that Trio M will go on for much longer.
Completing the program is the group work ASCENDance. Premiered in 2013, the dance’s revival is equally impactful as it was the first time, particularly in its beginning and end as sculptor Barbara Cooper’s magnificent origami circle radiates upstage, illuminated by Petra Bachmaier's video and Ken Bowen's lighting, who in this case, truly outdid himself. ASCENDance, far less expeditious than Trio M, goes on a bit longer than it has to, creating a mid-dance malaise in which all that dance washes over the viewer; in particular, a slow-motion section featuring the three men is painfully long, but maybe that is the point. Are this massive, glowing sundial and its accompanying paper accordions representing another realm? A spaceship? A fountain of youth? An altar at which to pray? Ice cream cones? Who knows, and honestly, who cares? It’s just beautiful, as is the luscious phrase work and partnering that unfolds (pun intended) in front of, behind, within, and without Cooper’s sculptures. Knowing that Trio M and ASCENDance are rooted in geometry, the viewer is permitted to let the dancing mean whatever she wants. Bartoszek’s aesthetic is rooted in modern dance, and as the waters continue to muddy around the need or desire to see technical dancing onstage, Circling the Square is a reminder of the importance of classical technique, and its potential for conveying abstract ideas.