Choreographers are often fueled by the last dance they did, so for the watchful viewer, watching how one bleeds into the next can be an exciting way to follow an artist’s career. Dwight Rhoden, who, along with Desmond Richardson, is founding artistic director of Dyed Contemporary Balletsmothered that notion on Tuesday with his two-part “chronicle,” in which he draws on an older dance to create a one-night work.
Beginning with the premiere of “When Hell Freezes Over” and ending with a new staging of the 2009 work “Mercy”, the resulting “Chronicle”, which is part of the company’s season at the Joyce Theater , looks more like a case of copy and paste than a fully realized work. Of the two acts, the first explores the effects of war with a program note that reads, “Heads of State with distant toys can destroy our lives and kill our boys”. The second is struggling with absolution and the attainment of spiritual peace.
In “When Hell Freezes Over”, the idea of violence is a common thread. Andrew Brader stands center stage with a raised hand in salute; but as his arm drops, his disenchantment becomes clear. Terk Lewis Waters, a dancer who demonstrates flexibility but nothing more, crosses the stage with a menacing air. Is it his characterization or his movement, a steady stream of outstretched arms with a twisting spine, that makes him so indistinct? Throughout Mr. Rhoden’s tenuous narrative, he continues on the same choreographic path.
As the couples meet for quick partnership interludes – there’s more of a sense of being captured than tenderness – Mr Brader seems haunted by the memory of a lover. On several occasions he meets Ashley Mayeux for a kiss, and on several occasions they are separated by the others. In the end, five men are spread out on the ground as if to show that death and war are interchangeable. As the others slowly walk away, the curtain falls.
The conclusion “Pityis laden with witty references – as well as moments seemingly borrowed from the dances of Alvin Ailey and Ohad Naharin – but reveals little grace. Separately the dances are quite monotonous; placing them side by side only emphasizes their uniformity. In his “Chronicle,” Mr. Rhoden’s penchant for springy legs, quick ins and outs, and a preponderance of poses of both sexes, but mostly shirtless men, ends in an unsatisfying place: the land of false endings. .
