The 2015 death of Paul Christiano affected so many parts of Chicago’s dance community, but few companies were hit harder than Nomi Dance Company, where Christiano was a dancer and trusted advisor to Artistic Director Laura Kariotis. While Nomi’s production last fall showed some signs of this loss, the company’s spring show, Reminiscence (a one-nighter May 14 at the Athenaeum), demonstrated strength, resilience, and growth. How fitting that the program was dedicated to Christiano, a man whose strength and resilience were continually challenged.
Each of the four pieces on the program, including three premieres created by guest choreographers, explores themes of life, love, and loss, though with very different results. “Le Fil de la Vie” opened the program, a 2010 creation by Robert J. Priore whose music plays with Afro-Caribbean rhythms against French language vocals, hinting at an interconnectedness of peoples and cultures not necessarily by force. Jared B. Moore's backlit color-changing panels compliment this theme, echoed by several instances in which the choreography sets the group apart from a single dancer, before inevitably bringing her into the fold.
Todd Rhoades’ “Genesis” and Lizzie MacKenzie’s “I Saw Her First” point more directly to Christiano’s life. In “Genesis,” the company (10 women and a single man, apprentice Tyler Nowotnik) appears in gym shorts and brightly colored tops, noodling in and out of creative cartwheels accompanied by eerie sounds of children’s voices. MacKenzie’s effort is a tender tribute of pure, unadulterated dancing, driven by a series of gestures. Leaders and followers emerge, creating wavy bits of unison to great effect. Coincidentally, Rhoades’ and MacKenzie’s works both take a lot of time on the floor, usually winding up in a seated position with legs extended out front, a hand or two reaching up, a position of vulnerability, submission.
And then there is Paula Frasz’s “Drama Queens.” Where the other three dances are soft, subtle, and sentimental, Frasz is having none of that. “Drama Queens” features dancer Sarah Ford as a cross between Queen Elizabeth and the Queen of Hearts; the curtain rises on her surrounded by plush red drapery, a Mother Ginger sized skirt (that delightfully returns periodically throughout the piece), and a schmaltzy Handel score. The piece follows Ford’s ridiculous pursuit, and then rejection, and then pursuit, and then rejection, of Tyler Nowotnik, whose love interest is often intercepted by an equally goofy gaggle of ladies in waiting. Apart from his athleticism and strong, technical dancing, Christiano had a witty sense of humor; "Drama Queens" channels this sillier side. It’s one thing to do a silly dance, but Frasz’s attention to detail, complemented by costumer Jeremy Floyd’s Elizabethan ruffs, pettipants and bustled chiffon skirts (or, in Nowotnik’s case, puffy breeches and floppy hat) makes "Drama Queens" a win.
This is a different Nomi than the one we saw last fall – sure, the dancers are the same, but the strong, polished dancing, inspired choreography, and exquisite lighting by Jared B. Moore put forward a new image for the nine-year-old company. As they move forward from a tragic loss, Nomi forges ahead into a promising second decade of dancing.