Moving Visions In Dance

(Loretta) Thomas, also a veteran Duncan dancer, commands the stage with supple strength. In a company of beautiful, unique performers, (Catherine)Gallant and Thomas offer the refinement that comes from wisdom and experience. (Thomas’ dance, Homage) A clever and witty reconstruction, Thomas’ original choreography, which dominates the second half, merges her knowledge of Duncan technique with contemporary sensibilities, thus creating a cohesive, diverse, and satisfying evening.

The premiere of Loretta Thomas’s Everyman’s Reroof, a dance that addresses both the mistreatment of women and the gender inequality that is so deeply ingrained in our culture…well, in the world itself, actually. One might think that by the 21st century we would be farther along in dealing with these issues, but there is still so much work to be done. In the dance world, Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham have been beacons of light when it comes to works in the spirit of feminine empowerment. Ms. Thomas’s new ballet carries on that tradition.

At times during the afternoon, I miss the sense of weight you can infer from sketches of Isadora in motion… Dancing to Loretta Thomas’s staging of Chopin’s Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2, Jessie King, Ella Lang, and Amelia Sanders give their fleet sautés an earthy impetus.