American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center

Tuesday night I went to the opening night performance of the American Ballet Theatre's stop at the Kennedy Center. I always look forward to seeing ABT as part of my ballet subscription. Did you know that ABT has performed at the Kennedy Center for 50 years, every season that the Kennedy Center has existed? That's quite the partnership!

Not only does this year mark the 50th anniversary of this partnership, but it also marks the final season with Kevin McKenzie as the artistic director of ABT. He was a dancer himself, and he has been in his current role for 30 years. He helped choreograph the company's own versions of the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and "Don Kee-shoat" (as the KenCen's President Deborah Rutter pronounced it. Eek!). So this is the end of an era!

While the group is performing Don Quixote the rest of the week, I saw their "ABT Forward" performance, which included three parts:

Bernstein in a Bubble

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First of all, I loved the costumes for this piece. I want to wear those dresses! Where can I buy one?! The colors, the flowy short skirts, the large keyhole back... divine. And the men's outfits showed off those enormous leg muscles; here I thought I had thunder thighs! 

But in general I didn't love this piece. The music by Leonard Bernstein was just a little too carnival-brassy-parade for me. The whole thing actually felt quite childish, as if lyrics could have been set to the music for a children's show like Barney. The choreography felt the same way: the dancers hopped, marched, crawled, and even played peek-a-boo. When I go to the ballet, I want to see grace and beauty, and much of this piece was not that. And while many might disagree with me on this, my opinion is: just because you are performing some sort of movement on stage does not make it good art.

Kids build pyramids all the time, right? Image found here

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There was one jazzy piece called "Blues" (how original), featuring Chloe Misseldine and Andrii Ishchuk, which was a nice pas de deux. But it's unfortunate that out of eight mini-parts within this piece, there was only one that I mostly liked, and only one distinct lift in the whole thing.

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I was very surprised that there was an intermission after this piece, since it wasn't very long. The following piece was much longer; it should have been first!

Single Eye

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I honestly can barely remember anything about this piece, even as I was leaving the theater that night, so that's not a good sign. The music, composed by Jason Moran, was mostly jazz piano, which is not my cup-o-tea. There was one percussion-heavy part that I did enjoy, though, and at one point they played nature sounds, like birds chirping, so that was interesting.

Some of the moves were pretty cool. Many of the dancers crouched on point and then huddled across the stage; dancing on point is already hard enough, let alone doing it while you're practically sitting down in a narrow squat! There was also a pas de deux in which the male dancer lifted the ballerina as her feet were dragging or sliding along the ground, which you don't commonly see. 

Calvin Royal III had a solo piece. He is very talented! Image found here

In both this piece and the first Bernstein one, a lot of the movements made me think of toxic relationships. There was a lot of pushing, pulling, shoving, crouching... it was like watching a bad relationship happen on stage. That's just not very pleasant to watch. 

Another thing I noticed during this piece: dancer Michael de la Nuez has a hair lip. I do not think I have ever seen a ballet dancer with a cleft lip! I am pleased to see the inclusivity of the ballet world opening up in this way. (Although perhaps Rudolf Nureyev of the Mariinsky Ballet had one, too?) And speaking of inclusivity, there was so much homoeroticism throughout the evening. I don't think I've ever seen so many men do lifts with other men. At any moment I thought different pairs were going to start kissing on stage! ("Not that there's anything wrong with that!") Again, just the changing of the times, and I appreciate ABT's openness.

ZigZag

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This was BY FAR my favorite piece of the night! All of the music was from the crooners, with Tony Bennett singing most of the songs (not that he was there, although that would have been amazing!). They were songs like "What the World Needs Now," "Blue Moon," and "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing." As a blues dancer (who dabbles in swing dancing), I loved all of these songs! I also very much appreciated the Americana vibes of this performance. Even the zig-zag backdrop made me think of Charlie Brown's shirt, and later there was an image of the New York City skyline highlighted in the background. It made me want to visit the Big Apple!

Once again, the costumes were beautiful. I would have worn any and all of those dresses! And the men who were wearing all white made me wish their outfits would magically change color (à la Project Runway). And all of the dancing was so lively and fun! I didn't love some of the moves, like zombie-arms or "the worm," but most of it was gorgeous. I especially liked when some of the dancers created the NYC skyline with their own bodies, arms overhead to create the tops of buildings and the like. 

So reminiscent of SJP in Sex and the City! Image found here

This piece was so joyful! The program definitely ended on a high note. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Misty Copeland had been performing!

Here's a video of a previous curtain call for this piece, just to give you an idea of the vibe:

Speaking of the curtain call, this final one went on for MUCH too long. Not only did the dancers expect you to clap over and over again for them, one by one it seemed, BUT Kevin McKenzie came on stage for multiple curtain calls of his own. They even dropped pink rose petals from the ceiling! It was all a little much. Can you imagine if each of us, in our day-to-day jobs, demanded that everyone clap for us for nearly TEN MINUTES just for doing our jobs? Please.

Want to see this company perform Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center? Purchase your tickets now!

Riverdance at the Kennedy Center

 

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Last week I had the chance to see Riverdance at the Kennedy Center! I was able to get a discount code for last-minute tickets, so I bought a ticket for myself in the fourth row for Friday night. It was quite a different crowd from the one when I saw Yo-Yo Ma at the Kennedy Center earlier this month (read that blog post here). Lots of DC tourists!

It's the group's 25th anniversary, and I was excited to celebrate that milestone with them. It all started as the interval performance during the Eurovision Song Contest that Ireland hosted in 1994:

That performance not only led to the international sensation that is now Riverdance, but it also changed Irish dancing forever. Here's an interesting article about how Riverdance changed the way the dance was performed, the costumes that are worn, and more.

I can't remember if I saw Riverdance as a child, but certainly all I expected to see was Irish dancing. But it's so much more than that! And while the dancing was certainly impressive (and it wasn't just Irish dancing), I was equally enamored by the singing and the music. Such talent!

Such stoic faces! Image found here

The introduction of the show, "Reel Around the Sun," really gives you the full experience. The singing is incredible, the music is stunning, and the dancing is intense:

And everything went from there! I really liked their use of the virtual backgrounds to help tell the story. With today's technology, why don't all dance companies do that? It was cool to watch the sun set or the waves of the ocean move, and it's so much more modern than the traditional sets that ballet companies use.

William Bryant (above, starting at 1:04) was the male soloist of the show, and he is phenomenal! He was clearly born to be a performer. He dances with such confidence, and boy does he look good in those costumes! I couldn't keep my eyes off of him!

The troupe also includes Morgan Bullock (video above), an African-American woman from Richmond, Virginia. Her dance instructor actually works at the Pure Barre studio I go to! Such a small world. I don't think anyone expects a Black woman to be performing Irish dance, and I appreciate her poise in breaking down those barriers. She's the Irish dance version of Misty Copeland!

There was even some flamenco dancing at this show! The music gave it away with the Spanish guitar and castanets, and when Rocio Dusmet took the stage, she completely captivated your attention. Her sultry gaze was almost like that of a sorceress, luring you in. She had two separate parts in the show; it was almost like she had her own showcase!

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I thought that some of the dancers looked related, and sure enough I was right! You have Matthew and Michael Gardiner, and William Bryant is joined by his brother Kieran (they even make music together!).

Along with the dancers, the musicians were amazing, too. There were three women, which I thought was really cool, and then the percussionist was a man. Tara Howley plays the the Uilleann pipes (similar to Scottish bagpipes), the low whistle, the tin whistle, and the concertina (whew!). Emma Frampton plays the saxophone, and Haley Richardson plays the fiddle. And they are all led by Mark Alfred, the drummer and musical director. I was blown away by all of them! They are all incredible at what they do, and I loved their chemistry on stage, too.

Here's a video of Tara Howley several years ago playing the Uilleann pipes:

And this is Haley Richardson playing the fiddle along with two troupe members dancing:

I really enjoyed the segments that just featured the musicians without the dancers. It was a nice way to break up the show (and certainly to give the dancers a rst), and they themselves are quite riveting as performers. They are so good I could have watched them as a concert all on their own!

The second act was a lot more fun, since the dancers didn't seem to be as serious. It's more enjoyable to watch when they are smiling and look like they are having a good time. I've included a lot of videos below to give you a sense of that!

The second act opens with "American Wake," which feels like a folk festival of sorts:

While I was watching, I wondered how Irish dancing evolved compared to tap dancing. Irish dance came first, but tap dance certainly has strong roots here in the United States. And then the show actually included a tap dancing segment! Tyler Knowlin and Dharmesh Patel were the two tap dancers, and they were both great. It was fun watching them and the Irish dancers play a little Westside Story-esque dance battle.

Here's a video of that part (although with different dancers and musicians):

There were also four Russian dancers who did interesting tricks and the like. That part included Christine Lesnikova, Aleksandr Safonov, and Eugeniu and Ana Turcan (siblings? husband and wife?). Here's a full video of the "Russian dervish" segment:

Needless to say, this is one of the best shows I've seen, and I go to a lot of performances! I can't recommend it enough!

While the video below is not exactly the same performance I saw, it's a full hour-and-a-half if you just want to watch online:

And during the intermission they played a promotional video to visit Ireland, which I thought was funny. So maybe with COVID-19 as less of a problem, you could visit...?

I saw Yo-Yo Ma at the Kennedy Center!

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I'm not a classical music expert by any means, but I can certainly appreciate it. And I know who Yo-Yo Ma is! So months ago when I recived an email from the Washington Performing Arts selling tickets for his performance at the Kennedy Center, I immediately emailed my friend Jen (my go-to classical music friend, since she plays the piano) to invite her to come with me.

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I hadn't been in the Kennedy Center's concert hall probably since before the pandemic. It's such a beautiful space! While the show was sold out, there were many empty seats (including three next to me), so I wish I had looked on Craigslist to see if anyone was selling their tickets so I could have invited other friends. But perhaps people simply forgot! I never received a reminder email about the performance; good thing I wrote it down in my planner! 

Ma was performing in a trio alongside Emanuel Ax on the piano and Leonidas Kavakos on violin. The performance was in memory of Isaac Stern, a famous violinist (which I did not know until Jen told me). They started the show by playing the national anthem of Ukraine in honor of the violence happening there now, which I thought was very respectful and meaningful; people on the other side of the world are at war right now, and we had the privilege to be safe and sound watching a concert. 

Here's an actual video of their performance of the anthem:

The first full piece they played was Beethoven's "Pastorale" symphony, which is one of my favorites. It's the music in the unicorn scene in Disney's Fantasia! While the piece certainly sounds different when you only have three instruments instead of a full orchestra, it still was familiar and made me smile. How can you not when you're listening to music that makes you think of cherubs, baby unicorns, and sexy centaurs?

I couldn't find a full clip of the Disney piece, so here is the full symphony separated out into its five movements:

Movement 1

Movement 2

Movement 3

Movement 4

Movement 5

The trio also played Beethoven's "Gassenhauer" piano trio piece:

And the last piece they played was Beethoven's "Ghost" piano trio piece:

They played the third movement of Beethoven's piano trio in E-flat Major, Op. 70 No. 2 as the encore:

It wasn't that those other two pieces weren't good, it's just more fun to listen to music you know. Kind of like when you go to a rock concert and can sing along with the songs: it's just more fun when you know the music! They did play an encore piece that I wasn't familiar with. A little girl sitting behind us said, "Wait, they're going to play again?" and let out a very tired sigh. I was tired, too, I will admit, but I did not fall asleep! And the metro gods were on my side, and I made good time traveling home. I am so thankful that we can enjoy things like this again after two years of staying at home!

Read the full program notes here.

Concert: Chris Lane at the Fillmore Silver Spring

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A few weeks ago I saw Lauren Alaina and Spencer Crandall in concert at the Fillmore Silver Spring (read that blog post here). And then last Friday I saw Chris Lane at the same venue for his "Fill Them Boots" tour!

I had not heard of either of his openers before. Lily Rose certainly doesn't fit your idea of what a "female country star" looks like, but I love that country music is becoming more welcome and inclusive of all people (She recently got engaged to her girlfriend, Daira Eamon.). I couldn't understand a lot of what she sang, but I did like her vibe. Some of her songs were okay!

Villain (This song reminded me of Carly Pearce's "What He Didn't Do," just about how each person has their own side of the story and how someone always seems to come out to be the "bad guy.")

Stronger Than I Am

Remind Me of You

The second opener, ERNEST, wasn't much better in terms of enunciation. I thought his show was kinda boring. The only good songs he performed were ones that he helped write with Morgan Wallen (I was surprised that both he and Lily Rose gave shout-outs to Morgan after he's gotten bad press from using racial slurs and breaking COVID-19 restrictions; probably NOT a name you want to drop when trying to make a name for yourself.). 

Cheers (He's patriotic, which I think is a good thing...?)

More Than My Hometown (one of Morgan's songs)

Sugar

Somebody's Problem (another one of Morgan's songs)

Photo taken by Mike Davis

And while Chris Lane's energy was better, and I knew a couple of his songs, I wasn't even impressed with him as a headliner. He worked the crowd, which is fun, but I'm paying HIM to sing, not listen to my fellow concert-goers belt it out. He also sang some songs from the 90's to engage the crowd (like Alan Jackson's "Chattahoochee" and Montell Jordan's "This is How We Do It," but again, I wanted to hear his music. He did sing one song with his brother, who is also his drummer, and his brother sounds JUST like him! Here are some of the songs Chris sang that I recognized:

I Don't Know About You

Ain't Even Met You Yet (Kind of sappy...)

Big, Big Plans

Take Back Home Girl

Here's a bonus video of Chris singing with his brother, Cory:

Chris Lane sang to a little girl who was a big fan! Photo by Mike Davis

Unfortunately this is one of the worst concerts I've been to. I really didn't have that much fun, and I wasn't interested in buying merch or learning more about any of these singers. Needless to say, if any of them come back to town, I won't be rushing to buy tickets.

Concert: Lauren Alaina's "Top of the World" Tour

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I knew I recognized the name Lauren Alaina, and I knew she was a country singer. But if you asked me to name one of her songs, I couldn't do it. But I bought tickets to see her at the Fillmore Silver Spring  last week, and I had a great time! There were so many young people there (which made me feel old, but), and their lively energy added to the show. I was afraid that the young ladies in front of me were going to stomp on my feet with their dancing, though! But it was all good, and we all had fun.

Her opener was Spencer Crandall. I didn't recognize his name (or his face. He kind of looks like a B-side Chris Pratt), but I loved his energy! He definitely has a pop/rap twist to his country music, kind of like Sam Hunt, but that's very popular right now, and I liked it! He sang some cover songs, like Justin Timberlake's Mirrors and the Killers' Mr. Brightside, so that was neat. I liked his show enough to buy his CD, Wilderness. Not the best album, but it surely has some hits on it! And he writes a lot of his own songs, which I can appreciate.

My Person (As soon as this song started, I was so psyched! I heard this song for the first time last fall and instantly loved it. So I did know this guy!)

Things I Can't Say (This was my second-favorite song of his of the night! I listened to it later, and I think I like it better with him just singing it, rather than as a duet.)

Say in This (I like this song, but he rhymes "this" with "this" in the chorus, which is a bit of a cop-out.)

Made (Another great song! I can imagine this playing on the radio for sure!)

More (Just another romantic song from Spencer Crandall! He keeps 'em coming'!)

Before I Do (Very reminiscent of Jordan Davis' song, Singles You Up. I would listen to this on repeat!)

When You Think of Me (I can't remember if he actually performed this song or if it's just from the album. But it makes me think of my ex from college. The song is asking his ex-girlfriend to remember the good times and not just the end. But that young relationship for me was ruined by the ending. It is sad that I can't remember the good times without those memories being tainted by how awful the end was.)

I really enjoyed his music! I mean, I bought one of his CDs at the merch table! I would definitely see him in concert again, no doubt!

Lauren Alaina put on a good show, too! I didn't realize it, but this show was the first one of her Top of the World tour. She has a new album out, Sitting Pretty on the Top of the World, which has a lot of heartbreak songs. She even said there's only one love song on the album about the man she's seeing now (It's pretty cool that she writes a lot of her songs; she co-wrote 14 of the 15 songs on the album). Most of the songs she performed were from this new album, but she did some older favorites, too. 

If the World Was a Small Town (*cringe* at the lack of subjunctive tense)

What Do You Think Of? (Kind of a similar to Spencer's song above!)

You Ain't a Cowboy

Same Story, Different Saturday Night (This isn't a love song, but it's not a break-up song, either. It's just a fun country song!)

It Was Me

Run

When the Party's Over

I'm Not Sad Anymore

Change My Mind (This is the one love song on the album. Clever lyrics!)

Good Ole Boy

What Ifs (She just sings the girl part of the song on the official version, but during the concert she sang the whole thing. I love the version with Kane Brown, but I think she did a good job on her own.)

Ladies in the '90s (Girl power, yeah!)

Getting Good (As a person with a positive outlook on life, I love this song, since it tells people to see that life is good!)

Road Less Traveled (I love this song! Such an empowering message!)

Such a great concert! I didn't know what to expect, and I certainly was impressed. I would see either of these artists live again. I'm going to see Chris Lane at the Fillmore on Friday (tickets are still available if you want one!). That blog post to come next week!

Why You Should See Theater J's "Compulsion or The House Behind"

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I had a subscription with the DCJCC's Theater J this season, and I saw three shows (I saw Tuesdays with Morrie, and I wrote a blog post for Becoming Dr. Ruth. Read it!). The last one in the package was Rinne B. Groff's Compulsion or The House Behind. I didn't know much about it other than that it involved Anne Frank. It's really a story based upon the writer Meyer Levin's obsession with the story of Anne Frank and getting it out to the masses. I read a little bit about this in the book, Treasures from the Attic, since he had a close relationship with Otto Frank once the diary was discovered and they were trying to get it published, translated, etc. to share with the world.

I thought this play was really interesting! Here are some cools things about it that you should check out:

The character of Sid Silver, played by Paul Morella, is based on Meyer Levin. He is haunted by his infatuation with Anne Frank and her story, and a puppet is a manifestation of his thoughts. Image found here.

• There are puppets! Okay, I know that sounds creepy, but how many plays do you get to see with puppets in them? Matt Acheson and Eirin Stevenson were the puppeteers, and the way they make the puppets move is so lifelike! Simple nods of the head, a slight gesture of the hands... they almost seem real! 

Marcus Kyd (L) and Kimberly Gilbert play multiple roles. Image found here.

• Two of the actors play multiple roles, and even do different voices and accents! Kimberly Gilbert not only plays Miss Mermin of the publishing world and Sid Silver's wife (who is French), but she also does the voice of the puppet Anne! Marcus Kyd plays several businessmen related to publishing the screenplay of The Diary of Anne Frank, as well as a director of a soldiers' theater company in Israel, Israeli accent included! After the performance I saw, there was a call back with the actors, and it was interesting to hear their normal, day-to-day voices. Their real voices were almost unexpected!

• It's clever. I like how there are little nuggets sprinkled throughout. For example, we all know that Kyd is playing several similar characters, and parts of the script are almost breaking the fourth wall, letting us know that they know they're in on the joke that we are supposed to buy that this is a different man each time. Even the title has an interesting backstory. Compulsion is the title of a work of fiction that Meyer Levin wrote based on the Leopold and Loeb murder, and the House Behind is a more literal translation of "the hidden annex." So it's a combination of the name of one of his own pieces of work, combined with that of Anne Frank, and the word "compulsion," meaning an obsession, is very fitting.

• Anything related to the Holocaust helps enforce the mantra "never again." Theater J's associate artistic director, Johanna Gruenhut, wrote a great piece in the play's program called, "How We Remember and Never Forget." I loved how she wrote about memory versus history, remembering versus not forgetting. History is information about the past that is recorded, while memory is fluid through time and lives in each of us. And remembering is something each of us can do individually, but 'not forgetting' is something that we all have to do together, like saying the Mourner's Kaddish as a group to honor the dead. Even though Anne Frank was murdered nearly 80 years ago, her storytelling is memory that lives on, and any way we continue to talk about her story, like in a play such as this one, we never forget what happened to her and six million other Jews. 

There are only a few more days to see this play! Buy your tickets now!

Alvin Ailey - 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Kennedy Center

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This week I saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company perform at the Kennedy Center. I don't think I had seem them since college, probably because it's more modern dance as opposed to ballet. But I needed to exchange one of my tickets because of a calendar conflict, so I thought I'd see this show.

Robert Battle, the company's artistic director, gave some remarks before the performance, which I thought was really nice. He gave some background information, and he also told jokes, so he was quite entertaining. He mentioned that the company was part of the opening of the Kennedy Center in 1971, and that the company's first two artistic directors won Kennedy Center honors, so he's waiting for his as the third director! He also said that there is a new documentary called Ailey about the choreographer and dancer who created this namesake company. He told us a little bit about each piece as well, which I thought was good preparation for the performance.

Blues Suite

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This first piece was created in 1958, so it's been around for a while! I love blues music, and I liked that the piece started and ended with the sounds of a train moving and a bell tolling, like marking the arrival and departure of the locomotive. I also liked the costumes, particularly the women dressed like flappers. But I wasn't particularly impressed by the choreography. A lot of it is pretty simple; I think your average set of back-up dancers at a concert could do it. I also didn't like that much of it is men grabbing women and the women swatting them away. This certainly is not with the current times, and it was almost hard to watch. #MeToo, anyone? I did find that this piece told a story, though, and almost felt more like a silent play. Maybe that's why they described themselves as "dance theater" as opposed to simply a "dance company"? I understand that most dances tell a story (they aren't there just to look pretty), but the pantomiming in this piece made me feel like I was really watching a story unfold. 

I wasn't able to find many videos for this piece, but the full soundtrack for the Blues Suite is on YouTube. So if there was no video of the dance, I have at least included a video of the song so you can hear the music.

Good Morning Blues

I Cried

Mean Ol' Frisco

House of the Rising Sun

Backwater Blues: This pas de deux was playful, with the "couple" (performed by Belén Indhira Pereyra and Jeroboam Bozeman) rough housing and flirting with each other, but was it dance? Again, this was one of the parts that felt more like theater than a dance performance. BUT I did like watching it, and I was impressed by his strength and the way the two worked together. I was having fun while watching it, and the rest of the crowd was, too. 

In the Evening

Yancey Special

Sham

Love Stories

This is what I mean when I say "zombies." Image found here.

Battle described this second piece as showing the past, present, and future of the company: starting in all these tiny studios, then getting its permanent home in New York City, and then where the company is going. We only saw an excerpt, which was the last, "future" part, actually created by Battle himself. The music at first sounds kind of sci-fi, so that makes sense for the futuristic part; all the dancers were wearing matching jumpsuits, which I also think aligns with most images of our space-age future. But eventually both the music and the dancing made me think of the intro to Austin Powers:

Again, I was not into some of the choreography. A lot of it just isn't "aesthetically pleasing." The dancers first come onto the stage crouched and shuffling their feet, and later they are stomping, punching at the air, and even marching around with their mouths open like zombies (see image above); the dancers would also frequently turn with their arms at 90 degrees (this was throughout the performance, not just this one part), which doesn't lend itself to grace. 

However, it was joyful to watch, and the woman next to me said, "That was fun!" And that's what dance should be, right? Watch the video below and judge for yourself:

Cry

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"Cry" was the next main piece of the show, and Battle said that Ailey had created this for his mother and for black women in general. This year marks the 50th anniversary of this dance, and the timing for this particular performance was good, since we are celebrating Black History Month.

The dancer (Constance Stamatiou) first came on stage, and while she looked eerie, the cool jazz music kept it from feeling weird. But there was a strange dichotomy between the sad dance and the upbeat music! From the choreography, you can tell that this woman is in pain, is tired, and is struggling; she is also a hot-blooded woman and sexy at times, too. I could completely see the message this dance was sending. This is a very athletic dance, and the performer showed a lot of stamina to be dancing on her own like that for so long! The piece did incorporate some of my least favorite parts of modern dance, like using a large piece of fabric as a prop and crawling on the crowd. I can certainly say I was entertained, but did I like it? I wasn't amazed or in awe, but I still appreciated the work into creating this piece of art. And she received a bouquet of roses afterwards, just like a prima ballerina!

While this is one piece, it is performed in three separate parts:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Revelations

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Battle described this piece as, "confronting the fragility of mortality and democracy," and said that Revelations is "challenging us to look forward," quoting the Maya Angelou poem, On the Pulse of Morning:

        The horizon leans forward,

        offering you space to place new steps of change.

Clearly this is a religious piece tied to the Book of Revelation. Because this is part of the New Testament, I am not familiar with it. But the music clearly has a gospel sound, and a lot of the choreography seemed to portray the joy that people have for God. If you have a time, here is an entire video of this piece (just over 30 minutes):

If you don't want to watch the whole thing or don't have time, here's a breakdown of some of the separate parts: 

We start with this part called, "I Been 'Buked" :

The dresses reminded me of the one in the previous part, "Cry." 

I couldn't find a video of the next dance part, but I did find the music for the song, "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel," which you can listen to here:

I think my favorite was the pas de deux called, "Fix me Jesus," performed by Sarah Daley-Perdomo and Jermaine Terry. Here's a video with different dancers:

"Wade in the Water" came next, during which the choreography was very flowy to match the waves:

The water piece was followed by "I Wanna Be Ready," performed by one man (I saw Clifton Brown, although this video shows Amos Machanic):

"Sinner Man" came next:

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The piece closes out with the powerful, "Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham," which the company pretty much performed twice (once as the show, and again after their first curtain call). The crowd was clapping along: I felt like I was at church! While I didn't like some of the choreography (Dancing on stools? Makes me think of chair yoga for old people!), I very much appreciate the joy that the dancers expressed. Not only did it look like they were having so much fun, but I do think some of them were moved by the religious message, just like you would be in a house of worship. Below is a video of the piece:

Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh on modern dance. I normally have the attitude of, "I know what's going to happen because it's modern dance." But don't I know what to expect from ballet, too?  While I usually don't like modern dance and much prefer ballet, throughout the show I kept thinking, "Am I having fun? Am I entertained?" And the answer was yes. What else can you ask for from supporting the arts? Even if not every part was to my taste, I can still appreciate all of the work that goes into this, and the feeling and love that is poured into creating a show like this one. I would certainly see this company again in the future!