Hubbard Street’s Spring Program bursts with fresh material, showcasing the versatility and talent of the company. The program includes a world premiere by rehearsal director Terence Marling, punnily entitled “At’em (Atem) Adam”—references to the colloquialism “up and…”, the German word for breath and the Biblical first man. Marling provided the outline for the piece, but freed his cast to invent specific movements. His inviting score is comprised of music by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Edgar Meyer, amongst others.
The evening opens with a much-anticipated world premiere by the very gifted Alejandro Cerrudo—Hubbard Street’s first choreographic fellow—set to a piano transcription of Philip Glass’ opera “Orphee.” The piece was created for Hubbard Street 2—the company’s junior-varsity league, comprised of dancers between the ages of 17 and 25. Cerrudo’s new work explores contrasts of darkness and light, with emphasis on partnering work of the HS2 dancers.
Closing the program is the company’s premiere of Jiri Kylian’s surreal, dreamlike, unbelievably cool “27’52”,” in what will be the first performance of the piece by an American company. The title refers to the duration of the work which, for a little under a half hour, transports the viewer into a cinematic dreamscape of movements that shift from playful to distorted to fluid, always animated by Dirk Haubrich’s eerie, beautiful electronic score, featuring at moments high, sustained tones, drips, scuttles and other nightmare sounds evoking images of Tarkovsky or early von Trier. Woven into the score are texts selected by the original dancers in the piece and spoken in their native languages, an aural texture that dramatically heightens the otherworldliness of the atmosphere (especially for those of us not fluent in German or Dutch). The minimalist Harris Theater should provide an apt setting for Kylian’s surreal vision. (Sharon Hoyer)
At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, (312)850-9744. Thurs, March 18 at 7:30pm, Fri, March 19 and Sat, March 20 at 8pm, Sun, March 21 at 3pm. $25-90.
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