LYNDA MARTHA DANCE COMPANY
This concert also offers, however, several striking examples of a newfound artistic imagination and maturity. I’d guess that a good part of that comes from the sleek virtuosic talents of her eight dancers, most of them new to the company. They cope effortlessly with complicated lifts, demanding leaps, rolls on the floor, and split-second timing and speed in close partnering.
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Martha gives Almost a Tango a slight, somewhat pretentious story line–Udo Demmig and Beverly Sikes are identified in the program as the Lovers, and Jaap v t’Hoff as Fate. Forget the program, however, and watch the stunning dance–the most riveting and complex work Martha has ever created. The Lovers hold each other passionately while their feet never stop their intricate, fleet movements. Between embraces Demmig tosses Sikes recklessly–sometimes t’Hoff catches her, sometimes Demmig does. She eventually escapes t’Hoff and leaps back into her lover’s arms. Is t’Hoff really Fate, or just a man desiring the man, the woman, or both? One never knows in this cryptic, fascinating piece. But it doesn’t really matter, for the piece’s real drama is found in the brilliant dance designs Martha created for the trio.
