Dakin Shines in ‘Dancing Caprices’

Christine W. Dakin’s inspired performances were the defining moments of “Dancing Caprices,” this weekend’s recital by the Harvard Contemporary Dance Ensemble. Several premieres and a wide variety of other pieces comprised a range of genres, from sensual jazz to classical ballet, during the seven-part performance at the Harvard Dance Center. Overall, each ensemble put in a strong showing at “Dancing Caprices.”

The first piece was a beautiful debut of “Elysium” choreographed by Claudia F. Schreier ’08. The sound of fast-paced violins filled the air as a group of five dancers gracefully performed to the music of Philip Glass.

The resonance between the choreography and the title of the piece culminated towards the end. One of the male dancers evocatively lifted one of the female dancers, who seemed to transcend the boundary between life and death, perhaps returning to Earth after a period in Elysium.

Jodi Leigh Allen, who will teach jazz classes next semester at the Harvard Dance Center, choreographed and costumed “B-Side,” another standout premiere. Dancers clad in black moved against a fiery red background to the artificial sounds of a synthesizer to produce a striking effect. The rigid movements of the men contrasted powerfully and sensually with the women’s grace.

The ballet “Emeralds,” staged by Heather Watts, featured the choreography of George Balanchine and solo performance of Amanda C. Lynch ’10. Lynch danced with remarkable poise, making full use of the stage as a flute and harp played in the background. The dancers’ dark green attire, provided by the Cincinnati Ballet, were reminiscent of childish Halloween costumes and left much to be desired. Still, the piece as a whole was pleasant to watch.

Balanchine’s choreography made its second, less successful appearance of the evening in an excerpt from “Apollo.” Despite the best efforts of the dancers, especially Kevin Shee ’10, the piece failed to hit home. The light music conveyed none of the majesty the Sun God normally evokes, and although Shee did his best with Balanchine’s choreography and Watts’s staging, his Apollo seemed more like a drunken Zeus after a rough-and-tumble night with Hera.

“Lamentation” was the defining piece of the evening. Although the program describes “Lamentation” as a general “dance of sorrows,” soloist Dakin’s interpretation of Martha Graham’s original 1930 choreography and costumes seemed to allude to the struggles of Arab women trapped within the cultural rigidity of the burqa. As she futilely tried to escape a suffocating purple cloth, Dakin stayed within a constrained circle, making clever use of her space to relay what might be a message of political persecution against women in much of the Arab world. Dakin, who also appeared as the primary dancer of “Heretic” and staged that piece as well, was masterful in her ability to convey messages of grief and anguish to the audience through her facial expressions as well as her movements.

The final dance was a premiere of “Caprices,” a set of eight short pieces performed to the music of Niccolo Paganini. Because a different person choreographed almost every work, “Caprices” lacked continuity, and although the dancers performed well, it ultimately felt like eight disparate pieces rather than a successful compilation.

The same was true of “Dancing Caprices” as a whole. The show had a number of strong individual pieces, but it did not successfully relate them to each other. Nevertheless, each of the dancers displayed a wide array of abilities that made the performance an inspired one. Dakin in particular demonstrated a talent for using the medium of dance to effectively evoke emotion and provoke thought about the world in which we live.