Date Night: Doug Verone and Dancers

 

Three years ago, on October 3rd, the most amazing man in the world proposed to me.  Of course I said yes, and so this past weekend, that amazing man took me out to celebrate.  It was pouring down rain which is so symbolic for us.  When we first got together it rained on every single date, and it rained the night he proposed.  Where did we go, you ask?  First we headed out to dinner at Antonio's in Addison Circle-obviously we discussed the Aggie win over Arkansas (whoop!).  Then we went to the Winspear Opera House in Dallas for the opening of the dance season.

After running a few blocks in the rain, getting leaves in the bottom of my beautiful, pink Marc Fisher pumps, and having to shiver up a storm upon entering the Winspear (a first since we've been back in Texas), we FINALLY sat down for the show.

 

It began with "Carrugi", a piece created just this year to Mozart's La Betulia Liberata.  From the moment the lights came up on the eight, already moving, dancers, I could see how truly unique this company is.  I could also see how talented Doug Verone is.  There was no story line, there was no intricate message.  It was just movement, movement that reminded me of composition class at Texas A&M University.  The quality of this movement was impeccable.  It was fluid when it needed to be, precise when it needed to be.  The dancers' ability to move from chaos to harmony when transitioning from moving on their own to moving in unison was eye catching and Verone's use of this in mimicking the dynamic changes in the opera kept the audience wondering what would happen next.  I'm glad to say that the costuming was simple and made the dancers feel like real people.  It gave them human qualities and showed that they were imperfect, like so many of us already feel. 

Unfortunately, the soundboard went down during intermission, causing the show to come to a screeching halt, but that didn't stop the audience from enjoying every minute.  Lucky for us, Doug Verone was willing to start his "Q and A" session while a new sound board was brought to the stage.  He was down to Earth and funny.  He showed passion for his company and his dancers and made me feel like I'd want to dance for him.  It was easy to see why he's kept many of his dancers for over ten years, and it was easy to see why over 400 women would audition for one spot. 

After the extra long intermission, the show continued with "Able to Leap Tall Buildings", another new work by Verone.  This piece, Doug said, was created around action figures, around the way they would move if they could on their own.  It was short and sweet and to the point, and I loved it.  The dancers, Erin Owen and Alex Springer, were amazing in performance quality and in their technique. Their interactions were interesting, switching between a calm and content manner to anxious and argumentative.

After, yet another, question and answer with Doug, the audience was able to enjoy the last piece, "Rise" which was originally choreographed in 1993 and is being reconstructed for Verone's 25th anniversary this year.  Each of four couples were dressed in blue, red, green and purple and each had different personalities during this piece.  Again, I was amazed at the flawless technique and quality of movement and again I was floored when the dancers' unison movements flowed so easily.  However, "Rise" was, well, long, and I hate to say it, but my interest began to wane.  I was pleased with the energetic faux ending and the mini solos that created the finale. 

Overall, I was pleased by the performance and so happy to get to know the choreographer a little better than I would have by seeing his work alone.  I loved that each dancer is unique and that Doug made it clear that he hires dancers who are "people" instead of dancers who can not show their own personality on a stage.  I loved that each dancer has a unique body type, but that each of them becomes part of the whole company.  My lack of patience and self-proclaimed ADD did make the first and last piece difficult to sit through toward the end. I also would have been happier if my behind hadn't of gone numb and my bladder hadn't of been so full.   All in all, I can't wait to see Doug Verone and Dancers again.  Maybe I'll get to be in New York for the next show. *Swoon*... Until then, I have a whole season of TITAS shows to attend.


Dinner and a dance show?  It's the perfect date. I'm one lucky girl.