“Is it necessary to go to Europe for balletic inspiration when we can find it right here?” And with that cogent and inspirational quote from founder, artistic director and choreographer Shawn Short, he pounds a powerful punch to traditional notions about ballet. Dissonance Dance Theatre’s fleet-footed evening of contemporary ballet, Diaspora, part of the Intersections Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, demonstrated how ballet can be more inclusive and draw inspiration from contemporary urban sources.
A diaspora represents a scattering of peoples, their cultures and communities from a place of origin to a new land. Dissonance denotes a lack of agreement or discordance in beliefs. In Diaspora, an ambitious slate of eight energetic works, Short merges the two ideas to create a powerful program that moves ballet to new horizons of cultural fusion, dispelling any singular notion of how ballet should be expressed.
Envision contemporary ballet that’s prestissimo — fast, quick and light-footed in execution with leaping splits, high leg kicks, acrobatic lifts as jazz hands reach to the sky and, most of all, an incredible energy that enthralls. “Silo,” the opening piece, with music by the iconic Earth, Wind and Fire, makes you hold onto your seat for a ride that never lets up in excitement and vigor requiring pure stamina for Dissonance’s hard-driving dancers.
The emotional impact of all eight works in Diaspora quickens the pulse with a thrilling kind of anticipation. But there are moments when you do need time to catch your breath in this fast-paced program.
“When October Goes” and “To Joshua with Love” are more mellow pieces that can slow down your racing heart with romantic vocals by Nancy Wilson and instrumentals by J. Redman and YoYo Ma.
Short choreographed every piece in this eclectic program and there’s a soothing sameness in the lyricism of its repetitive movements in quick turns, flowing carriage of the arms, and beautiful partnering. Floor straddling splayed limbs and outstretched arms appeared ever romantic but methodical and precise.
Diaspora melds contemporary ballet with modern dance and jazz. It’s as elegant as a swan in motion with a Caribbean essence and American street-dance cool.
A strong ensemble of female dancers shimmies en pointe to a Lindy Hop beat in “Big Band Suite (Movement 1-3).” Then male dancers sensuously swivel their hips to a calypso cadence in “As the Sun Rises” with the full ensemble expressing the Junkanoo joy of a Carnival street parade.
Ngoma Center students from the training arm of Dissonance Dance Theatre perform in “Relax, Relate and Release.” These talented budding ballerinas and modern dancers are terrific and their exceptional synchronicity of movement is commendable.
What impacted me most about the works in Diaspora is choreography that uses the whole body of the dance and the dancers with no part standing out from the rest. The entire ensemble effortlessly moves into focus and then individual dancers exit the stage. They magically reappear as duets or sure-footed soloists who again surrender to the ensemble creating a sense of being connected in an intensely organic way.
Dissonance Dance Theatre remains the only nationally recognized, Black-managed contemporary ballet company between New York and Atlanta, according to Short. For the past 13 years, under Short’s dynamic and committed guidance, the company has been making an important contribution to the dance community of Washington, D.C.
Photos courtesy Dissonance Dance Theatre