CHICAGO REPERTORY DANCE ENSEMBLE
Lar Lubovitch’s Big Shoulders, created for CRDE in 1984, was the only piece not choreographed by a member. It remains a vibrant, athletic, friendly celebration of Chicago’s architecture and of the men and women who struggled to build the city. Lubovitch gives this struggle wit and whimsicality: his cast of 12 speedily and entertainingly alternates between stints as construction workers, crawling in and out of tight spots, as steel girders being put into place, and as the bricks and mortar that go into arches and basements and around windows. The entire piece moves with speed, energy, and great good humor, greatly assisted by John Holabird’s evocative set. The work was effectively accompanied only by the sound of the dancers’ feet on floor, their occasional grunts, and a recording of voices and sounds of riveting at a distant construction site.
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O’Slynne’s interesting choreographic ideas for creating psychological nuances could almost have had the impact of Antony Tudor’s, but O’Slynne weakened the piece with lengthy blackouts between sections that destroyed the continuity. The piece would have been stronger, too, if it had been more subtle, without recourse to the bizarre and violent that O’Slynne seems to find so compelling.
A major work, one of two presented at all performances (Unbreakable was the other), was Mary Ward’s A Night in Ballydesmond. This piece for 12 dancers was inspired by an evening she spent in a Ballydesmond pub. Ward may have thought she was offering a large-scale choreographic tribute to Irish culture and lore, but there was too much to absorb in this much-too-long single dance, which included three Irish drunks whose characterization was not only uncomical but offensive. The jigs were fun, and the fairy sprites were attractive in Brian Jeffery’s costumes–but this fantasy scene was unconnected with the rest of the dance, as was a scene of mourning, a graphic reminder of Ireland’s travail over the centuries. Ballydesmond has a goodly amount of inventive dance of Irish flavor and a wonderful score brilliantly arranged by Mike Kirkpatrick, but it needs tightening. With work, it might be one of CRDE’s liveliest, most accessible dances.
