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The Owen/Cox Dance Group performed in front of a full house last Saturday night at the City Stage Theater at Union Station. Although the audience was a small one, everyone gathered in the intimate theater seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves throughout the hour and a half performance. The laid-back mood, and up close and personal dance experience was a nice change of pace.    

Having never been to one of the company's shows, it was reminiscent of the In the Wings showcases that Kansas City Ballet used to host where choreographers presented a vast array of new and revamped dance selections. In this case, Jennifer Owen contributed all of the choreography and the collaboration of live music added an extra level of excitement and stimulation.

The first half of the program comprised five short stand-alone works choreographed by Owen with costumes by Lisa Choules. I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream highlighted six dancers - three men and three women - in bright colored, simple attire. The piece was light hearted, often displaying child-like choreography with jumping, skipping and flexed feet and hands. Some dancers had more energy and stage presence than others, connecting with fellow performers and the audience more successfully. The music was very fun and upbeat (especially the saxophone parts) and complemented the frolicsome movement nicely.

Beginning with the next piece, Surge propera amica mea, the curtain upstage was opened, revealing the band and adding another dimension to the audience's eye. Nathan Granner narrated the slow, sensual pas de deux danced by Charles Martin and Jennifer Tierney. Granner's Spanish intonation was provocative and resplendent creating a storyline of emotions that the dancers responded to appropriately. Tierney executed gorgeous lines and the couple danced fondly together.

The next two works were highlights in the company's repertoire. Schenker's Last Stand featured Owen and Christopher Barksdale in a witty, playful piece of friendly one-upping the other. The two took turns strutting their stuff and showing off their personalities, in the end joining together in lifts, leaps and, yes, even shimmying. The third lead was not a dancer, but the accordion player Lidia Kaminska who brought a fun and fresh take on the music's big band feel. The drummer Sam Wisman also should be commended for his outstanding ability to drive the musicality of the band and take notice of the dancers' cues.

In Three Lullabies, Lisa Thorn danced a lyrical solo accompanied by Granner's moving vocals and Beau Bledsoe on the guitar. It was evident that the story was personal for Thorn, whose motivation stemmed from within and was exuded outward. She moved easily and connected well with the music, not afraid to revel in the pauses and retards. Together, the three gave a tender, touching performance, leaving the audience with three uttered Latin words meaning, "Give us peace."

The last composition of the act was Fuga Tanguera, danced by four women to tango-esque rhythms. Starting out more modern and intermixing classic ballet steps, each dancer exhibited her own unique movement quality and interpretation of the choreography. The sections where the women danced individually rather than together were more interesting in a piece that was generally slightly somber and dull.

Nothing was held back in the bill of the night, The Lewis and Carroll Expedition. The costumes, designed by Peggy Noland, were loud and bright - a true fashion statement made out of 100-percent felt. Nature music initially filled the acoustic-friendly theater with the band slowly integrating its groovy sounds into the mix. The idea behind the project, brought forth by set designer Nate Fors, was to interweave the adventures of Meriwether Lewis and Lewis Carroll as documented in their respective journals and novels.

The two main characters, Meriwether Lewis Carroll (Charles Martin) and the Red Queen Jefferson (Laura Jones), are introduced with the lesser characters through continuous entrances and exits in various groupings. Jones, who has a pleasant presence and graceful quality, interpreted the barter of the land. Granner and Victoria Botero served as narrators to the mishmashed, but always amusing, storyline. Their singing was impressive but, more often than not, indistinguishable as to what they were saying.

Zeniths of the night included the dance of the mosquitoes, snickersnack and a tribute to the Caterpillar and his hookah. In this latter section, the ever-elusive White Rabbit, played by Owen, brings forth the giant hookah as corps dancers don neon sleeves and master body rolls to portray the Caterpillar. Add psychedelic lighting and loose movement to the mix and the dancers successfully recreated a smoky rave. The most impressive part of the snickersnack section was the singers who not only tackled a tongue twister, but managed to exude more personality and energy than the dancers. The tea-pea party closed out the nearing delusional journey with characters breaking off into pairs and threesomes to make a little whoopee in the teepee.    

The dancing in this piece was nothing overtly special or overly hard, concentrating more on flamboyant movement, lavish costumes and engrossing sounds. The project was certainly unique and the creative minds behind it fashioned an imaginative interpretation of an historical event falling face first into a classic story.


REVIEW:
Owen/Cox Dance Group
The Lewis & Carroll Expedition
Saturday, April 24, 2010
City Stage Theater, Union Station
30 W. Pershing Rd, Kansas City
www.owencoxdance.org/

Cover photo: Adam Rogers, Laura Jones, and Michael Davis in the piece titled "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream." Photo by Dan Wayne.

By Laura Vernaci

Dance Contributor

Laura Vernaci is a Kansas City native who has always been passionate about the arts, particularly dance. She began dance lessons at the young age of five and hasn't stopped since. She trained at the Kansas City Ballet where she became a serious dancer and learned about a professional company. 

She attended Butler University in Indianapolis, IN where she majored in dance. She transferred to Truman State University in Kirksville, MO in 2006 and received a degree in Journalism in May 2008.  Laura spent the 2008-2009 in Duluth, MN dancing professionally for the Minnesota Ballet. She performed in productions such as, "The Nutcracker," "Cinderella" and "Coppelia" as well as world premier ballets created on the company.

She recently moved back to Kansas City and is excited to combine her experience in writing with her passion for dance. In addition to performing and writing, Laura also enjoys teaching dance and choreographing.