Dilip Barman
By Dilip Barman
American Dance Festival (ADF)’s 2025 season has begun, and I invite Saathee readers to try it out, if contemporary dance is something new to you, or return to continue to enjoy what you have already discovered. There are 40 performances by 22 dance companies and choreographers from near and far.
The opening show, Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown, and Cunningham Onstage with Special Guests Paul Taylor Dance Company featured well established dances by Trisha Brown, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor celebrating their influences by pioneering visual artist Robert Rauschenberg.
I am a fan of the Avant Garde and enjoyed years ago Laurie Anderson’s Alive from Off Center series on public television; some of the music in this show was from her as well as other notable visionaries like music pioneer John Cage. I found it interesting how one prop, a bicycle wheel rim, was used in two dances by different choreographers.
As interesting as the first show was, I was even more moved by Passion Fruit Dance Company and their performance called DIM3NSIONS. In the question-answer period after the dance, artistic director and choreographer Tatiana Desardouin described what I had witnessed as non-narrative probing styles like hip hop, house, and break, seeking spirituality within the style through not just the choreography but the setting.
The setting was an immersive “projection mapping”. I hadn’t heard or seen anything like this; distorted video of objects including outlines of the dancers formed the backdrop and added a layer of dimensionality once, for example, including dancer forms which jumped out of the background as if to animate the actual dancers. Huiyi Chen, the one responsible, shared in the discussion how careful she was to use this tool to supplement but not overpower the strong dancers. The collaboration among the dancers, projection mapping, animation, and sound was done with folks geographically dispersed and accomplished over 3-4 years.
The result was remarkable. Everything about it was compelling – the strength of the dancers, the interplay amongst the dancers themselves as well as the soundtrack and projection. In one 90-minute “take” the energy never seemed to fade much even in transitions from what essentially were scenes.
At press time, this is all I’ve seen but already the season leaves an indelible mark in my memory. There are many performances remaining for the season.
Some of the performances that I am most looking forward to are by Pilobolus, always a crowd-pleaser with accessible dances of remarkable humor and artistry. June 20th and 21st (in between press time and publication, so this will have passed by the time you read this) they will be presenting four dances, Particle Zoo, Bloodlines, Lamenation Variations, and Rushes, several of which I’ve seen in years past. Lamentation Variations is inspired by Martha Graham’s Lamentation and premiered on September 11, 2007, upon the anniversary of 9/11.
I’m sad that I will have to miss How to be a Visitor by Tommy Noonan, Jassem Hindi, and Frank Mugisha / Culture Mill. Most of the ADF performances are on the Duke Campus in auditoriums like Reynolds and Page, but some, like this one, are in the intimate von der Heyden Studio Theater. The dance will be livestreamed to several locations including France and Uganda to create a shared experience.
Ballet Hispánico is a troupe that has presented well-loved performances for years and this year they are interpreting Bizet’s Carmen opera in their CARMEN.maquia. I’ve read that the opera will be interpreted with flamenco and ballet set in a minimalistic stage.
The American Dance Festival Website has details on all the events, including ticketing. Find it at americandancefestival.org. It offers something for varied tastes and ages, including children. If you are on BlueSky, I will post about the shows and performances @dbarman.
ADF runs through July 26, 2025, in Durham, NC.
Note: American Dance Festival logo and images courtesy of American Dance Festival and used with permission.
Dilip Barman is a lover of culture and teacher of math and vegan food/nutrition teacher. Check out his monthly show somanycooks.com. Contact: dilip@trianglemathinstitute.com
