Manny About Town
Dance Theatre Has Them Climbing the Walls

By Manny Meland

	Robyn Morris

Artistic director Ileigh Reynolds brought her dance company, Animate Objects Physical Theatre, to Collins Park neighborhood in Miami Beach. There, she literally had them dancing on the walls. The wall in this case was the exterior of the Bass Museum. The Wright brothers were not the only ones that dreamed of flying. By integrating aerial equipment as props, Reynolds succeeded in creating choreography that seemed to free the dance from the constraints of gravity. Now, her dancers’ jumps could be extended to reach the heights. On this “Sleepless Night,” November 3, when we turned our clocks back one hour, she had ropes descending from the roof of the Bass. Her troupe of dancers thrilled an audience gathered in the parking lot below as they repelled up and down the wall in a simulated dance.

	Dangling dancers at the Colony

Needless to say that when I learned that they were performing November 9, at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road, I hurried to reserve a couple of tickets. This program, Que Viva la Muerte (Long Live Death), opened with the troupe playing a choreographed version of musical chairs. They danced on chairs, under the chairs and at times, carried the chairs. The chairs symbolized life and the dancer that failed to find a chair was led away by the grim reaper. La Muerte had its comic moments. One such number was to the tunes of the cult favorite Rocky Horror Picture Show. In another number, wispy appearing chiffon suspended from above carried some dancers down near the floor where they paired up with earth-bound partners who they swept up in extended pas de deux. This team of athletic performers danced and swung from the rafters.

Besides choreographing and directing, Reynolds also participated as a dancer in the evening’s program. Rosie Herrera acted as the rehearsal director and a dancer. They were joined by Teresa Barcelo and Rachel Carrol, who both received their training at the Alvin Ailey School in Santa Fe and the New World School of Arts, college division, in Miami. Another dancer, Liz Mintz, earned her B.S.E. in Exercise Science & Health Promotion at Florida Atlantic University. Llana Reynolds, Ileigh’sister, rounded out the troupe. You won’t necessarily see the same people in every show. In future productions you may find different combinations of aerialists, dancers and circus artists.

	Patricia Svilik and Manny

After the show, I met board member Robyn Morris in the lobby. She told me that their dance-theatre aimed to create works that united modern dance with improvisation and cirque-style entertainment. The group’s production team invites artists of all genre to classes in trapeze, corde lisse, hoop, aerial yoga, straps and tissue. At class, they practice partnering floor and sky, building blocks, aerial choreography and creative movement. This adds to the troupe’s technical repertoire. And to repay the community for its support, they provide an opportunity to aspiring youngsters to test and develop their skills in this style of dance-theatre.