Stephanie Clemens and Larry Ippel have worked together for 35 years and have never had an argument. That’s got to be some kind of record. As artistic directors of MOMENTA, Oak Park’s oldest resident dance company, they are celebrating another remarkable record: the group’s 25th anniversary.
And celebrating they are, as evident in the 25th anniversary season repertory. I’d been looking forward to the opening for two reasons. First, MOMENTA’s offerings are always rewarding, mixing historic works with new dances. Sandra Kaufmann was working on Martha Graham’s 1936 “Steps in the Street,” Mary Kelly Kren was performing “Fire Dance” from 1886, and there were several premieres on the program. Second, the matinee featured a performance of “The Wind in the Willows,” adapted by Clemens from the book by Kenneth Grahame.
The book becomes the set. As black-clad adults turn giant pages, the river bank with Rat’s hole appears, followed by the Wild Wood, Pan’s Island, and Toad Hall. Rat’s little blue boat is a triumph, complete with leaf-shaped paddles and propelled by wheels (and Mole’s feet). Toad’s motorcar was fashioned over Emma Norman’s wheelchair and the cart for The Open Road is pulled by fantastically costumed Larry Ippel as the horse. All the costumes-from the orange-legged yellow-feathered ducklings to the fluttering owls in the Wild Wood and the twinkling, blinking fireflies on Pan’s Island-were terrific.
The principal characters are portrayed by MOMENTA’s young male dancers. Max Gorgol was especially good as the nervous, bespectacled Mole in a bowler hat. This is a family affair with several of the parents performing onstage with their children-a wonderful, magical performance, true to the spirit of the book.
MOMENTA’s adult production boasts an extensive array of “legacy” dances-from locally born choreographer Doris Humphrey to Martha Graham to Stephanie Clemens’ own work. Here are some savored highlights:
The steamy “Tango #4” with Anita Fillmore and Kris Lenzo, delivers everything you could want from a wheelchair tango. Sophianna Banholzer in “Three in the Morning” from Clemens’ “Façade” plays a dancer who responds to the spoken words, “Jane, Jane, tall as a crane,” by transforming her body, actually elongating her torso into an amazing bird shape-and she’s only in eighth grade! Tom Trimble’s “Hooks” was performed masterfully by Anita Fillmore and Larry Ippel-a powerfully study of man controlling woman, woman breaking out, then reconciling with a single gesture as she allows her partner to touch her by guiding his hand to her thigh.
“Lillian” (a world premiere) choreographed by Cora D. Mitchell in collaboration with her cousin, D.D. Jackson, an award-winning jazz pianist and composer, is a tribute to Jackson’s mother who succumbed to cancer in 1995.
“Fire Dance,” a choreographic reconstruction of Loïe Fuller’s 1886 classic, was recreated by Mary Kelly Kren. Before each performance, Kren irons the 50 yards of silk fabric that make up her costume. She is a master at manipulating the sticks that elongate her arms and enable her to whip the fabric into flame-like images, all the while dancing on a small platform lit from below.
Ballet Master Valery Dolgallo trained a corps of dancers to recreate Auguste Bournonville’s 1858 “Flower Festival” and Jules Perot’s 1944 “Divertiseement” from “Esmeralda.” JP Tenuta’s exquisite leaps are a joy to behold.
MOMENTA’s mission is collaboration, taking risks and providing opportunities. Bruno Surdo, a visual artist, who had designed a set in a previous season at MOMENTA, was so impressed by the dancers, he asked to create a dance a even though he had no chorographic experience. Working with a group of five, “Does Nature Have A Conscience?” was born. Beginning with an embryonic sack, the dancers emerge and progress through childhood, adolescence and old age-a complete life cycle.
“Remembrance,” another
world premiere, evokes images of heartbreak as a man goes to war, leaving the woman to soldier on, living with her memories. Enza DePalma, Kelsey Middleton, and John Atterberry form the trio of soldier, wife remembering their closeness, and wife left behind after the ultimate tragedy.
There are the yards and yards of silk fabric in “Air for the G String” and “Soaring,” wheelchairs in “Beautiful Dance,” and a show-stopping finale “Baile Me” with music by Gypsy Kings which sends the audience out fired up. There is the lasting image of dancers from the Senior Company, smiling on the dancers of the Junior Company, passing batons, watching apprentices pass up the ranks through dedicated instruction.
Dance fans have two more weekends to enjoy MOMENTA’s spring concert series. Performances are Saturdays, March 10 and 17 at 8 p.m. and Sundays, March 11 and 18 at 7 p.m., with family matinees of “Wind in the Willows” on both Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15/$10 seniors/$5 students. The Doris Humphrey Theatre is located at 605 Lake St. Call 848-2329 for more information.
