Review:  Squeeze - Psophonia Dance Company 

Nichelle Strzepek

Barnevelder Theatre

June 26, 2009

All you need is love... right?

Perhaps, but in their new work, Squeeze, which was presented at Barnevelder last weekend, Psophonia Dance Company articulates we are under pressure to "need" a lot more. A big house, more stuff, the latest, greatest, and... a ShamWow? No wait, that's the rug that is being yanked out from under our feet as poor spending habits finally catch up with us.

The show has visual and auditory appeal. Black, white, and red all over, the costuming pops with graphic prints and bright solids. Lighting designer, Jaime Melendez supports this motif with splashes of warm hues, choosing appropriate moments to cast deep shadows with stark white lighting. And the score, featuring everything from Beatles tunes to Soujla Boy and mixed by Jeremiah DiMatteo, is equally playful and fetching.

During portions of Squeeze, co-directors/choreographers Sophia Torres and Sonia Noriega are gently wagging their fingers but in a non-discriminatory way toward themselves, the powers that be, the audience. In a swipe at creditors, the evening's ringmaster/narrator played by Toni Valle, describes the convoluted conditions upon which the audience can secure the return of their money, should they wish to do so following the performance.

But, Squeeze isn't all about finances. There's a smidgen of sensuality as the dancers parade onto and across the stage in a Vegasy opener. And, a touch of technology -- the audience is invited to text or, for the tragically hip, "tweet" during a brief intermission. Also there's a "healthy" dose of paranoia as a few sneezes and the threat of swinish germs undermine the dancers' ability to connect with one another.

These big ideas, however, seem to appear and then fizzle as metaphors. There's the tantalizing proposition that we've been invited to a three-ring circus, but the references disappear by Act II. There is an underutilized set piece shaped like a house. There are tomatoes begging to be squashed that remain untouched until the finale, where they meet their fate without even a squish. Torres and Noriega are tossing concepts at the audience without follow through. By the conclusion, I am not certain if they are commenting or simply caving to a deficit in attention by squeezing this many hot topics into a one-hour show.

Guest artist, Valle, well-known for her own dancing and choreography is more actor than dancer in Squeeze. She delivers convincing monologues, her strong stage presence a plus. The theatrics, however, dominate the production, sometimes eclipsing the choreography. Exceptions include a clever section in which the dancers partner orange bathmats, sliding them from place to place with their hands, feet, and other body parts, as well as the aforementioned sneeze segment. A moment, featuring  dancer Stephanie Beall, also stands out. She is revealed on a stool, pulls an imaginary chord, alters her position in darkness, and is revealed again. It is simple but effective. Torres, herself, is a welcome addition in the small ensemble. She carves broad strokes with her movement, distinctive when she appears as a soloist, but blending well with performers, Scarlett Barnes, Stephanie Beall, Naphtali  Beyleveld, and Tapley Whaley otherwise.

On opening night more than one group of late-arriving patrons was allowed to cross in front of the performers throughout the evening, even with only 5 minutes remaining in the production. This is disappointing because one would hope that on the lips of audience members, as they filter from the theatre, would be the performance itself.
Though Squeeze is inconsistent in shape and direction, it succeeds as an entertaining portrayal of current events. It does not enlighten with answers, nor does it cause deep introspection or questioning. Rather, it holds up a mirror. I recognized the image and walked away nodding.

Nichelle Strzepek is a dance artist, instructor, and writer. She balances her role as a mom with performing and writing about dance education topics at her blog, DanceAdvantage.net. Nichelle's coverage of local dance news and events also appears at her online portfolio, Nichelle Dances.


Nichelle

http://nichelledances.wordpress.com

Dance Advantage
http://danceadvantage.net

Giving students, teachers, and parents an edge in dance education

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Travesty Dance Group/Houston performs Traffic

at Dance/USA conference in Downtown Houston

THE POWER OF MOVEMENT SHOWCASES 11 OF HOUSTON’S BEST DANCE COMPANIES

Performance in conjunction with the 2009 annual DANCE/USA Conference

Houston, TX – On Friday, June 5, 2009, eleven of the best dance companies in Houston present The Power of Movement. The spectacular, one night-only event brings together Dance of Asian America, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, Hope Stone Dance Company, Houston Ballet, Houston Metropolitan Dance Company Psophonia Dance Company, Revolve Dance Company, Sandra Organ Dance Company, Suchu Dance, Travesty Dance Group, and Urban Souls Dance Company. This unique dance event takes place at 8:00 pm on June 5, 2009 at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets may be purchased by calling 713 227 2787 or by visiting www.houstonballet.org  

The Power of Movement will be held in conjunction with Dance USA’s annual conference to be held in Houston June 3-6. Established in 1982 as the national service organization for the professional dance field, Dance/USA is a membership organization currently serving over 400 ballet, modern, ethnic, jazz, and tap companies, dance service and presenting organizations, individuals, and related organizations. Dance/USA sustains and advances professional dance by addressing the needs, concerns, and interests of dance artists, administrators, and organizations. By providing services and national leadership, Dance/USA enhances the infrastructure for dance creation, education, and performance.

The Power of Movement is generously sponsored by Houston Endowment, City of Houston Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department, Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Downtown Alliance, Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Discovery Green and Methodist Center for Performing Arts Medicine at The Methodist Hospital.

This performance offers audiences the unique opportunity to view the best of Houston dance, all in one location. Audiences will get a taste of the powerful performances and wide range of genres Houston has to offer.

Dance of Asian America (DAA) will perform Thousand Hands Goddess with choreography by Zhang Ji Gang. DAA has a two-fold mission: to promote and preserve the rich cultural heritage of Chinese dance through authentic and contemporary Chinese dance. DAA also provides young dancers with professional dance training in various dance styles and performance opportunities, developing them into versatile dancers while helping them pursue their future dance endeavors. DAA is the only non-profit organization in Texas dedicated to developing cultural awareness and ethnic preservation through the art of Chinese dance. DAA benefits over 30,000 people each year including low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities, children of all ages and hospitalized patients through three free high caliber shows at Miller Outdoor Theatre and numerous cultural enrichment programs and performances throughout the greater Houston area.

Dominic Walsh, a former principal dancer with Houston Ballet, launched Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in 2002. The company is dedicated to the creation and presentation of innovative contemporary ballet, and its world-class repertoire features works by Walsh and such iconic choreographers as Mauro Bigonzetti, Jiří Kylián and Matthew Bourne. In addition to producing a full season of programs in Houston, the company tours nationally and internationally. Set to music by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, the company will perform an excerpt from Walsh’s I Napoletani.

Hope Stone Dance Company, a dance and theater ensemble made up of professional dancers & performers, founded in 1997 is an organization with emphasis on presentation of authentic dance, music, theater and continuing arts outreach to children, especially those at risk. It is a not-for-profit arts organization whose goal is to present performance art in some of its varied ways, shapes, and forms at hand and feet, through the vibrant positive message of dance, music and theater. The company will perform director Jane Weiner’s Companion Planting IV to music by Peter Jones.

Houston Ballet is America's fourth largest ballet company. The professional company was founded in 1969 and has been hailed by The New York Times as "one of the nation's best ballet companies." Under the leadership of artistic director Stanton Welch, the company features 55 dancers and has a $20 million annual budget. Over the last decade, Houston Ballet has toured to London, New York, Moscow, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Montreal and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. With its extensive international touring, Houston Ballet has emerged as one of the city's most effective international ambassadors. At The Power of Movement, Houston Ballet will perform Hans van Manen’s Solo, a tour-de-force for three male dancers, set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Since its founding in 1995, the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company has presented contemporary dance that explodes in movement, color and emotion. The company mixes the most edgy styles of dance and music with the classical into a kaleidoscope of energy all audiences enjoy. Seasoned choreographers such as Robert Battle, Salim Gauwloos and Eddy Ocampo alongside new, young artists like Brock Clawson and Joe Celej enjoy working with this strong and versatile company, creating works that dance aficionados of all levels love to watch. Tidal Intersections, choreographed by Katarzyna Skarpetowska, will be performed by Houston Metropolitan Dance company to music by Philip Glass.

Revolve Dance Company was established in 2004 by the seven owners of NHPA® dance studio as a means to present new works in the community with the intentions of motivation, inspiration, and education in and through the art of dance. Under the direction of Amy Cain and Dawn Dippel, both dancers with Dominic Walsh Dance Theater for three seasons, Revolve has presented several full-length concerts in The Woodlands and Houston, including collaborations with Ad Deum Dance Company of Houston, the Mayan Kingz of Las Vegas, and The Wes Veldink Movement of New York. This ten-member dance company has also performed in such notable Houston events as Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, Dance Houston, Dance of Asian America, the JCC’s Choreographers X 6 and Triple Focus, and Big Range Dance Festival. Revolve Dance Company is the proud recipient of the 2007 Dance Houston Award. With music by Ani Difranco, this company will perform Philosophy, choreographed by Amy Cain, Dawn Dippel and Wes Veldink.

Founded in 1997 by Houston Ballet’s first African American ballerina, Sandra Organ Dance Company (SODC) is a unique contemporary ballet ensemble utilizing the art to educate, enrich and attract diverse audiences. SODC blends dance, music and the spoken word in a narrative with “dances you can get.” Sandra Organ Solis’s To the Thawing Wind, set to music by Mark O'Connor, Edward Meyer and Metamorphes, will be performed by the company at The Power of Movement. SODC explores the stories of people of color in its annual Black History Month and “Si Se Puede” concerts, and produces James Sewell’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with American Sign Language as its holiday favorite. The company has presented over 135 dance concerts to 35,000 people, in 20 venues, with 25 collaborators.

Called “a kinetic marvel” by the Houston Chronicle, Suchu Dance is a Houston-based company now in its tenth season, lead by founder/artistic director Jennifer Wood and managing director Louie Saletan. A 2002 Rencontres Choreographiques semi-finalist praised by dance writer Molly Glentzer as “the most inventive choreographer working in Houston today,” Wood has conceptualized and mounted 19 original evening-length works and 75 shorter works since 1994. In 2008 Suchu Dance toured to perform on the ‘Inside/Out’ series at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and at Emory University. Suchu Dance will perform an excerpt from the evening-length production entitled How to Absorb the Colorama Format with choreography by Jennifer Wood and set to “Idle Chatter” by Paul Lansky and “Evergreen Vampo” by The High Llamas.

Travesty Dance Group will be performing Traffic, choreographed by Karen Stokes and set to drumming music. Travesty Dance Group was formed in 1997 to produce the creative projects of its founding members, Kimberly Karpanty, Rebecca Malcolm-Naib, and Karen Stokes. The company has home bases in three cities: Houston, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. TDG/Houston operates as a season-based company, performing original choreography by Stokes. In the last 12 months, TDG/Houston has performed in the Uniquely Houston Series and Discovery Series at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts, at Buffalo Bayou Arts Festival, at Discovery Green, at Big Range Dance Festival in Houston, with Musiqa at Zilkha Hall, with Aura at the University of Houston, at the Plays & Players Theater in Philadelphia, and at Weathervane Theater in Ohio.

Urban Souls, a Houston based dance company, believes in bridging gaps between the worlds of urban life and dance theater. The company embodies exceptional artistry and a profound sense of spirituality. Urban Souls presents a wide spectrum of multicultural works that are both socially and visually appealing to all audiences. Urban Souls Dance Company is dedicated to the preservation and creation of historical and contemporary dances which celebrate cultural themes that educate, empower, and entertain. USDC is the recipient of The Dance Houston Award (2004), Dance Houston’s Best Artistic Achievement (2005-06) and Best Choreography and Audience Pick (2008). Urban Souls will perform Across the Waters to music from the motion picture soundtrack "Hotel Rwanda" with choreography by Harrison Guy & Walter Hull.

To kick off the Dance USA conference, Houstonians and conference-goers alike can enjoy Dance Houston, Inside Out, a free performance showcasing Houston’s dance community at 7:30 pm on June 3 at Discovery Green. Dance Houston, Inside Out will offer various genres of dance from several Houston dance companies including: Ad Deum Dance Company, Exclamation Dance Company, Houston Ballet II, Houston Metropolitan Too, Koumankele African Dance and Drum Ensemble, Mitsi Dance Company, Soniquete Flamenco Dance Company.

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The Times-Picayune Thursday, March 26, 2009

'Sistahood' exhibit returns to its roots

Beaullieu sisters focus on '50s in La.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
By Linda Dautreuil

There is a buzz about a performance launched late last year in Houston that's making its way to New Orleans this spring. "Memoirs of the Sistahood - Chapter One" is coming home to Louisiana.

The performance is the first in a series of collaborative works between sisters Babette Beaullieu, a sculptor and teacher in the St. Tammany Talented Arts Program in Mandeville; Becky Beaullieu Valls, a performer/ choreographer living in Houston; and independent filmmaker Deborah Schildt of Alaska. "Chapter One" focuses on the female archetypes of 1950s Louisiana and the six Beaullieu sisters: Beth, Becky, Babette, Bonnie, Bitsy and Barbara.

Based on the experiences of growing up in a large Catholic family, the series fuses individual artwork created by the artist-sisters with childhood "sense memories," original music and film. Central to the interactive stage setting is Babette Beaullieu's life-size altar boxes of wood and organic materials representing the complex personality patterns of family.

The sculptures appear onstage to house the dance performers and are exhibited after the performance for audience viewing.

Recognized most recently for her exhibition, "Hidden Spaces: Mixed Media Sculpture" at the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge, Babette Beaullieu is known for her use of found materials to create large-scale three-dimensional sculptures and wall reliefs.

She built the six altar boxes for Chapter One with recycled materials found on the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Windows, doors, wood and architectural details came from torn down buildings and trash piles. Beaullieu notes, "I built a box, not really thinking at first which sister I was trying to represent. Halfway through the construction, I began to sense a specific energy, how it felt to be with that sister. I could hear our conversations. I think of these altar boxes as spiritual totems that are also universal archetypes."

When Chapter One premiered in December 2007 at Diverse Works Art Space in Houston, critics may have expected a sentimental memory play, but the visual and kinetic storytelling drew rave reviews as new material rather than simply reminiscences of the past.

The Contemporary Arts Center will present "Memoirs of the Sistahood, Chapter One," with interactive sculptures by Mandeville visual artist and teacher Babette Beaullieu April 4 at 8 p.m., onstage at 900 Camp St., New Orleans.

Tickets for the general public are $20, $18 for students, and $15 for seniors. For more information, visit www.cacno.org.
Published on NOLA.com Wednesday, March 25, 2009 1:22 p.m.
Published in The Times-Picayune Thursday, March 26, 2009

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