On the move

Cadence Dance Project tours the state from north to south

by Johnette Rodriguez

In a third-floor studio just off bustling Weybosset, members of the Cadence Dance Project are taking a break from rehearsing two new numbers by artistic director Colleen Cavanaugh. Leticia Guerrero changes to flat ballet slippers from the toe shoes she put on almost five hours before. Victor Carnesolta seems to be practicing how high he can jump (and he does it gracefully, straight up, feet crossed and pointed to the floor). Melissa Hensley is meditatively marking steps and arm gestures. Donald Acevedo is more animated, as he runs through the flow of the dance, periodically checking the line of his arm and head in the mirror.

They, along with Todd Hall, Julie Bacon, Courtney Greenleaf and Jeannine Hartman, have put in long days in preparation for the July season of this new company: in Woonsocket this Saturday (July 11), at URI the following week (the 18th), and at Waterplace Park July 25 and 26. They will perform five dances, three from Cavanaugh's growing repertoire, and the two yet unnamed new pieces.

One of them, a quartet with Guerrero, Carnesolta, Hensley and Acevedo, is set to four piano tango solos juxtaposed by Cavanaugh. At times the dancers become partnering duos; at others times they move almost allemande style in and around one another. Non-traditional ballet poses, such as hands spread next to the face or arms held straight along the body, give the dance a distinctly modern flavor.

"I like to let a movement keep going instead of holding a position, as in classical ballet," Cavanaugh, who is also a full-time obstetrician/ gynecologist and mother of two, explained. "I'm not afraid to get low and to explore the human form in a sculptural way that might be considered ugly by a classical ballet dancer."

Not that her dancers haven't been classically trained. Several spent time at the Boston Ballet Theatre, one comes to Cadence by way of the Metropolitan Ballet of Caracas, one from the National Ballet of Cuba, and still another from Rhode Island's own Island Moving Company.

Cavanaugh says she has been inspired by Jiri Kylian of the Netherlands Ballet Theatre, by Lars Lubovitch's former company, and by Twyla Tharp. In her tri-partite life, she spends countless hours in the car, commuting from one point to another, and that is when she listens to music -- "tons and tons of it" -- and begins to envision the dances that seem to tumble out of her brain -- "I have a large folder of potential pieces."

But for now, just getting this show off the ground, with its many jumps, jetes and lifts -- is her primary focus. The repertory pieces are: "Kore," danced by five women to music by Bang On a Can, which was performed this past winter in New York; a duet called "Scarlet Tangent," set to Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet, Opus 47; and a five-part piece to the songs of Billie Holiday, entitled "What Is This Thing Called Love?"

In the quartet being rehearsed last week, Cavanaugh noted that she wanted to represent people seeking love, their longing symbolized by the dancers' hands stretching and reaching toward one another, and also alienation -- the fingers splayed wide next to the face suggesting Munch's angst-filled "The Scream." This turmoil is resolved by the end of the dance, however, as the two couples realize that they can be with another person. It's a beautifully lyrical piece.

The other new piece, a trio with Guerrero, Acevedo and Carnesolta, has a different feel. The upbeat violin solos of Fritz Kreisler's "Prelude" and "Allegro" push the tempo, forcing hair-trigger timing from the three dancers, so the lifts fall on the rising trills, and the circling movements on the decrescendos.

"For this trio, I was completely inspired by the music and the dancers themselves," Cavanaugh reflected. "This is about three friends and the ways their lives intertwine. These three people stick together, no matter what. There are hints of romanticism in it, but primarily they are friends."

In the movements of the piece, there are sections where the two men support their female friend, others where she pushes them away, still others where they all move around and underneath and through each other's arms, reminiscent of American square dance movements.

"That's there, without being intentional," Cavanaugh concurred. "The people in my company can move in any way. This year, they just do it, they just try it. Although the movements may encompass a ballet shape, they just keep going -- they are never static. I want the dancers to be inspired by the freedom to just move through space, the abandonment of just seeing where a movement goes."

That freedom has allowed both Cavanaugh and her dancers to create a marvelously flowing style, a captivating amalgam of ballet and modern dance.

Cadence Dance Project will perform on Saturday, July 11 at the Stadium Theater in Woonsocket, on Saturday, July 18 at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, and on July 25 and 26 in Waterplace Park in Providence. Call 738-5404.