Hubbard Street Dance Brings Humor To CFA

By Broadside Staff Writer Ijeoma Nwatu

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007, is a world renowned contemporary dance company. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Jim Vincent, the dance company brought its unique mix of musical scores and dance performances to George Mason University’s Center for the Arts on the evening of November 8.

It was announced before the start of the show that one of the company’s leading dancers, Pablo Piantino, was injured and would be replaced. Even with such news, the large audience was in the presence of very talented dancers.

The opening performance was a preview featuring musical scores of Hollywood films including, There Will be Blood, Punch Drunk Love, and Syriana. The music from these movies blared through the speakers and engulfed the CFA creating a lot of theatrics coupled with the impressive synchronization of the dancers.

The only musical piece not from a motion picture for the preview was an orchestral work, “Capriccio No. 1 in E” by Niccolo Paganini. For this number, a little humor was used to reflect the high energy and haste of the violin solo as two male dancers wiggled, bended, twisted and even moved robotically to the music.

After a short pause, the company introduced its first production of the evening entitled, “The Constant Shift of Pulse”, which tested its dance “Trust and Release.”

This particular piece also wanted to “challenge the viewer’s concept of the relationship between personal and shared space.” The performance was rather long and at times seemed erratic. The dancers showcased the idea of space by using the entire length of the stage for the performance. At some points, male dancers were catching other male dancers and dancers pulled and pushed in all directions.

The performance also featured a few, short solos and portions in which dancers huddled tightly together while others were free to dance everywhere else.
Following intermission, the company performed its last production. The performance, “Minus 16”, included the entire dance company. “Minus 16” was a creative and visually exciting performance.
The dancers were dressed alike in black and white suits and hats. For this performance, the company danced with black chairs in a semi-circle. The lighting and music created a dramatic element as the dancers moved simultaneously as they outstretched their arms and fell from their chairs. A repetitive but powerful round of the dancers undressing themselves and throwing their clothing into the middle of the circle kept everyone guessing.
The show closed with audience members being led to dance onstage with the company. The combination of house, trance, and techno ended the show on an upbeat note with people clapping and shouting as they exited.