Philadanco presents 'Success Stories: Philadanco Alumni in Action'

Their current projects are impressive: Tommie-Waheed Evans is Philadanco’s choreographer in residence. Hope Boykin is a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Iquail Shaheed founded DANCE IQUAIL, and Anthony Burrell works with celebrities, including Beyoncé.

Power and patriarchy

The program began with Shaheed’s “The Order,” which depicted powerful men and subservient women, with Joe Gonzales as the formidable maintainer of this hierarchy. In an early scene, six dancers encircled Gonzales, whose leg extensions made dramatic use of the long, skirt-like costumes Shaheed designed.

The other dancers watched Gonzales as if entranced, and even when they scattered they continued to take direction from him, deferring to his presence and movement — that is, except for a lone female dancer.

Elyse Browning was the outlier, a woman who courageously faces a dictator and his oppressive regime. “The Order” suggested gender violence with repeated sequences in which female dancers dropped to all fours and male dancers sat on their backs. But the outlier stood up to this injustice, confronting the leader in a duet whose exaggerated gestures highlighted the artifice of oppression. The dance finished with the leader toppled and the tables turned as Browning placed her foot upon Gonzales’s head.

Next was Burrell’s “Endangered Species,” which explored aspects of the black male experience. It began with an arresting image of six dancers in red jumpsuits. William E. Burden, Elijah Carter, Joe Gonzales, Jameel Hendricks, Victor Lewis Jr., and William Rhem turned their backs to the audience so we could read on their jumpsuits the names of victims of racist violence: Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Stephon Clark. This image drew a chilling connection between Till’s 1955 murder by lynching to today’s deadly police violence — Clark was shot just weeks ago.

Costumes, by Emilio Sosa and Kim Fuller, reinforced movement that recognized the criminalization of black masculinity. The dancers raised their hands overhead as if confronted by police, covered their mouths with their hands in a gesture of silencing, then collapsed one by one like a line of dominos.

“Endangered Species” also captured indomitable strength, spirit, and pride. Stomping feet and wheeling arms suggested steps in African and Soca dance. The dancers peeled off the tops of their jumpsuits in the piece’s second act, thumping their chests and leaping with energy that could not be contained or repressed.

Strength and healing

The focus shifted to women’s experiences in Boykin’s “Testimony: Evidence Given by a Witness (For Talley).” Inspired by testimony services, its set and music contributed to the theme of sharing joy and suffering with a supportive faith community.

The dance began and ended with Rosita Adamo, Janine Beckles, Elyse Browning, and Clarricia Golden sharing a bench reminiscent of a church pew, with spirituals performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. “Testimony” provided a welcome reprieve from the intensity of Success Stories’ first half. However, it was less exciting to watch. The best sections synchronized the dancers’ movement with the singers’ harmonies so that sweeping arms mirrored soaring voices.

Evans’s “With(in)verse” concluded the program, with Clifton Taylor’s lighting design creating the evening’s most visually interesting environment. Initially, smoke filled the stage, giving way to backgrounds illuminated with different colors, at times silhouetting the dancers. The program notes that “With(in)verse” is gospel as desperation, showing how hitting rock bottom sometimes precedes redemption.

Dance is an interesting medium for exploring this idea, but it was difficult to identify in this piece, which sometimes denied dancers the chance to show off their technical prowess and athleticism. I saw no reason for dancers to walk slowly across the stage and found these sections dull. “With(in)verse” shined when it fully utilized dancers’ talents, as in final sections when a trio moved as a unit and male dancers lifted female dancers overhead.

The dances in Success Stories were diverse in style and tone. The order of the program suggested a narrative fitting with the evening’s theme of success. “The Order” and “Endangered Species” examined oppression, while “Testimony” and “With(in)verse” strove to address the strength and healing of hope and faith. Philadanco’s evening of dance sent the message that sharing pain can foster resistance, unity, growth, and success.