Inlet Dance educates in collabration with Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Bill Wade, Artistic Director and Founder of Inlet Dance, is first and foremost an educator.  His unique approach to dance, and his role as a choreographer, are clearly evident at his rehearsals.  As an observer, I was quickly swept up between the difference between Wade’s approach and that of the traditional choreographer.  Instead of operating as the total authority and developer of a dance number, as is the pattern of most choreographers, Wade is an advocate of collaboration.

The approach is based on his philosophy of “utilizing the art form of dance to bring about personal development in the lives of individuals through training and mentoring.” He uses “dance as a vehicle to speak creatively about life and the issues we all face.”

Thus, rather than telling his dancers what to do, he has established a format of safety and security where the performers feel free to make suggestions about everything from dance moves, to costumes, to hair styles, and props, in order to allow the group to work toward a final product that is theirs, not his.

It takes a secure person to allow ideas to be questioned and to turn over control to others.  Wade is a model of compassion and purposefulness and creates a safe and probing place for his dancers.  They feel comfortable to make suggestions, solve problems as individuals or in groups, and even disagree.  The rehearsals are classrooms for learning creativity, problem solving, and a systems approach to developing the arts.

Wade founded Inlet after working as an artist in residence for the Cleveland School of the Arts where he founded the award winning YARD—Youth at Risk Dancing.  He was recognized with the Coming Up Taller Award
at the White House by the National Endowment for the Arts and the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities for his efforts. 

Prior to his eleven year CSA residency, Wade served as Artistic Director and dancer with Footpath Dance Company, a more traditional dance organization.

NATURE DISPLAYS, the company’s recent dance concert, was developed in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  It reflects the museums current display, “Nature’s Mating games:  Beyond the Birds and the Bees.”  The exhibition was created with evolutionary biologists and animal behavior experts by the Natural History Museum in London, and offers a fascinating look at animal reproductive behavior.

Like the exhibit, Inlet’s program was a combination of beauty, humor and creativity, which combined selections from the company’s repertory with a display inspired piece.  

Several of the repertory pieces had to be reimagined as one of the company’s lead dancers, Justin Stentz, recently left to pursue a career as a Physician’s Assistant.  This meant incorporating other company members into those roles previously portrayed by Stentz. 

“BALListic” is a delightful piece which finds the blue unitard-dressed dancers bouncing on, and rolling over and under large red balls.  This was an audience favorite.

“DOPPELGANGER,” one of the first pieces developed by Inlet, is a composition which examines “the miracle of gestation, whether the creation of a unique individual, a work of art, or an organization.” As in any act of multi-participants, it requires a perfect balance of the parts to make for a functioning whole.  It’s a display of physical power, with gymnastic and body-controlled movements, which was impressively performed by Taran Brown and Dominic Moore-Dunson.

“WONDROUS BEASTS” uses structure and metaphors to “symbolize the challenges individuals face when disparate characters come together for a time and grow via new challenges and situations.”  The multi-racial and gendered group used agile moves and slow actions to represent the challenges and changes that take place on their life journeys.

“imPAIRed” grew out of an Inlet-Cleveland Sight Center 2003-2004 experience where the company conducted residencies for visually impaired and blind students.  A duet of blindfolded dancers partner in a trust pas de deux.  The compelling dance, performed to haunting music composed by Ryan Lott, was extremely well performed by Joshua Brown and Elizabeth Pollert.

The program concluded with NATURE DISPLAYS, a world premiere. Consisting of strong segments, some weaker interludes, and long pauses for costume changes, the composition is a work in progress.   Effective segments included “Desire,” “RAMbunctious (size matters),” and “Birds in a Field.”  Less successful were “Mouse Connections” and “Frog Tango.”  As a whole, though it was intended to mimic the multi-segments of the museum’s displays, there was a choppy, lack of smooth transitions, and no clear encompassing theme.  This is in contrast to Inlet’s usual clarity of purpose and organization approach.

Inlet can next be seen as part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DANCEWORKS '14, on April 10 -12 at 7:30 at the Gordon Square Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland.

Capsule judgement:  Bill Wade’s INLET DANCE COMPANY uses dance to educate and enlighten.  His proficient and creative dancers, and collaborative approach to performance, makes it one of the most exciting of Cleveland’s dance companies.

A look behind the scenes at Inlet’s marvelous evening of dance

Roy Berko
(Member, Dance Critics Association)

Every once in a while a reviewer has the opportunity to not only see an enthralling dance performance, but to experience it from the inside.  I accomplished both when I not only saw Inlet Dance’s recent evening of dance, but sat in on a rehearsal.

Inlet Dance Theatre’s sold out November 16 performance at the Hanna Theatre consisted of two world premieres. 

The opening number was a ten-minute excerpt from CHAKRA, choreographed by Kapila Palihawadana.  Kapila is a Sri Lankan born dancer/choreographer/founder and artistic director of nATANDA Dance Theatre of Sri Lanka.  He is one of five international artists who are participating in a three-month stay in the area through the Cleveland Foundation’s Creative Fusion International Artist-in-Residence Program.  Kapila has spent his time working with Inlet dancers and engaging in sharing his talents throughout the community.  The culmination of his residency will be the full unveiling of CHAKRA at Cleveland Public Theatre’s Danceworks ‘13. 

CHAKRA, with mood-right lighting by Trad Burns, flowing costumes designed by Kapila, Ivan Leccaroa Correra and Kristin Wade, and an original acoustic drum score by Sean Ellis Hussey, was emotionally involving.  The athletic piece, with strong leaps and powerful interactions, represented a traditional healing ceremony.   The short excerpt insured pleasurable anticipation of the forthcoming staging.

From 2006 through 2008, Inlet Dance participated in the Ohio Arts Council’s International Artist Exchange Program.  Artistic director Bill Wade travelled to Easter Island to select an artist from the island to come to Cleveland.  The next year Akahanga Rapu Tuki came to Cleveland  to teach the Inlet dancers five traditional dances from Rapa Nui.  In 2008 seven Inlet dancers travelled to Easter Island to complete the artist exchange.   They spent two weeks performing, teaching and exploring and forming a “family” with the island residents. 

The results of these exchanges inspired CENTER OF THE EARTH (TE PITO O TE HENUA).  Developed in small segments, the final melding of the parts became public at the Hanna Theatre presentation.  It will be repeated at the International Performing Arts for Youth Conference in Philadelphia during its January session.

The results of the years of effort was obvious to the enthralled audience.  CENTER OF THE EARTH is a tour de force.  The first segment, Hotu Matua, explores the idea of a healthy interdependent community centering on the journey of the people coming to Rapa Nui on canoes.  The water, the waves, the cooperative movements were all vividly apparent. 

Three women and then three men next illustrated the clear gender specific roles and dances of the residents.  Exploring the island left an impression of the physical environment and was illustrated in the fourth segment, Lave Tubes, with the dancers forming visual images of the topography, the needed dexterity to transverse the land, and how cooperation was required to be successful. 

Wind, created by whipping and interweaving with heavy ropes, gave a clear vision of the ever present “voice” in every experience on the island.  It incorporated the history, sense of ritual and the breath of life of the Rapa Nui people.

Underwater World, a metaphor for uniqueness and diversity, unearthed visions of turtles and other underwater sea life.  The ocean is always there, always present in the life of these island people. 

REPRISE was a repeated capsule of the entire program.  It was a reinforcement that illustrated that the work was image based choreography, rather than the traditional dance step based choreography.

I had the privilege of observing a rehearsal of the Hanna program at the Idea Center on PlayhouseSquare.  The marvel of Inlet is its total dedication to collaborative works, in an engaging example of a functional family.  Both Bill Wade, who is a master at working interactively with his dancers, much as he did when he taught at the Cleveland School for the Arts, and Kapila Palihawadana, sought out input and integrated the views and ideas of the dancers.  This technique is not usual in the dance world.  Most commonly, the choreographer develops the movements and implants his ideas on the dancers.  Most often this is done through knowledge of traditional dance vocabulary and historically developed movements.

Since there is no vocabulary for the types of dances being developed for these programs, not only were movements being created, but a vocabulary was developed.  According to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis of communication, if  something has no name it does not exist in any form other than a quick illusion.  To create permanency, and the ability to repeat and perfect the ideas, they needed to be named.  This was evident in the idea development as the interactive dances were created.

It was fascinating to watch how almost fifteen minutes was spent developing the exact hand placements for an instantaneous segment.  Not once did the choreographer tell the dancers what to do.  The dancers suggested, practiced, worked it out, as Wade blended his views with the “family.”  It was a lesson in true cooperative creation and the building of trust.  What a lesson for others to learn of how to create without letting ego and power be the rule of operation.  It was a true lesson on the building of community, an important aspect of not only the motto of the people of Easter Island, but of Wade, himself.

Capsule judgement:  The Inlet Dance Theatre program was an experience that anyone interested in community, healthy family relationships, ethnology and sociology, let alone dance, should experience.  When the program is repeated in other local venues, GO!  This is an absolutely MUST SEE experience!
Next up:  CHAKRA at Cleveland Public Theatre’s Danceworks ’13, April 11-13, 2013.

Cleveland's Groundworks and Inlet Dance

Cleveland’s GROUNDWORKS and INLET DANCE

When, eleven years ago, Cleveland San Jose Ballet, due to poor artistic and financial management, snuck out of town to become the San Jose Ballet, the doomsayers predicted that that was the end of dance as a Cleveland area art form. Nothing was further from the truth.

No, the area has no large ballet company, but that void was replaced by some small, vibrant modern and contemporary dance groups. Included in the list are Verb Ballets, Dancing Wheels, GroundWorks Dance Theater, Ohio Dance Theatre, Greene + Medcalf Movement Project, and Inlet Dance. The latter two just had very different, but outstanding programs, so, not to slight any of the others who will get future coverage, here is a quick view of Groundworks and Inlet.

GROUNDWORKS DANCETHEATER

Founded in 1998, GROUNDWORKS DANCETHEATER is the creative child of David Shimotakahara, who serves as the company’s Artistic Director. The excellent five person company (Felise Bagley Damien Highfield, Gary Lenington, Sarah Perrett and Kathryn Taylor), along with Artistic Associate Amy Miller and Music Director Gustavo Aguilar, have made it their goal to not only create creative and proficient programs, but make the entire Northeastern Ohio area their home.

GROUNDWORKS has no home of its own, but performs in various venues, going to the people, rather than having the people, per se, come to them. Performances have been held at Trinity Cathedral, dancing on a stage erected between the gothic spires, The Akron Ice House, performing in the vast vertical space that once served as an ice block and storage site, Cleveland Public Theatre, in a black box space, and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.

Under the banner, Imagination you can see, the company enters its second decade, having been called “one of Cleveland’s cultural gems,” “one of the country’s leading contemporary dance companies,” “one of the year’s 25 to watch in the dance world,” and, “a company that is setting the standard for small dance ensembles in Northeastern Ohio.”

Beyond performances, the company does education outreach to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, connecting to over 1000 students each year. Outreach and Educational Coordinator Mark Otloski was recognized with the Yaneo 2010 Sunshine Award in recognition of his commitment to arts education in the community.

The company’s next public presentation will be Groundworks at Breen Center on February 3 and 4. The program will include the world premiere of a commissioned work by Ronen Koresh, and Hindsight, Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s homage to Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Breen Center is located at 208 West 30th Street in Cleveland.

INLET DANCE THEATRE

Founded in 2001, Bill Wade’s INLET DANCE THEATRE, operates under the goal of “creating life affirming new work, often pulling our topic based choreography from the communities we serve.” They are also a company without a permanent home, reaching out to the community by performing in schools, parks and dance festivals.

The company works with such community organizations as The Nehemiah Mission, which, based on the biblical Nehemiah who rebuilt Jerusalem, has the purpose of rebuilding the lives and homes of the physically and fiscally challenged of Cleveland by bringing in over 1000 volunteers per year to complete around 100 projects in private homes and churches.

Wade’s company, which has two of the area’s best male dancers (Joshua Brown and Justin Steintz) has fine female company members, Makenzie Clevenger and Elizabeth Pollert, an apprentice, Dominic Moore-Dunson, and six trainees.

Several years ago the company did a dance exchange with the residents of Easter Island (a commonwealth of Chile), one of the most remote islands of the world. The Inlet company traveled to Chile to learn dances and customs of the Rap Anui people and several members of that culture travelled to Cleveland. The local company created a series of dances, which were performed to authentic music and costumes designed to imitate the cultural pattern of the island residents.

Wade’s philosophy embodies a longstanding belief that “dance viewing, training and performing experiences serve as tools to bring about personal growth and development.”

Inlet’s education programming includes teaching dance at The Music Settlement, an annual Summer Dance Intensive, which attracts students from as far away as Central America, and residencies throughout Ohio as part of the Ohio Arts Council’s Artist in Residence Program.

Inlet’s next performance will be at 7 pm on Friday, February 24. Entitled An Intimate Evening with Inlet Dance Theatre, it is a fundraiser to be performed in the third floor ballroom of a South Park Boulevard landmark home. Attendance is limited to 40. For information go to info@shakerartscouncil.org

Yes, dance is alive and well in the Cleveland area.

Inlet Dance/CPT DanceWorkd '11

INLET DANCE THEATRE continues to prosper

Inlet Ballet is in the midst of its tenth season! The past has seen the company perform and educate, their two missions. The recent recipient of financial grants, a new phenomenon for the company, has put Bill Wade’s troupe on strong financial ground, and while other companies entrench due to the nation’s financial situation, Inlet looks to grow.

Their present program, part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks ’11, explores various aspects of human relationships while sharing repertory from their history. They also premiere WATER, the first movement of a four element series based on the personality types developed by Laurie Beth Jones, whose THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS has become a major thought force for Wade.

The evening includes WONDROUS BEASTS, a gymnastics-centered piece in which insect-like creatures, individually and collectively co-existence, serves as “metaphors for informing and inspiring choices for life journeys.” This is one of my favorite company selections.

DREAM OF SLEEP is based on sleep studies by Dr. Kingman Strohl. Bodies move in various sleep states from calm reflection through twitches and nightmarish uncontrolled body reactions to create a fascinating look at what humans do as they slumber.

WAR EFFORT EVES, which was created as a reaction to 911, showcases a USO performer, a Hollywood dancer/actress from the big musicals era and Rosie the Riveter. The performance, the evening’s weakest, lacked unity, intensity and dynamics.

OFFAXIS, an exploration of character, showcased Joshua Brown, one of the area’s finest dancers, as he found himself leaning outside the box of cultural norm. Flowing movements and powerful bodily control were highlights of this well-conceived offering.

MEMORITE highlighted the message, “Human life is valuable,” by focusing on the issues facing the elderly and their care-givers. Ryan Lott’s score, composed of verbal sound bites from interviews and the sounds of life, was a sounding board for looking at Parkinson’s, little old ladies in tennis shoes, pain and loss.

The only new piece on the program, WATER, is a pretty but uninspiring composition. Consisting of lifts, carries, and rolling (like waves), there was a lack of a focal center in the attempt to view the aqua personality type. Hopefully WATER is a work in progress and not a final product as it needs more development.

Capsule judgement: Inlet Dance’s Danceworks 11 program is an excellent introduction to their proficient skills.

Inlet, Verb Ballets

Dance, dance, dance, dance

Roy Berko

(Member, Dance Critics Association)

Over the past few weeks the dance scene in the area has exploded. Four major concerts were scheduled…. Groundworks, Inlet Dance, Verb Ballets and Ohio Dance Theatre were all on stage. Unfortunately, due to the horrific weather, I only got to see two of the programs.

INLET DANCE

Inlet's SURPISING. INSPIRING. COLORFUL!, staged at the Chagrin Falls Performing Arts Center, featured revivals of past programs. The company is blessed with a strong corps. Joshua Brown and Justin Stentz are two of the most talented male dancers in the area. The duo exudes physical power and movement skills. Wisely, the ever-creative choreographer, Bill Wade, builds pieces around his testosterone duo. Inlet's females, Makaela Clark, Mackenzie Clevenger and Elizabeth Pollert are equally proficient. Since the company is an educational as well as performance troop, the regular dancers are often blended with young emerging talents. When this happens, as was obvious in ASCENSION, there is an obvious difference between the quality of the movements between the company members and the students. But with their company mission, this is acceptable.

The highlights of the Chagrin program were: SNOW, which found the dancers twirling, floating, doing smooth lifts and powerful moves, forming visual images of snow falling and moving; A CLOSE SHAVE, which has emerged into a signature piece, was delightful as Brown and Stentz displayed gymnastic moves with power and physical control as they mirrored each other while performing morning rituals. WONDEROUS BEASTS found the dancers transformed into creatures who hopped, jumped and made head thrusts while dressed in Kristin Wade's glorious costumes. The three and five year olds sitting behind me expressed awe and wonder during this segment of the program. IMPAIRED, a piece developed to illustrate life without sight, in which Brown and Mackenzie Clevenger perform the entire number while wearing blindfolds, brought positive audience reactions.

I can only wonder why Wade chose to end the program with BEAUTY IN TENSION, which finds the dancers covered over by stretch material trying to escape from the anxiety ridden times in which we live, thus leaving the audience on a downer, a well-done performance, but a downer just the same, rather than with the cartoon pop art romp BALListic in which the dancers proficiently frolic with huge red exercise balls to the delight of viewers.

VERB BALLETS

Performing before a sold-out house at the Breen Center, Verb Ballets's OPEN YOUR IMAGINATION was an evening of premieres.

Danced to throbbing sounds, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, which was choreographed by Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith, was dedicated to those who have loved and lost but are not forgotten. It featured the cast flipping and vaulting over, sliding on and under three benches while they intertwined in symmetrical and asymmetrical groupings. Unfortunately, the male dancers were not always in sync, which weakened the overall effect.

NOUNEMON MOBILUS, danced to atonal percussion music, found three dancers encased in stretch sacks of material creating visual images. BREATH, choreographed by the talented Terence Greene, featured the entire company, plus students from Greene's classes at the Cleveland School of the Arts. A powerful segment featured Brian Murphy and Terrence Greene. AMBIGIUOUS DRIVES, choreographed by Tommie-Waheed Evans, which featured the wonderful Katie Gnagy, was a fine creation consisting of balletic movements and some compelling lifts.

I believe that Verb Ballets is at a crossroads. The largest of the local dance companies, it continues to attract big audiences, but, if the comments I heard following the latest program are an indication, the sheen is wearing off. The company membership remains stagnant. They have an excellent corps of females dancers. Brian Murphy is the only male dancer who has the finite ability to do both quality solo and corps work. More effort needs to be made to attract proficient males. A quality company cannot continue with dancers who are over the hill, or are not well trained and lacking in experience, or fill in with apprentices. Verb's purpose is not as a training school. It bills itself as Cleveland's National Repertory Dance Company. Yes, proficient male dancers are hard to find, but if Groundworks and Inlet can succeed in finding them, why can't Verb?

Inlet Dance/Nehemiah Mission

INLET DANCE AND NEHEMIAH MISSION COMBINE FOR A MEANINGFUL TOGETHERNESS

Inlet Dance, whose motto is “using dance to further people” and Nehemiah Mission, whose purpose is “reaching out to the entire community in order to rebuild the lives and homes of people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religious beliefs and lifestyles,” are organizations on parallel paths. It is only fitting, therefore, that they should be assisting each other. Inlet needed rehearsal space, Nehemiah Mission had an unused gymnasium. Nehemiah Mission needed finances and Inlet is a performance company who could do a series of concerts to raise funds. So the match, probably made in heaven, came to be.

Recently a two-night benefit concert was held at Breen Center on the campus of St. Ignatius High School.

The program included ASCENSION, a Bill Wade choreographed piece with contemporary music by Ryan Lott, which investigated relationships. Filled with gymnastic moves, which featured fine body control and powerful lifts, the well danced piece showed respect for balance and trust.

THE DOOR, choreographed by Steve Rooks, was a series of varying configurations in which the dancers appeared to float through a triangle of light to illuminate a journey through redemption.
IMPAIRED is a fascinating piece in which Justin Stentz and Mackenzie Clevenger danced blindfolded, to experience what it is like to unleash the sensitivity of going through life sightless. The idea flowed from Inlet's residency at the Cleveland Sight Center in which they worked with impaired and blind students.

BEAUTY IN TENSION, one of my favorite offerings in the Inlet repertoire, features a large piece of stretch material which is held tightly by the corps of performers. While in single or group units, the dancers move under the material and attempt to stretch their way out. The emotional and physical tension created is highly involving, causing audience members to squirm in response to the efforts of the dancers.

The highlight piece was STONE BY STONE, a premiere dance choreographed by Bill Wade in collaboration with the cast and set to original music by Jeremy Allen. It is a contemporary telling of the Biblical story of Nehemiah, who, after the Jews were dispersed from Jerusalem, came back and organized the people in voluntary groups to rebuild the city. This concept is much like the mission of the local Nehemiah Society, whose purpose is to recreate Cleveland out of the destruction of years of neglect and financial problems. It visually showed how to rebuild cultures through eliminating the physical and psychological stones which block progress and present hope and restoration to the brokenness of the community.

Capsule judgement: Inlet Dance created an artistic, meaningful and involving evening of dance in their successful fund raising effort on behalf of the Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland.

Preview: Inlet Dance,, David Sedaris, Fairmount Center

PREVIEWS: INLET DANCE, DAVID SEDARIS, FAIRMOUNT CENTER

INLET DANCE

Inlet Dance Theatre and The Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland have partnered to offer Stone by Stone, a fundraiser at the Breen Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of St. Ignatius High School on November 12 and 13, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.

The feature piece will be Stone by Stone by Bill Wade which is inspired by the Biblical story of Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem. Other Inlet pieces in the concert include Ascension, In, Not Of, ImPaired, and The Door.

Reserved seating tickets are $30, with limited $60 VIP tickets that include a post-show reception with the Inlet dancers on Friday. Tickets are available by calling 216-961-6968 or online at www.nehemiahmission.org.


DAVID SEDARIS

David Sedaris, who will be speaking on Tuesday, October 12th at 8:00pm in the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare, is the rock star of speakers. His sold-out engagements, highlight his funny and philosophical tales which he has published in plays, such SantaLand Diaries. His books, which display his sardonic wit and incisive social critique, including Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, each of which became a bestseller.

Tickets, which are priced from $10.00 to $40.00, can be purchased at the PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office, playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000.

FAIRMOUNT CENTER


The encore production of 13, a new musical, features the return of the entire original Ohio premier cast. 13 follows the lives of thirteen 13 year olds as they navigate their way through friendships, love, popularity, honesty, and growing-up.

My review of last year's production was: “13 is a slight script, which will have strong appeal to tweens and teens. It is being performed by teenagers, not theatre professionals, and it does itself proud on its own level. Adults should will themselves back to the age of teen angst. Teens should revel in life as they know it. And they should go and enjoy a group of kids who are having a wonderful time, making their personal dreams of being “stars” come true.”

The show runs through October 10, 2010 at Mayfield Village Civic Center, 6622 Wilson Mills Road, Mayfield Village which is at the corner of Wilson Mills and SOM Center Roads.

EAT (IT'S NOT ABOUT FOOD)

After seeing last years' production of Eat, It's Not About Food, I wrote: “If you are a teenager, the parent of a teenager, or an educator of teens, 'EAT IT'S NOT ABUT FOOD' is required viewing. Shut off the tv, stop the texting, and go. If you are teen, it could save your life or, if you are a parent, it could save the life of your child.” Now the theatre is making the show available for schools, colleges, universities, community groups and organizations throughout the region from November of 2010 to May of 2011.

The show puts the spotlight on the world of eating disorders, society's obsession with food, weight and body image, as presented through the eyes of teens and adults struggling with this epidemic,

For tickets to 13, or information about booking EAT (IT'S NOT ABOUT FOOD),
go to http://fairmountcenter.tix.com/ or call 440-338-3171.

Inlet Dance 4/10

Inlet Dance wraps up DanceWorks10 performances with emotion draining piece

Inlet Dance is a special performance company. They spend most of their time educating children. That’s a great mission. But, it’s a shame that they only do several public performances a year. Artistic Director Bill Wade’s dancers are well trained, his choreography is focused, and the performances are always filled with innovative concepts.

Their performance as part of Danceworks 10 at Cleveland Public Theatre was up to their usual high standards. The seven segment program was highlighted by the emotional closing piece, ‘BEAUTY IN TENSION,’ which was being premiered. This was Bill Wade at his creative best. It is based on the tension that surrounds us in this era of crisis and the amount of stress which precipitates a search for peace.

The dancers stretched a large square of material to create a vision of tension. Suddenly a body emerged as a cloth-covered gauzed image from the center of the material. During the piece, each of the dancers, in singles or duos, slipped under the gauze and tried to escape. Even when they got out, they were dragged back under. The combined tension of the musical score by Jeremy Allen and the anguished body movements of the dancers resulted in a mesmerizing effect. This is a very special experience.

‘CREATE,’ the opening dance, featured excellent corps unity. It was created with the help of students at the company’s Summer Dance Intensive 2009.

‘TIGHTROPE’ was, like life itself, full of ephemeral moments. A movement poem, it was a creative walking of a chalk line that appeared as a dancer walked an imaginary tightrope which found the line disappearing as the dancer proceeded. It was billed as a dance showing the precarious balance of living a time constrained experience, the balancing act of life.

‘A CLOSE SHAVE’ was originally conceived in 2006. At first, an ironic and humorous offering, it has evolved into a serious picture of the fears of losing everything. It would be interesting to see the two versions danced back-to-back.

In the Spring of 2008, Inlet dancers went to Easter Island to expose the citizens to modern dance and learn the culture and dance of the natives. Upon returning the company started to develop ‘TE PITO O TE HENUA,’ a seven-part program based on their Eastern Island experiences. ‘WIND’ is the newest, the fifth segment. Joshua Brown and Justin Stentz, two premiere Cleveland area male dancers, used ropes to create sounds and movements that carried the audience across the waves.

Mikaela Clark, Mackenzie Clevenger, Elizabeth Pollert and Rebecca Inman, the women of the company, danced ‘BROKE,’ to the lush music of Vivaldi, dressed in beautiful leotards based on modern paintings as designed by Kristin Wade. As with the rest of the program, the choreography was creative and well executed.

Capsule judgement: Bill Wade is one of my favorite choreographers and educators. His ability to motivate and teach his dancers to be a unified and coordinated unit is to be admired. I wished there were more opportunities to see INLET DANCE in action.

Inlet Dance 4/08

INLET DANCE continues to impress and adds yet another mission

Inlet Dance Theatre, which recently performed as part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks program, is noted for their dedication to personal and regional growth and outreach. As announced by Bill Wade, the group’s Artistic Director during a concert interlude, the company added “global” to their mission. Their global outreach was clearly in evidence at the CPT program.

The dance concert consisted of six movement segments and a mini-lecture about Easter Island.
The first dance, ‘TIDES AND SOLITUDE,’ was choreographer Sally Wallace’s vision of the solitude, peace and harmony that takes place when breaking the traditional mold allows for the creation of joy. Using long poles and dressed in gauze costumes that took on the air of sails, the dancers catalapulted across the stage to Brian Eno and Robert Fripp’s flowing music. There was a soothing quality to the entire blend of sound and movements which was artistically performed by the corps.

‘OFFAXIS,’ in its premiere, was strongly danced by Joshua Brown, who collaborated with Wade on the choreography. Costumed in plumage, Brown broke outside the traditional box by allowing himself to not only look different, but move in creative and challenging ways.

‘AGE OF ISOLATION,’ a cleverly conceived Inlet premiere, danced to the atonal music of Philip Glass, found the cast starting a traditional dance sequence. But, soon, the performers found a computer, cell phones, ipods and electronic games pulling at their attention. Finally, each become so isolated in his or her own technological world, that the dance itself became non-existent. This was a definite audience pleaser.

‘DANCES FROM RAPA NUI’ were a series of Rapa Nui dances. Rapa Nui is the the native name for what westerners call Easter Island. The performers, dressed in traditional Island clothing and emblazoned with tribal makeup, used traditional native music to give the audience a glimpse of the island’s culture.

This segment was developed as part of an international artist exchange in which the Inlet dancers were taught Rapa Nui movements by Easter Island residents Akahanga Rapu Tudi and Joanna Pako. The next phase of the outreach will take place later this month when eight company members travel to Easter Island for a two-week residency where they will not only learn more about the Rapa Nui culture, but expose the residents to their first dose of modern dance.

‘DREAM OF SLEEPING,’ which was based on research provided by the National Sleep Foundation, was mostly danced with closed eyes. It found the dancers gyrating on the floor as they attempted to fall asleep, then sleep and then react to their restlessness, dreams and nightmares. Though a little long, it was another creative piece by Wade set to the music of former Clevelander, Ryan Lott.

The program ended with “OUT OF NOWHERE,’ performed to singer Ada Sari’s operatic solos, as well as segments of spoken words and some hip-hop. The lighthearted piece, centered, as most of the evening did, on how culture influences each of us. Choreographed by Stephen Wynne, the dance asks, “Are relationships and values always determined to change?”

Capsule judgement: Bill Wade and his Inlet Dance Theatre are a unique company. They go outside the box looking beyond traditional roles of performers and use the medium to teach and enlighten. Their DanceWorks program was yet another well performed, creatively conceived and entertaining evening of dance.

Inlet Dance 7/07

Inlet delights audience at Cain Park

Bill Wade, founder and artistic director of the six year-old Inlet Dance Theatre must have been a happy man after the company’s recent (July 26) Cain Park performance. In spite of a rainy night, the Evans Theatre was packed.

Contrary to many local dance concerts, the enthusiastic audience was mostly young and racially integrated. They were treated to an eclectic program which featured not only Inlet’s company, apprentices and trainees, but students from the Summer Dance Intensive.

Inlet’s mission is “to create and perform innovative dance and movement theatre at a high level of artistry, speak creatively about human life issues, and bring about personal development in the lives of individuals through training and mentoring.”

Wade, a master teacher and motivator, believes that dance is a “vehicle for personal transformation.” With this in mind, he brings in 12 to 20 year-old students from all over the country to study with the company. They learn release work (The Erick Hawkins technique which is the basis for Inlet’s choreography), nontraditional partnering, the collaborative creative process (invented by Pilobolus Dance theatre), hip-hop and improvisation. The six-and-a-half week program culminates in the yearly Cain Park free program.

As has been the case in the past, both the students and the Inlet “regulars” displayed creativity, discipline and enthusiasm.

Though every section was interesting, highlights of the ten-segment program were: “For Margaret and Dan,” “RubeWreck,” “Performance Improvisation,” “A Close Shave,” and “BALListic.”

“For Margaret and Dan,” a duet piece, with music by Lifehouse, was performed as part of company member Margaret Ludlow’s wedding ceremony a week before the Cain Park concert, as a present from the company. The public debut was beautifully danced by Mikaela Clark and Justin Stentz (who I consider to be the area’s best young male dancer).

‘RubeWreck,” which was danced to music by Animusic and the Beastie Boys, featured the twelve males of the dance intensive and the company. A total delight, it portrayed a young video gamer, creating a vision complete with human Rube Goldberg contraption-like machines which morphed into the concept of the new film “Transformers.” The action brought many laughs from the audience.

“Performance Improvisation” demonstrated the ability of the dance intensive students to ad lib to music they had not previously heard. As a starting point, the corps was given two distinct gestures to use throughout the piece. The ability of the youngsters to stay in character while creating various stories and images was impressive.

A company staple, “A Close Shave, inspired by Patrick Morley’s “Man in the Mirror” featuring Joshua Brown and Justin Stentz, “centers on a man confronting and wrestling with the proverbial man staring back at him every morning when he shaves.” Brown and Stentz displayed both superb strength and consistency while performing the audience pleasing gymnastic piece.

“BALListic,” another staple in Inlet’s repertory, uses 1960’s pop art to probe into what happens when a group of dancers are given a number of huge red physio balls and let loose. With contemporary music by the very talented Ryan Lott (who has written for many local dance companies), the dancers slid over, cavorted under, and bounced around the stage with precision and energy. The Pilobolus-like piece was a fitting closing number for a well performed and creatively programmed evening of dance.

Capsule judgement: Bill Wade and his Inlet Dance Theatre are a unique company. They go outside the square by incorporating previously uninitiated dancers into company performances with positive results for both students and audience.
Side note: The company raises one-quarter of its funding from individual donor support. It deserves our support. Send a tax-deductible contribution to Inlet Dance Theatre, 3921 Mayfield Road, Suite 6, Cleveland Heights, OH 44121 so they can continue to be a community asset!

Inlet Dance 3/07

Inlet wows audience at DanceWorks 07

Bill Wade, the Artistic Director of Inlet Dance Theatre, which is performing as part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks 07, is first and foremost a teacher. His long list of educational assignments centers on “impacting the lives of young people through educational programs.” He works with public school kids, often from school districts with limited financial means. This philosophy carries over into his dance company is composed of only four members. There also are three apprentices and eight trainees. Again, a stress on education.

Don’t get the idea that there is a lack of professionalism. The screaming, standing ovation that the company received in their Danceworks opening night performances, and the continued notes in my program which say, “wow,” “creative,” and “dynamic,” attest to the excitement and excellence of the program.

The evening opened with ‘SNOW,’ danced to the flowing and powerful music of Ryan Lott, the wunderkindt of local composers who creates for both Inlet and Groundworks Dancetheatre. As is the signature of Wade’s choreography, a strong gymnastic tone underlies the dancer’s movements. Beautifully costumed in unitards painted with nature scenes by Kristin Wade, the piece featured six dancers transforming their bodies into a series of snowflakes. Displaying strength, the flowing and powerful piece effectively paralleled movements to the music.

‘WINGED OPPOSITION’ was choreographed to surreal music and featured effective mechanical movements which were repeated over and over. Somewhat overlong, the format gave the illusion of choppiness, with the parts not always blending together.

‘A CLOSE SHAVE’ was totally delightful. Danced with muscular power by apprentice Joshua Brown and trainee Justin Stentz, Wade’s sense of humor flowed forth. It examines the concept of “a close call” which spanned the interaction between the dancers from mirroring each other as they shaved, to putting themselves into various risk areas intended to “clean up one’s image.” Brown and Wade were nothing short of amazing. The piece ended to screaming applause.

Stentz, who is exciting to watch on stage, and has to be ranked with the best male dancers in the area, used his gym-ripped muscular body to work with the equally proficient and powerful Leila Pelhan in ‘imPAIRed’ to create visual body intertwinings that were fascinating to watch. The dance is performed with both dancers blindfolded. It is the result of the company conducting residencies for visually impaired and blind students at the Cleveland Sight Center. It highlights sensitivity, caring and trust. This was a “WOW!’ experience.

‘IN, NOT OF,’ a company premiere, danced to another Lott piece, featured the company as well as the apprentices and trainees. The choreography is the result of Wade’s visit, as part of his participation in an international artist exchange program, to Easter Island. He used the island’s culture, images and philosophies to create a narrative work. The disciplined, flowing cast members used the company’s signature gymnastic movements to create an appealing piece.

Capsule judgement: Bill Wade is a fine choreographer who proficiently teaches his dancers his gymnastic and creative style of movements. The overall effect was a very enjoyable evening of dance.

Photo by Jim Ruthrauff (inmotion-photo.com)

Verb Ballet, Inlet Dance, Antaeus Dance, American Ballet Theatre--March, 2004

QUICK COMINGS AND GOINGS: VERB BALLET, INLET DANCE, ANTAEUS DANCE, ABT

One of the problems with short run productions is that before the word can get out, they are gone. This is especially true with many of the performances of local dance companies, which usually run one weekend. A case in point is the Cleveland Public Theatre’s “Dance Works ’04.” Some of the area’s finest choreographers are being showcased. Unfortunately, each group gets a one weekend three-performance slot. Since you can’t get to see what has been, maybe you can get ready for what’s going to be. If you see that these companies are presenting, go before they are gone once again.

Cleveland is blessed with some wonderful choreographers and company artistic directors. Three of the very best are being showcased in the “Danceworks ‘04” series. Two have already had their works presented: Hernando Cortez of Verb Ballets, and Bill Wade of Inlet Dance. Here are mini-reviews of what was presented.

VERB BALLET

The company’s ‘CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS COLLECTION 04’ was a wonderful and creative evening of dance. The dancers worked with assurance and displayed a complete understanding of each the choreographer’s works. Mark Tomasic and Tracy Vogt were superb in “In Passing.”

Dancing on boxes, in ballet shoes on toe, “The Last Sun” showcased wonderful dancing by Meghan Haas and DeAnn Petruschke. Unfortunately, Robert Wesner’s affected movements and lack of body control were distracting.

“The Envelope” was an absolutely delightful piece centering on the passing of an envelope from dancer to dancer. The melodramatic music and quick short moves delighted the audience.

“A Twist of Fate” was brilliant! It was a powerful, unsettling piece, accomplished with wonderful shadows projected onto the back scrim by lighting designer Cheanult Spence.

“Mozart Piano Trio in C Major” was danced to the fine live accompaniment of Eric Ziolek and Sara and Jeffrey Schimpelfenig. The classical music and contemporary stylized movements blended to give a sprightly conclusion to a wonderful evening of dance.

All in all, this was an entertaining, eclectic evening of dance. As a patron said as he walked out, “I could see that again.” I agree!! For information about Verb Ballets and their next performances call 216-397-3757.

INLET DANCE

Inlet Dance is at its very best when the company is performing to the ingenious choreography of Bill Wade. This was well-illustrated in their “Dance Works ‘04” program. Every one of Wade’s staged pieces was compelling. The works of the other choreographers left much to be desired.

Wade’s “B’roke,” danced to a Vivaldi violin concerto, was beautifully presented. He created involving stage pictures through the inter-twining of bodies. Each physical move perfectly fit the musical underscoring. Jennifer Lott lit up the stage. Marget Ludlow, M. Leila Pelhan and Devon Schlegelmilch were outstanding in this and each piece in which they performed.

“Doppleganger” was the evening’s highlight. Featuring 16-year old African American twins, Bryan and Ryan Peoples, who helped develop the choreography, the dancers displayed amazing physical strength and body control and blended into a co-joined tandem of gymnastic dance movements. Wow!!

“ImPAIRED” saw Leila Pelhand and Christopher Whitney impressively performing the entire piece blindfolded. The slow gymnastic movements were beautifully executed. This was a powerful piece, well conceived and well executed.
Less effective were “Tides and Solitude” which Sally Wallace choreographed using long poles which were used by the dancers to propel themselves across the stage. The effect worked for a while but the extended music and repeated movements became tedious and the piece called for cutting.

Jennifer Lott danced her own choreographed piece, “Duet” competently. The single dancer partnered with a square of light. The choreography failed to captivate.

“Dante’s First Night,” staged by Leilani Barrett, failed to coordinate the tone of the music with the dance movements. The repetitious music and lack of group unity hurt the piece. Interestingly, it was the performance of the choreographer that was most responsible for the lack of precision.

Steve Rooks’ “You Are Now Connected” missed the mark. The dancers, though they valiantly tried, were not capable of interpreting the rap music’s intent.

For information about Inlet Dance call 216-382-0201 or email inletdancetheatre@sbcglobal.net.

ANTAEUS DANCE COMPANY

Starting with a series of bangs and cymbal clashes, choreographers Dough Lodge and Joan Meggitt’s “Moments of Repose” had an impressive beginning. But, as the piece went on and on, repeating and repeating the same musical tones and movements, the audience lost interest. It was too much of the same. Supposedly inspired by Frank Gehry’s Peter B. Lewis Building on the campus of Case-Western Reserve, the piece should have, like the building, flowed, flashed, attracted emotional attention, brought about strong emotional reaction. It didn’t. After a while more attention was paid to Greg D’Allessio’s solo manipulation of the musical instruments than to the dancers. The female dancers—Jenita McGowan, Sherri Mills, Latifa Sage, Beth Salemi and Shanna Sheline--were all very proficient.

A shortened piece, programmed with something of a different feeling, would have made the evening much more satisfying.

For information about Antaeus Dance Company call 216-486-2874.


AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

Performing as part of the Ballet Series at Playhouse Square Center, American Ballet Theatre proved why it is a world class company. The program, danced to a full orchestra, opened with “Raymonda,” a classical piece with folkloric overtones. Well staged, it featured Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky in lead roles. Maxim and Carlos Lopez’s high scissors leaps and the precision dancing and toe work of Erica Cornejo were the piece’s highlights.

“Pillars of Fire,” was a somber, beautifully danced piece which combined traditional movements with modern staging. The result was a moving choreographic concept in which the moods of the dance and the music became one.

“Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison” was the lesser segment of the evening. Though it was interesting to see the former Beattle’s music set to dance, there was a lack of consistency in interpreting many of Harrison’s lyrics to the movements. This was especially true in “Something.” “I Dig Love,” with its interesting lift patterns and inter-weavings of bodies, was more on target as was “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” which featured powerful gymnastic movements. “Isn’t It a Pity” consisted of a series of countermoves created by having the dancers work in lines. “Within You Without You” evoked little emotional feeling, while “My Sweet Lord” was a high spirited gleeful dance.

All in all, if you missed ABT, you missed a dance season highlight. They will undoubtedly be returning to the area. Make sure to see them.