Robert Moses' Kin kicked off their 10th anniversary season last weekend at the Jewish Community Center with their first program, which featured new premieres by Alex Ketley, Amy Seiwert and Moses. The company delivered a lot of bang for the buck, dancing five action-packed pieces in just under two hours, leaving the viewer saturated in dynamic choreography, but a little exhausted.
The evening began with Moses' "other gods" (2004), which seemed at times as if Moses were exploring some old-school modern-dance ideas, along with lots of formal groupwork, beautiful lifts, gorgeous dancing and an orchestral score written by George Pelecis. Dancer Katherine Wells was featured prominently, and presented wonderfully articulated movement. Ultimately, Moses' voice shined through, but the audience was left wondering what the point was of such beauty.
Guest choreographer Alex Ketley presented "The Marking of Apology," which demonstrated Ketley's ballet background for a quartet of women wearing funky skirts (not particularly flattering) and an electronic score by TarJMB. This Euro-style piece was sharp and clean, but it felt like something was missing. The stark approach of minimal lighting and scenic design puts a lot of pressure on the choreography to make a statement, and at the end of the exercise, it wasn't clear what Ketley's intention was. Fortunately, dancer Bliss Kohmyer Dowman attacked the choreography with ferocity, but this wasn't quite enough to propel the piece into the next level.
Moses re-worked last year's "The President's Daughter," with Darren Johnston's live jazz score. The piece felt abridged and was a little difficult to follow. The story about the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and slave Sally Hemmings is topical but choreographically problematic; what if the viewer doesn't understand the historical context of the relationship? The piece featured excellent gestural phrases by a chorus of women, and vocalist/narrator Cedric Brown added an aural texture that contributed to the piece's linear structure. There are a lot of exciting ideas in this piece. Hopefully, Moses will continue to explore dance-theatre, since the untapped potential is clearly there.
Deep flex
Choreographer Amy Seiwert contributed "Return," a balletic exercise to Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C minor. "Return" featured four women and two men, and used contemporary ballet vocabulary that had an occasional twist (flexed feet). "Return" didn't showcase the Moses dancers well. They're beautiful dancers, but they're not ballet dancers. Choreographically, the piece was playful, and Seiwert definitely knows her stuff.
Seiwert is scheduled to return next year, and this was probably her opportunity to meet the company. Next time around, perhaps she'll be able to capitalize on the company's strengths, because there are lots to choose from.
The evening closed with what may have been the strongest piece, "Speaking Ill of the Dead," a world premiere that was an exciting combination of thumping music and explosive dancing. It wasn't at all self-conscious. This is where Moses seemed to be his most sure-footed. Dancers' personalities emerged as interesting contributors, and the score by David Worm and Moses blended seamlessly with a visceral stream of choreography that left the viewer transported.
Robert Moses' Kin has matured into a strong repertory company and is clearly not afraid of taking risks. This week they will present the second program, which will feature yet another world premiere, this time by local luminary Joanna Haigood. The pieces "other gods" and "Speaking Ill of the Dead" will also return. This season, it's possible the company has reached beyond its abilities; some of the dancing was not as clean as previous years. But RMK is still one of the strongest young companies in the Bay Area. They presented an exciting evening of dance.
Robert Moses' Kin's season continues, Feb. 23-26 at the Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St., SF. See website for programs and times. Tickets: $15-26, at (415) 292-1233 or www.jccsf.org/arts.