2GETHER WE DANCE - The Future of the Philly Dance Scene
In a field where competition is the norm, PHILADANCO and the Pennsylvania Ballet, two of Philly’s own premier dance companies, decided to join forces for a collaborative performance, 2GETHER WE DANCE, involving their “second companies,” Pennsylvania Ballet II and D/2. The result was a beautiful thing.
Inside of a packed house, dancers in bright colors took the floor as the show began. The first piece was a burst of energy, a sign of what was to come; a stage brought to life by movement, emotion, and passion. This piece started as a rather traditional ballet, but then took a more contemporary turn as the music transformed. It was an exciting beginning, and set the tone for a night of performances that played with the space between ballet and contemporary dance.
Next, four female dancers began in perfect unison in a more contemporary number. The same flick of four feet, four glances in the same direction, the same tilt of four necks. Finally, they collapsed, perhaps tired of synchronization, tired of the pursuit of perfection.
PHILADANCO’s large group piece (third in the show) was easily the most memorable in the lineup. Fluid movements turned quickly to bold group phrases, as a heavy drum set the beat for the intense music. It was in-your-face, but made you want to get even closer. Dancers jumped, leaped and fell with such force and commitment that it looked as if they didn’t even care if there was a floor there to catch them. As the piece ended, in that moment of silence before applause, a member of the audience said definitively, “Word…” Some others in the audience laughed as we all broke out in applause. The gentleman sitting next to me, a high school student who had helped hand out programs as part of a high school internship laughed apprehensively. He had not seen many dance performances before, and I don’t think he expected the sheer intensity... I think he was feeling feelings…!
Equally as enjoyable as the performance was the discussion after. Though we didn’t hear as much from the dancers as I expected, we got to hear a lot from the artistic directors, Donald Lunsford (D/2) and Francis Veyette (Pennsylvania Ballet II). Audience members asked, multiple times, “When can we see this again?! When will you collaborate next?” Both companies hope to make their collaboration an annual affair. Further, they hope to “mesh” even more by choreographing and performing dancers together in the future (in this performance, the two companies alternated pieces, but did not perform dances together).
One women enthusiatically remarked, “You look like America up on stage!” referring to the racially diverse group of male and female dancers, “and that’s not what other dance performances look like”, she explained. This element of the show was not lost on other audience members. One man stood up and said, “I’m an alumni (of the company), and as a Black male dancer from Philadelphia, it’s so good to see this on stage. This is what we’ve been fighting for!” The audience broke out in applause yet again. The dancers talked about how great it was to collaborate and to expand their own artistic horizons.
2GETHER WE DANCE was a giant success, and I hope that the major dance companies of Philadelphia continue to collaborate. It brings new life to the stage, pushes the dancers and the dance community, fosters an environment of creativity and makes for a damn great show!
