Review: PARSONS DANCE at The Joyce Excites and Delights

It's a pleasure to be back seeing live dance performances and the company made the night magical with new works and favorites. Whether you're a dance enthusiast or are looking for a great night at the theater, get your tickets and enjoy! Two programs, A and B are now on stage through December 12.

In his opening night address to the audience, David Parsons dedicated the performance to Howell Binkley, the Tony Award winning lighting designer who co-founded the Parsons Dance in 1985 with David Parsons. Parsons was very welcoming as he commented, "These dancers are ready for you folks."

We attended Program A. It opened with "Past Tense," choreographed by Matthew Neelan and commissioned by Parsons Dance. This piece has music by Pietro Locatelli, lighting by Christopher S. Chambers and costumes by Christine Darch. Performed by the full company of eight dancers, this emotive new work featured perfect partnering. It was an ideal opening number to showcase the troupe's boundless talents.

The program continued with "Balance of Power," a solo performed by Croix Diienno with choreography by David Parsons, lighting by Christopher S. Chambers, costumes by Barbara Erin Delo, and percussion music by Giancarlo De Trizio that was performed by him. This is a one-of-a-kind choreography with Diienno executing seemingly impossible movements that require extraordinary strength, control, flexibility and grace.

To close the first act, the full company performed "On the Other Side" with choreography by Chanel DaSilva, lighting by Christopher S. Chambers, music by Cristina Spinei, costumes by Marion Talan de la Rosa with piano music performed by Erika Dohi and Britton Matthews on the marimba. As the dancers performed within boxes that they taped onto the stage, this piece had an uncanny beauty that was fascinating and thought provoking.

The second act opened with a whimsical piece, "The Envelope" choreographed by David Parsons with lighting by Howell Binkley, music by Gioachino Rossino with an arrangement of the score by Charles Gouse, and costumes by Judy Wirkula. Performed by seven members of the troupe, this piece injected some humor into the production with the dancers clad in black rejecting a white envelope. As the small parcel changed hands, the piece's clever touches continued to impress.

The program continued with "Caught" an inventive solo that was performed by Zoey Anderson with choreography by David Parsons, lighting concept by David Parsons, lighting design by Howell Binkley, music by Robert Fripp, and costume design by Judy Wirkula. This piece has been maintained in the active repertory of Parsons Dance since 1982. Enhanced by the use of strobe lights, the demanding dance movements were impeccably performed by Anderson while the lighting gave an exciting visual effect of mid-air suspension.

The program concluded with "The Road" with choreography by David Parsons, lighting by Christopher S. Chambers, music by Yusef/Cat Stevens and costumes by Christine Darch. It was a great finale to an extraordinary evening. The full company danced to familiar tunes wrapping up the show with a sense of joy and inspiration.

The dancers in the company include Zoey Anderson, Croix Diienno, Megan Leigh Garcia, Damond Lemonte Garner, Rachel Harris, Jerimy Rivera, Deidre Rogan, and Henry Steele. Eric Bourne is a Guest Dancer and Tea Perez is the Understudy.

With signature style, grace, and athleticism, Parsons Dance is back and better than ever. Don't miss their New York engagement at The Joyce Theater located at 175 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10011. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.joyce.org/ or call the box office at 212.242.0800. For more information on Parsons Dance, please visit https://www.parsonsdance.org/.

Photo Credit: Andrew Eccles

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