A Rainbow with energy
Diversity and contrasting styles, high-impact and youthful exuberance were defining characteristics in the Rainbow Dance performance. With the exception of Rainbow’s two artistic directors, who also act as choreographers and performers, the company is composed of dedicated college students from Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
Their dances exploded with controlled energy – the kind that makes audience members grit their teeth and tense their bodies. And while the college dancers exhibited various levels of skill, all were competent and a few quite proficient.
The program opened with “One Village, Many Tribes,” a three-part tribute to the power of dance to unite people from diverse cultures. The costumes were brightly colored layers; the accompaniment, primarily drums. The repetitious dance composition in the first movement gave way to more inventive choreography in the second and third sections. Overall, however, the choreography lacked unified movement and close interactions among the dancers to proclaim the thematic idea of unity within diversity.
By contrast, “Rewind” was a high-energy hip-hop dance that featured performers in red, yellow, and blue T-shirts atop black warm-up pants. The dance’s explosive style and intricate “steps” were electrifying. This dance was tight – the dance movements were the virtual embodiment of the music, the energy of the dancers matched the pounding rap style of its accompaniment, and the interaction of the dancers bespoke of a brotherhood/sisterhood in an urban subculture.
“Plantation Lullaby” featured a strikingly different style. This slow, lyrically romantic pas de deux was performed by the artistic directors, Valerie Bergman and Darryl Thomas. Both had professional experience. Bergman performed with postmodern dance and ballet companies while Thomas danced with postmodern and West African dance companies. Each of their distinct styles was evidenced in this lovely duet. His movements were angular and powerful; hers were curved and gentle. The partnering was flawless, the choreography innovative, and the movement effortless.
“Yogaboyz” showcased three men – Thomas, Jon Ayson, and Michael Coleman – in excruciatingly slow and controlled movements more familiar to gymnasts and wrestlers than dancers. Choreographed by Thomas, it reflected the post-modern style of Pilobolus Dance Company with whom Thomas previously danced. Performed to the music of Faceless and the words of Zen meditation, it featured slow-motion balances, lifts, turns, and cantilevered movements created by the dancers’ innovative interactions. It was pure physical virtuosity interrupted several times by applause from an appreciative audience.
“Mixed Bag,” Rainbow’s most recent work, was lighter and more lyrical by contrast, but the choreography became repetitious as the dance progressed. The clever scenery and costumes composed entirely of black garbage bags that seemed to float and shimmer in the blue lighting overshadowed the power of the dance.
The performance closed with an excerpt from a larger work, “The Sorcerer’s Crossing.” It was choreographed and costumed and accompanied in authentic West African style. Thomas performed adeptly as the Sorcerer while skillfully accompanying the dance with a gourd covered with shells. The men performed with a somewhat frenetic style while the women danced in a softer, more poetic manner.
Overall, Rainbow Dance Company’s dedicated artistic directors and college performers presented a captivating performance. While Thomas and Bergman were the only professional dancers on stage, the student dancers’ sincerity, dedication and developing skill spoke of their dream of perfection.