L.A. DANCE PROJECT: GEMS

During the past weekend, Mr. X and I were treated to this contemporary dance show at our favorite theatre of all time, the Wallis in Beverly Hills.

This is my fifth or sixth time seeing celebrated choreographer Benjamin Millepied’s company, L.A. Dance Project, and the work is always interesting, to say the least, with consistently superior dancers.

This program was comprised of a trio of offerings that were created in 2013-2016—Reflections, Hearts & Arrows, and On the Other Side—under the overall title umbrella, Gems. To my mind, these pieces are not about the concept of actual gemstones, so perhaps they’re about unique entities, such as when a friend, after witnessing Mr. X’s kindness to her sister, told me that my bae “is a gem!” Or maybe these works are considered gems of the dance world, (which I believe is how the entire company is viewed.)

I can’t believe I’m going so deep into this analysis! The more simple review of Gems is that I adored the third number and enjoyed the middle one, but the first just didn’t get to me. (Mr. X felt the same. A few minutes into the second act, I whispered, “This one is soooo much better than the first,” to which he replied with a very definitive, “Definitely!!!”)

However, as much as I greatly admired all the dancing, I had no idea what any of it meant. As I’ve stated in several previous dance show reviews, I need to know what a dance is about if the choreographer was going for a narrative, as opposed to simply beauty. No explanations were in the Wallis’ program, so it was just all about the movement to me. Gorgeous movement, but I didn’t know the purpose of any of it, which made my mind engage a bit less. (When I researched the pieces later, I still didn’t get any of it.)

For example, during the night’s opener, my least favorite section, 2013’s Reflections, the backdrop was first a giant “STAY” and then a giant “GO” and then back to “STAY.” I didn’t see the meaning of it. So I just concentrated on the dancers themselves, whose work is a wonder. I kept reflecting on the decades of training that brought them to this exquisite point.

Here are some of my other notes on 2013’s Reflections:

Outside of Tommy Tune, I never saw such a tall male dancer as Noah Wang! He’s captivating. And has the most perfect body ever.

Speaking of that perfection, Noah was joined for one section of the dance by Shu Kinouch, and it was so entertaining to see two guys with faultless fitness doing that intense choreography together.

It seemed that all five of these dancers had long hair!

Something that surprised me a bit, but didn’t at all bother me, is that, towards the end of the first duo, I could hear Noah Wang breathing sort-of heavily. I just noticed it a bit, but it was nothing bad at all; trust me, I know annoying dancing sounds—when I lived in Malta, I once saw the National Ballet of Yugoslavia, whose feet were landing with thuds all night!

We were both totally impressed with pianist Yanking Bai, the soloist for the first and third acts. At the end of the presentation, Mr. X declared, “That guy can friggin’ play the piano!!!” But at times during Reflections, composer David Lang’s music sounded like when my mother used to clean the keys of our living room upright! I honestly thought that Bai was freestyling half the time. Let me tell you—no one could take a nap to that composition. (If I ever make a movie about someone being driven to murder, that first piece will be the score!)

Next up was 2014’s Hearts & Arrows. This one was much more to my liking, in every way. The whole thing was so much more dynamic than the first. It had more dancers, better scenery, cuter wardrobe, group dancing, and sooooo much better music!!! I don’t think it was supposed to mean anything—it was just light and fun, with adorable black-and-white outfits.

However, the best, to me, was the last, and longest, (perhaps a bit too much so,) 2016’s On the Other Side. In it was my favorite dancer of the entire evening, Rob Hoffer.  As wonderful as they all were, there was just something special about Rob—every movement of his seemed to be just a bit more. It wasn’t a contest, of course, (except isn’t everything in life?,) but I’m just sayin’.

Much of the choreography in On the Other Side was fascinating, and included many unique and really creative moves. I wound-up not caring what any of it was supposed to mean and just enjoyed the artistry in front of me.

I especially admired the pas de deux in this one. (Since I write my notes in the dark without taking my eyes off the stage, I’m so sorry that I didn’t note which two dancers I’m lauding, but I think it was Shu Kinouchi and Daphne Fernberger.)

As you may have realized by my many reviews through the years, I adore all things dance, so I’m always aware that while dancers are our most talented and hard working artists, few get the recognition, nor jobs, that they deserve. So I applaud people and organizations that support these incredible talents. And I’m happy to report that Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels did just that for this presentation, commissioning all three of these Benjamin Millepied works. (I would have loved to receive a goodie bag of jewels on the way out, but you can’t have everything.)

As always, the Wallis was the most comfortable theatre in which to view this beautiful art. We had friends in different areas of the audience that night, and all of us were equally happy with our views of the stage.  (I’m sure ours was really the best one, though!) A friend to whom I introduced this venue a few years ago was there that night, too, and he was so excited to be there again, telling us, “I love this place!”

So, once again, I heavily suggest that everybody check-out the Wallis’ full schedule, so you do not miss any of their always-worthwhile presentations: www.thewallis.org