3 commentsDallas — Come wondering, sit and be awed, leave inspired. Dallas Black Dance Theatre closes its season at AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre with the annual Spring Celebration Series, which included four dances from their repertoire, one premiere, and two pieces by special guest Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theatre.
You wonder, "what’s going on in Las Vegas, besides casinos and Barry Manilow?" Well, good things, if LVCDT is any indication. Artistic director Bernard Gaddis (former Alvin Ailey principal) performs a heart-wrenching solo ("Gabriel’s Sorrow") and a gasp-inducing yet despairing trio ("Sacrifus") with Roman Pantoja and Danielle Howard, in which a woman finds out her lover is involved with another man.
Between the jumps, the extensions and arabesques, and pretty much everything else they do, the company members simply amaze. Nycole Ray has the uncanny ability to engage the audience so that even those sitting the farthest away feel like they’re sitting on stage with her, especially in Nathan Trice’s "Verses" (inspired by the Nasher Sculture Center) and Christopher Huggins’ "Essence." Sean Smith dances with a powerful simplicity in Milton Myers’ "Variations I." Although much more could be written about each of the company members’ dancing abilities (especially the powerfulness displayed in Ray Mercer’s "Pulse"), what makes each of them great to watch is the uniqueness and individuality displayed in such a way, that no one person looks right or wrong on stage; they just come as they are and dance their hearts out.
Although seven dances are on the bill, "Nina Simone Project" by Dianne McIntyre shines brightest. Not that the other dances are bad or dull (especially with the wealth of talent among the dancers), but the memory of the other six pieces dims a bit in the light of the seventh.
"Nina" presents the life and work of the "Priestess of Soul" Nina Simone, through music, dance, spoken word, and pictures. Writer and actress Regina Taylor (of the recent The Trinity River Plays at Dallas Theater Center) provides the narration, giving a context for the nine Simone songs. The first three songs ("Com’ by H’Yere," "Cotton Eyed Joe," and "Color is a Beautiful Thing") illustrate a relative innocence, even through the tension of segregation and the first broken heart. As the piece moves into "Be My Husband", the audience feels Simone maturing as the passions and hardships of relationships are danced on stage. Throughout these four songs, the dancers are clad in 1940s rural-style, gender-specific clothing. Even though all of the music contains lyrics which could easily overpower the dance, McIntyre’s choreography maintains an organic nature, even when directly interpreting the lyrics.
Simone’s reaction to the injustice dealt due to her color and gender explodes in front of our eyes with "Backlash Blues" and "Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter." The choreography and mood take a hard turn as the dancers enter the stage wearing more modern, unisex clothing and exuding determination and anger. In the midst of fighting for their cause, however, reality sets in as a friend dies, and they have to grapple with their grief and varying degrees of disillusionment.
The next two songs, "I Sing Just to Know that I’m Alive"—a lively Samba depicting Simone’s time in Barbados— and "Fodder in Her Wings"—a more serious piece— contrast the feelings and experiences as she traveled the world looking for her place. The work ends on a beautiful, uplifting note with "Consummation", which is vaguely reminiscent of (but does not copy) pieces of Ailey’s Revelations. As Taylor tells us, Simone thought of her life joyous as a whole, with no regrets. Wearing all white with a white chiffon overlay, the company closes the dance with unity and optimism, illustrating a peace Simone hopefully had at her death.
Whether it’s through the remarkable dancing, the powerful choreography, or the message of Simone’s life, audiences will leave inspired. 
