Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Hailed as one of America’s first composite multicultural ballet company, New York based Complexions Contemporary Ballet graced Canberra’s audience with their usual three-act program of mixed bills for their Australian leg of tour. An eclectic arrangement of new and old works including the world premiere of Moon Over Jupiter, an abstract interpretation of love to Sergei Rachmaninov’s music, together with previous popular choreographic works performed to the tunes of Billie Holiday, Roy Buchanan, and U2 made their way into this year’s Australian tour repertoire.

The company, conceived in 1994 by founding artistic directors Desmond Richardson and fellow dancer Dwight Rhoden, is comprised of 16(ish) carefully selected dancers from across the world of classical and contemporary trained dance backgrounds to reinvent dance ‘like it has never been seen before.’ Bold and undaunted by their soaring ambition, the company works on drawing out the individual’s qualities, strengths and diversities of their dancers to create a unique vision of human movement that transcends all kinds of boundaries, including those artistically, technically and conceivably defined. The result is a 16(ish)-member multicultural dance troupe that can exhibit extraordinary qualities of physical strength, stamina and verve in strong and boastful movements, while together demonstrate style and elegance with gentle poise for fluid and evolving movements when the choreography beckons it. Needless to say, their signature dance style is unique, captivating and often than not, engaging.

Regrettably, Complexions was less than their customary dance performance par excellence at the opening night of the Canberra’s Playhouse. For the world premiere of Moon Over Jupiter (act one), which was an abstract work choreographed by Rhoden to music of Rachmaninov and performed by the full company, utilised a minimalist approach to props, settings and even costumes to interpret a world with no boundaries and where love is unbounded. Despite the choreography showcased dance movements that were powerful and definitive and often danced en pointe, the interpretation (and the existence) of such a world was mystifying simply because the storyline was set adrift. For the second act, the company decided to not follow their prescribed program and presented a jumbled version of (2006), On Holiday (2010) and an impromptu performance of Moonlight (1992) by Desmond Richardson in substitute for Click (2010).

On Holiday (2010), the piece depicts four couples all danced to tune by Billie Holiday to illustrate various stages of love in a person’s life ranging from flirtatious, to infidelity to violent. The colourful costumes and the sounds of Billie Holiday were the highlights of this piece. To much dismay, the choreography did not narrate a story about love instead it presented a series of repeated routines for dramatic effects and presentations that hallmarks Complexion dance style. The female dancers stood out from their male counterparts, more so were Wendy White Sasser and Christina Dooling.

For the final act, Complexions presented Rise (2008) with accompanying U2 hits in its efforts to explore “the dizzying journey of life in all its complexity and ecstasy [and] to invite audiences to believe all over again in the power of love.” The piece was saturated with clichés gestures from the onset, including at the beginning when one solo dancer was running on the spot (slowly at first, then picking up his pace) to the song Where The Streets Have No Name as well as other incidences of such literal expression of the popular lyrics. Interestingly, despite Complexions being hallmarked for its unique style of dance against a selection of interesting and popular tunes, little is said about its approach to storytelling.

Over the course of the program, what did become apparent was its total reliance on the physical movements to dictate the storyline of each piece. With minimal scenic elements including little (if not any) props, simple yet high-contrast lighting designs and unassuming costumes, it leaves the audience with little (if not any) clues as to how the storyline of each piece unfolds. Given this approach there is an even greater emphasis to invest and cultivate a robust storyline with the choreographic elements of each piece.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet (New York)

About the company