The American Dance Festival's performance season is generally characterized by the presentation of acclaimed choreographers and dance works and the commission of new dances. However, the Festival's responsibility to the dance world extends beyond the cultivation of the latest and greatest; they also play a role in reviving and honoring works by classic choreographers. This dual role of the Festival is expressed most clearly by the annual Past/Forward concert. This year's concert was performed in Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University July 19-21, and featured a World Premiere of "Sepia," by Tatiana Baganova, Merce Cunningham's "Inlets 2" (1983), and the "West Side Story Suite" (1995), by Jerome Robbins, all performed by ADF dancers.
Baganova's rich "Sepia" spoke of the passage of time, decay and rebirth through images coalescing with an emotional resonance, although with no strong narrative. Large hourglasses were suspended above the stage, sometimes pouring down a stream of sand over the heads and shoulders of the dancers. The dancers moved with a sensual grace under the fluid sand, undulating their arms, circling their heads, letting the stream flow down their backs. The sound of ripping paper cut through the haunting music, as hands broke through a large paper cocoon at the front of the stage. Three dancers - although it seemed many more limbs writhing beneath the paper - emerged from the yellowing paper, crumpling it up and carrying it around the stage with scurrying steps.
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