Koresh Dance Company didn’t slip quietly onto the stage at the Carnival Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. The Philadelphia-based company appeared with an intense burst of rhythms, sounds and finesse. It was a performance of focused energy and style.
Koresh was founded in 1991 by Ronen Koresh, who is also the choreographer. The company is diverse, athletic and strong, with a tongue and cheek sensitivity that fleetingly surfaces.
The troupe was here for a three-day visit to Miami, with a free master class for intermediate and advanced dancers on Thursday, March 16, and on Friday, and Saturday, March 17 and 18, for performances at the Arsht.
_1490369473.jpg)
Seamless is a key word. Not until the conclusion of the evening did the company reappear for a bow. This enabled the atmospheric pieces to flow easily from one to the next. At times, the pieces, even after the intermission, appeared as if they were one, long dance. The costumes in each section were in shades of black, gray or deep blue, making even the costuming seamless. It was difficult to tell if the dancers were in the same outfit or a new one. That being said, the movement was beautifully executed with a driving, relentless physicality that constantly moved without seeming too fast. The lighting by Peter Jakubowski and Alyssandra Docherty was lovely as it enhanced the dance and played with the haze.
Various uses of circles and canons added a mesmerizing quality to the evolution of the evening. Dancers oftentimes lined up across the front of the stage, or stood in a family portrait type of arrangement and simply gazed out, blankly. In the atmosphere, the movement became familiar in its repetitiveness. Random voices or slaps maintained a constant and urgent beat under the music.
While most of the evening had an intense riveting feel, the two happy and sweet sections were to the most classical music on the program. It was a very obvious choice that implied these were the light sections using vocabulary that was much the same with the addition of a smile.
There are only ten dancers. Each is unique in this ensemble company and they each have moments that appear tailor made for them.
The final piece on the program was to Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero.” The evening had maintained a hazy ambiance, a staging choice of using dry ice to create fog, but at this point the fog became even thicker as the familiar music started. Groups of dancers appeared from out of the thick haze and then disappeared like magic. As the music evolved, so did the dance, until the climax ensued with all the dancers in unison forming patterns,changing directions and continuing that driving, relentless, almost trance-like progression. The atmosphere became even more surreal when the smoke alarm went off, sirens screamed and haunting lights started blinking. It was a powerful way to conclude the evening.
