HQ Review: MADCO’s Dare to Dance - Saturday
The house lights flicker off as Kayla Montgomery takes the stage of COCA’s Berges Theatre. At just 14 years old, Kayla had been chosen to perform a solo she created as part of MADCO’s Emerging Student Choreographer Program, in partnership with St. Louis Academy of Dance (SLAD). As the music swells, Kayla emanates a poise and assuredness about her presence on stage. She effortlessly oscillates between multiple movement qualities within a single phrase, capturing the range of a leg extension that then melts to the ground and allows the weight of the floor to sink into her hips and torsos. She uses her spine to punctuate the subtle riffs of Otis Redding’s Try a Little Tenderness, before gliding over the stage with a turn that fills the entire room. Her intuitive musicality and ability to seamlessly transition from one style of movement to the next made Kayla’s performance one of the most striking of the evening, and perhaps most evident of what MADCO’s Dare To Dance Festival is all about. A festival, led by Artistic Director Arianna Russ, to showcase the immense amount of innovation and collaboration that exists in the St. Louis community and beyond.
Of course Kayla was not the only memorable dancer to participate in this festival. The night I attended, Saturday January 20th, there was an array of memorable moments and montages that graced the stage. But with 11 different pieces, it proved challenging to completely iron out one piece from another. That being said, as the concert progressed, there appeared to be a collective voice starting to grow out of the cumulative dances presented. On one level, many of the works of this predominantly female (or perceived female) identifying cohort could be conceived to be about nothing more than the form, shape, and aesthetics presented on stage. And yet each piece, whether intentionally or not, also gave voice to the myriad of ways women represent themselves by confidently taking up space and time on stage.
Kayla Montgomery makes this clear from the start with her youthful aptitude and intricate movement choices. Maddie Steitz continues this idea in her work as six women navigate the stage together with resilient synchronicity, made all the more resonant by Steitz’s Program Note that tells how the movement “was inspired by [survivors of sex trafficking] who have come forward about their stories and how they have taken back the power of their lives.” Daryon Kent’s piece exemplifies this prowess as three women undulate their torsos and dresses to the vigor of ROSALIA singing Si Tu Supieras Compañero. Kent’s Program Note solidifies this idea by stating “This piece is inspired by the strong women who raised me.” Emily Duggins provides contrast in her work with Chrissy Clair and Abbi LeBaube as they hold each other in a tight hug that slowly rotates itself through space, allowing the weight of their individual bodies to gradually meld into one. This moment feels overindulgent at first, but quickly transforms itself into a kind of meditative solace, allowing the viewer to rest alongside the serene nature of Clair and LeBaube on stage. Emily Kamp’s piece continues this sensitivity as four dancers gently place their ears to each others’ chests, attuning themselves to each others’ heartbeats, an acknowledgement of the temporal strength of their bodies. Finally, Noelle Kayser’s work concludes with Stephanie Cihlar cradling Sam Crouch in her arms, sharing with him the power of vulnerability as he softens into her chest.
With each of these moments, it becomes evident that the way these women exist is not singular. Rather, the variety of ways that women take up space allows the viewer to recognize that it is the abundance of emotional textures that grounds each performance in its own distinctive complexity. And ultimately, it is not up to individuals such as myself to dictate how these representations should be formulated.
Needless to say, this range of emotional textures has been employed by women for centuries in both life and performance, and is even a somewhat trite observation to concur from this concert. And yet the resonance of these collective works encapsulates an energy that continues to (de)construct the multitude of ways women comfort, empower, and experience the presence of their bodies in relationship to those around them. Amidst the conglomeration of these works, this perceived through line left me with gratitude for the women-led dance initiatives, such as Dare To Dance, that bind the St. Louis dance community together.
SATURDAY PROGRAM:
January 20, 2024
Surviving the Traffic by Maddie Steitz (St. Louis, MO)
like a boat going past all the bus stops by Tayler Kinner (St. Louis, MO)
Intersections by Kaley Pruitt (Brockport, NY)
Tethered & Tied by Nathan Crewe-Kluge (Columbia, MO)
A Rose with Three Thorns by Daryon Kent (St. Louis, MO)
HEARt (excerpt) by Emily Kemp (Chicago, IL)
please hold me by Emily Duggins with Chrissy Clair and Abbi LeBaube (St. Louis, MO)
Ardent Stillness by Meghen McKinley (Bowling Green, KY)
If Tears Were Diamonds by Alyssa Bruttlag (Toledo, OH)
dust by Noelle Kayser with Stephanie Cihlar and Sam Crouch (Chicago, IL)
Falling and Rising (excerpt) by Stephen Blood (Columbia, MO)
Photos courtesy of Carly Vanderheyden