Wylliams / Henry Contemporary Dance Company

May 2014 Concert
www.wylliams-henry.org

Fri/Sat May 30 & 31 • 8 p.m.

White Recital Hall in the Performing Arts Center
4949 Cherry Street
, Kansas City, Mo. 64110.
Tickets were $24 & $18 for adults, $15 for students and seniors

On friday, despite the Rep Gala celebrating 50 years and taking over the parking lots:

The Wylliams-Henry concert drew a pretty well filled house. When I first saw the disregardful celebration
arrangements which basically cut off the dance concert, I was worried that no one would show.
But hardy souls came through regardless and it was like old home night in the KC dance world.

Heck of a show!

List of pieces in show order - see program credits listed below:

Back to Bach
Solemn Vow
Mosquito
Monfassa

- intermission -
Never Wake a Sleepwalker
Exit
Ice Fire


Allessandra Perdichizzi in "Mosquito" by Ming Xia

Demetirus McClendon in "Never Wake A Sleepwalker" by Autumn Eckman
Demetirus McClendon in "Never Wake A Sleepwalker" by Autumn Eckman

"Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin - Hassan Ingraham, Holly DeWitt and Demetrius McClendon
"Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin - Hassan Ingraham, Holly DeWitt and Demetrius McClendon

Winston Dynamite Brown in "Exit" by Tiffany Sisemore
Winston Dynamite Brown in "Exit" by Tiffany Sisemore

Lisa Thorn-Vinzant (front) contemplates her wedding ring - Left is Paula Weber in "Solemn Vow" by Mary Pat Henry
Lisa Thorn-Vinzant (front) contemplates her wedding ring - Left is Paula Weber in "Solemn Vow" by Mary Pat Henry

Katie Jenkins, Lisa Thorn-Vinzant, and Paula Weber in "Solemn Vow" by Mary Pat Henry
Katie Jenkins, Lisa Thorn-Vinzant, and Paula Weber in "Solemn Vow" by Mary Pat Henry
Three dancers each portray a portion of one woman's life, here all three dancers contemplate their ring
(left to right) as the young woman, as the young matron and finally as the older woman.

As the title suggests this show has mostly familiar material to the company, reconstructed although some of those pieces haven't been seen for many years, so it is nice to get to see them in concert again. These are good dancers and the material it is freshly danced with a nicely balanced program, starting with Back to Bach (uplifting) and ending on an up note with Ice Fire. (not meaning any downers anywhere else - all are worth seeing)

Also Lisa Thorn-Vinzant (a KCB ballet mistress and former KCB dancer, also UMKC adjunct) is in “Solemn Vow.” Also Paula Weber, head of the UMKC dance department and a returning graduate Katie Jenkins who has been dancing with Cleo Parker Robinson in Denver. Solemn Vow itself has three women, each dancing a different phase in a woman’s married life. The “vow” is to marriage and each pays attention in the dance to the ring on her left hand. Mary Pat Henry is the choreographer. I’ve shot "Solemn Vow"before but I think I have some of my best pictures of the piece this time around. Practice.

Also Ming Xia has a piece called “Mosquito” which she choreographed and sent in pieces, on Vimeo, from her location in China. She had regular updates and changes to the piece. She was collaborating with UMKC’s Jim Mobberley who did the soundtrack with two pieces performed back to back, Icarus Staircase and Icarus Waxed (where a flyswatter sound at the end collapses the dancer).

Ming Xia was here last year on an arts exchange program performing and teaching. Mary Pat went to China last year. Ming performed at Modern Night at the Folly last year. I did video on Ming’s pieces last year and did some of the transfers from Vimeo to Mary Pat and editing of the final version of “Mosquito” which came here in pieces over the web. By the time of the last changes the piece looked very different.

Alessandra Perdichizzi has the task of being the pesky, buzzing mosquito, in mosquito costume. With the music and smoke, it has the flavor of classic Chinese theater even though this is modern dance. The terms were use to classify these works are not always able to contain their range of genres. It was a fun piece, and at the end our pesky mosquito gets swatted with a big Fwaap sound and the lights go out.

Cell phone pictures while working through notes - Holly DeWitt
Cell phone pictures while working through notes - Holly DeWitt

Adriene Patrice Barber in a tour jeté as she reverses direction (she is moving right to left) - "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Adriene Barber in a tour jeté as she reverses direction (she is moving right to left) - "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Winston Dynamite Brown in "Exit" by Tiffany Sisemore
Winston Dynamite Brown in "Exit" by Tiffany Sisemore

Ice Fire
Ice Fire

Gala prep
Preparing bleachers, stage and shelter structure in the parking lot of the Rep for their Gala.
It is a mess and in the way of Wylliams-Henry concert goers. And not just the lot shown but
the lot to the rear of this shot which was reserved for attended parking.

Wylliams-Henry concert goers had to park in the parking facility between Cherry and Oak, then walk across Cherry.

Hassan Ingraham in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Hassan Ingraham in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin


A hinge in "Mosquito" by Ming Xia, soloist Alessandra Perdichizzi - top: going to the ground in rehearsal from the hinge - bottom: at the point of getting into the hinge
A hinge in "Mosquito" by Ming Xia, soloist Alessandra Perdichizzi
top: going to the ground in rehearsal from the hinge - bottom: at the point of getting into the hinge

Never Wake A Sleepwalker by Autumn Eckman - (L-R) Katie Jenkins, Alessandra Perdichizzi, Holly DeWitt
Never Wake A Sleepwalker by Autumn Eckman - (L-R) Katie Jenkins, Alessandra Perdichizzi, Holly DeWitt

 

Spring Program

 
Back To Bach
ChoreographyEleo Pomare
MusicJohann Sebastian Bach
Costumes DesignEleo Pomare
DancersAdriene Barber, Winston Dynamite Brown, Holly DeWitt. Katie Jenkins,Demetrius McClendon, Hassan Ingraham, Alesandra Perdichizzi, Myiesha McGriff
 
Solemn Vow
ChoreographyMary Pat Henry
Costumes DesignJudy Pfeifer
Dancers Katie Jenkins - as a young woman,
Lisa Thorn Vinzant - as a young matron,
Paula Weber - as an older women
 
Mosquito
ChoreographyMing Xia
MusicJames Mobberley
Trumpet SoloistKeith Benjamin
Costume DesignMing Xia
DancerAlessandra Perdichizzi
 
Monfassa
ChoreographyDeeAnna Hiett
MusicGeoff Bennett
Costume DesignDeeAnna Hiett
Fabric DesignEnea Brownley
DancersAdriene Barber, Winston Dynamite Brown, Holly DeWitt, Katie Jenkins, Demetrius McClendon,Hassan Ingraham, Alessandra Perdichizzi
 
Never Wake A Sleepwalker
ChoreographyAutumn Eckman
MusicEugene Friesen
Costumes DesignAutumn Eckman
DancersAdriene Barber, Holly DeWitt, Katie Jenkins, Demetrius McClendon, Myiesha MeGriff, Hassan Ingraham, Alessandra Perdichizzi
Never Wake a Sleepwalker was generously supported by a commission from Johnson County Community College Performing Arts Series and director Emily Berhman as part of the 2013 New Dance Partners performances at Johnson County Community College.
 
Exit
ChoreographyTiffany Sisemore
MusicU2
Costume DesignTiffany Sisemore
DancerWinston Dynamite Brown
 
Ice Fire
ChoreographyFred Benjamin
MusicPat Metheny & Lyle Mays
Costumes DesignFred Benjamin
DancersAdriene Barber, Winston Dynamite Brown, Holly DeWitt, Katie Jenkins, Demetrius McClendon, Myiesha McGriff, Hassan Ingraham, Alessandra Perdichizzi
 

Adriene Barber in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Adriene Barber in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

"Never Wake A Sleepwalker" by Autumn Eckman - Denetrius McClendon at the front of the line
"Never Wake A Sleepwalker" by Autumn Eckman - Denetrius McClendon at the front of the line

"Monfassa" by DeeAnna Hiett - (top) Alessandra Perdichizzi, (floor) Katie Jenkins, Holly DeWitt
"Monfassa" by DeeAnna Hiett - (top) Alessandra Perdichizzi, (floor) Katie Jenkins, Holly DeWitt

Alessandra Perdichizzi in "Mosquito"
Alessandra Perdichizzi in "Mosquito"

a
"Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare - Adriene Barber, , Demetrius McClendon

"Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare - Demetrius McClendon and Winston Dynamite Brown with Katie Jenkins behind Demetrius
"Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare - Demetrius McClendon and Winston Dynamite Brown with Katie Jenkins behind Demetrius

"Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare - Holly DeWitt
"Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare - Holly DeWitt

Katie Jenkins in "Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare
Katie Jenkins in "Back to Bach" by Eleo Pomare

Demetrius McClendon in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Demetrius McClendon in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Hassan Ingraham (top) with Demetrius McClendon and Winston Dynamite Brown in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin.
Hassan Ingraham (top) with Demetrius McClendon and Winston Dynamite Brown in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Katie Jenkins in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin (Holly DeWitt in background)
Katie Jenkins in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Same thing during an on-stage run, prior to dress - Katie Jenkins in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Same thing during an on-stage run, prior to dress - Katie Jenkins in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Adriene Barber (top) and (L-R floor) Alessandra Perdichizzi, Katie Jenkins, Hassan Ingraham in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Adriene Barber (top) and (L-R floor) Alessandra Perdichizzi, Katie Jenkins, Hassan Ingraham in "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Holly DeWitt, Adriene Barber, Winston Brown during an on-stage run, prior to dress - "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin
Holly DeWitt, Adriene Barber, Winston Brown during an on-stage run, prior to dress - "Ice Fire" by Fred Benjamin

Adriene Barber in "Ice Fire"
Adriene Barber in "Ice Fire"

Jane Gotch, Logan Pachciarz and Nadia Iozzo (Saturday evening)
Jane Gotch, Logan Pachciarz (KCB) and Nadia Iozzo (KCB) (Saturday evening)

Joseph Flickner and Alexis Borth (Saturday evening)
Joseph Flickner and Alexis Borth, both UMKC (Saturday evening)

Dancers all the way from American Youth Ballet doing usher duty (American Dance Center - 118th and Quivira) (Saturday evening)
Dancers all the way from American Youth Ballet doing usher duty (American Dance Center - 118th and Quivira) (Saturday evening)

 



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Wylliams/Henry links on this site
To their website - www.wylliams-henry.org

Specific Pieces

Otis Redding
Angelitos Negros

At New Dance Partners JCCC

Sept 2022
Sept 2021
Sept 2019
Sept 2018
Sept 2017
At Dance/USA June 2017
Sept 2015
Sept 2014

Jacob's Pillow

Last rehearsal
before going - 18 July 2018

Company Concerts

2021 October
2019 October
2018 October
2017 October
2016 September
2016 June
2015 September Cyprus Ave
2015 May
2014 September
2014 May
2013 September
2012 September
Back On Cyprus Avenue - 22 Oct 2011
2011 September
2011 May
24, 25 Sept 2010 - On Cyprus Avenue
3 Sept 2010 Crossroads
2010 May
2010 March
2009 September
2009 May
2008 September
2008 May
2007 September
2006 September
2006 May
2005 September
2005 May