Dance Reviews

Jul 12, 2006 - The athletically astonishing Diavolo Dance Theater soars at Reno's Artown Festival

By Jack Neal

Continuing its recent tradition of presenting up-and-coming dance companies, Reno's Artown month-long July festival presented the Diavolo Dance Theater as one of its kick-off presentations. The Diavolo Dance Theater made an impressive debut at Reno s Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts July 6 (2006) before a disappointing, less-than-half-full house. The company's first-rank presentation deserved nothing less than a standing room only crowd.

The Diavolo Dance Theater is a multiimedia company that presents a smorgasbord of movement for dance fans who can then pick and choose what they like. The problem is sitting through segments one doesn't care for waiting for more likeable ones - depending on one's taste in dance - to come along.

The Los Angeles based Diavolo was founded in 1992 to create large-scale, interdisciplinary performances, and "examine", what the company's artistic management calls, "the funny and frightening ways individuals interact with their environment."

The ten well-muscled dancers making up the Diavolo are - as one dance critic described them – "fetchingly athletic." Athleticism and edginess in dance is what the company is noted for and it delivers handsomely on both counts. Carrying edginess on too long, however, is one of Diavolo's drawbacks. But when everything clicks, as it does most of the time, what the Diavolo Dance Theater presents is riveting experiences in daredevil movement. Much of what this tightly disciplined company does is aesthetically pleasing, all of it is athletically astonishing.

The printed program was changed somewhat. Since it was impossible to hear, let alone understand, what artistic director Jacques Heim was saying what we saw and what we thought we were seeing were not necessarily in sync.

The door duet set to a vocal duet by Puccini was charming and impeccably brought off. The number with the rolling ottoman as an accompaniment to dance was less charming, confusing in fact, yet still attractive for its athletic prowess.

The Diavolo deals most effectively with huge set pieces that rock and turn and twist and change while the dancer-athletes fly on and off in what has to be extremely hazardous circumstances. It's the hazard, of course, and the beauty of the human form flying swiftly through space and into a safe catch or landing that makes this dance company so unique and exciting.

"Trajectoire " was the most fascinating of the company's offerings. With a set design by Daniel Wheeler, engineering by Dan Williams, and construction by Mike McCluskey, the list of contributors alone is a hint as to the challenge and beauty such part-of-the-action sets play in what the Diavolo does so successfully.

Credits for the stunning choreography and attractive and workable costumes go to the entire company. The company's dramatic lighting is by Evan Merryman Ritter. The music used, some original, some not, is always an enhancement, never a distraction.

It's a shame to describe the extensive contributions of this smashing collection of athlete-dancers without a mention, so here they are. The performing company includes: Ken Arata, Briana Bowie, Philip Flickinger, Becca Greenbaum, Renee Larsen, Melinda Ritchie, Jones Welsh, Garrett Wolf, Crystal Zibalese and David Zibalese.

They are, each and every one, terrific.