Hello, CD friends, a few notes about NCI Discovery at the Irvine Barclay Theatre

Molly Lynch brings us this year’s presentation (the 3rd) of workshop pieces in various states of polish by 4 different choreographers working with 15 dancers and lighting designer Monique L’Heureux.

“Yield”
Chor—Graham Lustig
Music—Philip Glass, Brian Bender, Hector Castillo & Eduardo Lopez
Lighting—Monique L’Heureux

Brittany Fridenstine, Stacye Camparo, Cory Bufkin, Elizabeth Chasteler
Eddie Mikrut, Nicolas Lincoln, Dallas Blagg

“Broken”
Chor—Gina Patterson
Music—“Talk to Her” soundtrack from the film by Pedro Almodovar, Alberto Iglesias
Lighting—Monique L’Heureux

Gina McFadden, Francisco Gella
Valerie Tellman, Robert Gosnell
Lauren Fagone, Geoffrey Kropp
Catherine Russell, Kristopher Wojtera

“A Rope in the Water”

Chor—Charles Moulton
Music—Bach, solo violin sonatas and partitas
Lighting—Monique L’Heureux

Lauren Fagone, Valerie Tellman, Catherine Russell, Stacye Camparo, Geoffrey Kropp, Eddie Mikrut, Robert Gosnell

“No Fixed Points”

Chor—Ron De Jesus
Music—Owen Belton, David Lang
Lighting—Monique L’Heureux

Gina McFadden, Brittany Fridenstine, Cory Bufkin, Elizabeth Chasteler
Francisco Gella, Dallas Blagg, Kristopher Wojtera, Nicolas Lincoln

Not every moment was a winner (these are workshop pieces after all) but the dancers looked fabulous especially the women in Lustig’s examination of the Glass phenomenon and Bach never seemed so right for ballet as in Moulton’s “Rope in the Water.” Patterson’s contribution I’m afraid to say never really came together. But, the soloist female in a purple top and black shorts in the first and the fourth movements of the Moulton piece carried the burden of representing Bach the Artist (capitalized) particularly well.

CD friends, if you were there, why not post in your impressions...