Have you ever gone to a performance and left feeling haunted and impacted even the next day? That’s how I felt after watching choreographer Robin Becker’s dance troupe’s masterful performance.
Lucky for me, my associate Sammie Orihs invited me to join Long Island Power Woman Moira Amato McCoy at the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale.
Moira had joined the board of the Robin Becker Dance company, which is led by the extraordinary and accomplished dancer, choreographer and educator of the same name.
After years of her performing and training with the stars in contemporary dance — including Martha Graham, Mark Anthony and Jean Erdman — she was a soloist with the Louis Falco Dance company. She has performed or choreographed at major venues across the country, from the 92nd Street Y to my favorite site in the Tanglewood area, the historic Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
I knew nothing of this when I arrived at the lit-up marquee of the CM Performing Arts Center, in a strip mall, to find a jewel box of a theatre and a performance that stunned me.
The theme of the production is taken from the book “They Marched into Sunlight,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss. It is a nonfiction account of two days in October of 1967, when war was raging in Vietnam and the anti-war movement was raging in America. It’s about the young soldiers and protesters and the commonality of the human experience: fear, brother vs. brother, love and hate, the meaning of loyalty and patriotism, and the eternal sorrow of war. It’s all there, dramatically transposed into dance.
Robin explains in the Playbill that dance is a universal language and she had her performers reflect the author’s words. Sadly, the Vietnam War was the root for the book and the dances, but the message rings true today and moved me with its relevance.
The enormously talented dancers Robin has nurtured for years to fine-tune the performance and the haunting but enhancing music arrangements by Arthur Solaris and Andrea Bauer added to the power of the performance.
I wish I could tell you where the troupe will be performing again, but the dance company has no permanent home.
Stay tuned to learn when they are performing again. It is not to be missed!
For more information, visit robinbeckerdance.org.
Another passion project is being nurtured by Vanessa Noel for her beloved Noel Shoe Museum.
I attended their gala to raise dollars and awareness of the need to bring attention to the craft of shoemaking, the designers behind the shoes and its influence on fashion.
Vanessa wants to find a permanent exhibition space for the shoes and their impact on design, culture and technology.
Her wide collection includes everything, from an Incan shoe from the 11th century to modern footwear, and her plan is to honor shoe designers’ footwear through history.
Men and women know the power of our footwear that can make us feel great or run for the nearest chair!
What a great project! Thank you, Vanessa, for sharing your passion with us. Visit noelshoemuseum.org to learn more.
Stay tuned for their pop-up exhibits until they find a permanent home. My money is on Vanessa making that happen soon.
What a week it was!
Sharing a message
Elyse Richmond, the owner of Shock, peddles her message on Westhampton Beach’s Main Street.
Around town
