Another fall and another season of Fall for Dance at New York City Center. I have been attending Fall for Dance programs for about 20 years and some years I write up all five programs, some years I only write up a couple, and for too many years I have not written anything. I am hoping to write up all five this year and maybe one day, I will write up past years, just because.

All of our seats for the five nights were excellent seats in the Grand Tier, which happens because rtb stands on line at 5am the morning the tickets go on sale at 11am. Years ago, I used to be able to buy tickets online easily and chose my seats. (Fall for Dance has always been a very NYC event instead of a tourist event and each year it gets more popular. How could it not? Several dance companies each night for a very reasonable price.) I tried seats all over the house – orchestra, Grand Tier, mezzanine, and balcony – until I found that the Grand Tier seats are the best. Sometimes I could even get front row in the Grand Tier. But now the first two center rows are reserved for VP, Witten Family Artistic Director for Dance Stanford Makishi, dancers from other programs, and I’m guessing City Center members who donate the most money. But even third center row or first or second row on the sides in the Grand Tier are pretty great seats.

Each program is repeated for two nights and rtb, her sister, peg, and I attended the second night when they had the dance lesson. Even though my knees now prevent me participating, I do love watching. And I really enjoyed watching the lesson from Jessica Tong, Rehearsal Director for A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham. She had them warm up and walk around by falling into space – skipping and hopping and leaning and then following the lean. Even then, the small group (I was surprised that more people did not show up for the lesson) looked like a professional company and not a bunch of strangers just wandering around the Grand Tier lobby. Eventually Tong added some steps to the movement with arms outstretched and just going in that direction and stopping themselves from falling. It continued to look like a real dance and I think that was because most of the audience was not being self-conscious and instead were being in the moment instead of thinking of steps and what comes next.

All photos of the dancing are taken from the NY City Center site or somewhere on the internet.

The first dance was the NY premiere of In the act of undoing by A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham. The company was dressed in street clothes of different colors. They danced on a white floor with a black backdrop. There was a neon light across the back and the dancers were saying words that appeared on the screen. Electronic music played. The screen lifted and one red light was flashing every second. When the screen came back, it was full of words and the red light returned.  I could immediately see the steps from the dance lesson, which is always a fun find. They fell into space and pushed against each other and all looked natural and dance-like at the same time. It was a great beginning to the five nights.

Artistic Director: Kyle Abraham

Choreography: Jermaine Spivey

Music: Jermaine Spivey

Scenic Design: Dan Scully

Costume Design: Karen Young

Lighting & Video Design: Dan Scully

Stage Manager: Meredith Belis

Dancers: Jared Alequin, Mykiah Goree, Alysia Johnson, Faith Joy Mondesire, Destin Morisset, William Okajima, Kalen Simpson, Niya Smith, Gianna Theodore, Olivia Wang

After a pause, we watched the first of many ballets in the program. I love ballet, but as I have noted in the last couple of years, I do not like the emphasis on ballet at Fall for Dance. One of the exciting things about Fall for Dance is being introduced to dances that I was unfamiliar with, such as dances from different parts of the world. But also modern and new dances from the US.

L’Air D’Esprit was performed by Skylar Brandt and Aran Bell. Before the curtain opened, there was a big overture. On a somewhat darkened stage, Bell carried Brandt onto the stage. The spotlight was broken into separate beams. Brandt wore a lavender tulle skirt with a sparkly top and Bell had on a white leotard and a white jacket. There was a lot of athleticisms with lifts, carrying, spins, and toe work. They prettily danced as a duo, individual work, and duo again. I can only describe the music as bombastic.

Choreography: Gerald Arpino

Staging: Ann Marie DeAngelo, Tina LeBlanc from The Gerald Arpino Foundation

Music: Adolphe Adam

Costume Design: A Christina Giannini

Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton

I was very happy to see the Martha Graham Dance Company back at Fall for Dance, this time with Cortege. There were percussive sounds and a man saying something near the start. The dancers knelt in a row on a dimly lit stage, all under a black sheet. The sheet was pulled off them from the back. All were barefoot and wearing beige pants with front faux tie-around flaps. The men were bare chested and the women wore beige sports bras. Everyone is very muscular and there were group and individual dances. At one point, heads were being held back and violence was implied and felt. The group carried one dancer like Cleopatra on her throne with the dancers ahead kicking like horses. Eventually everyone put on quilted sleeveless crop tops that resembled ancient bullet proof vests. The online description: “Drawing inspiration from Martha Graham’s Cortege of Eagles, Baye & Asa focus on Charon, the ferryman who shepherds souls to the underworld. In Graham’s work, the Trojan Empire is crumbling, and Charon is the conductor of its inevitable fall. Baye & Asa’s Cortege removes this central figure of mythological predestination, and instead places the burden of fate on the ensemble. Together, they generate the cyclical momentum of war.” For the music: “Jack Grabow’s score reflects themes from Eugene Lester’s original score for the Graham work.” The dance ended with the company on their knees, all in one row again, and someone begins to cover them with the black sheet.

Artistic Director: Janet Eilber

Choreography: Baye & Asa

Music: Jack Grabow

Costume Design: Caleb Krieg

Lighting Design: Yi-Chung Chen

Dancers: Laurel Dalley-Smith, Zachary Jeppsen-Toy, Lloyd Knight, Antonio Leone, Jai Perez, Anne Souder, Leslie Andrea Williams, Xin Ying