| . | 03/12/2008
The Peggy Spina Tap Co. presents "Alakazam!"
By: Joel Benjamin
Photo of Maya Krishnasastry © Stanley Patz
There are all kinds of tap dancing, a spectrum that goes from the ultra-elegant Fred Astaire and Paul Draper to the everyman styling of Gene Kelly to the earthy, jazzy styling of Charles "Honey" Coles, and his generation of subtly sexy "black" stylists. Peggy Spina doesn't really fit into any of these categories: she comes close to all three at times but never quite makes it.
Her company of five capable dancers are lovely women who have the bonus and privilege of working with a terrific live ensemble, the Joel Forrester Quartet. which played a wide variety of jazzy improvisatory music based on many themes, from classical to pop.
There were twelve dance numbers and three musical ones. The first, "After You, Joel" began after one of the dancers said those words to Joel Forrester (which I found a little arch). This number was pretty much exemplary of what Ms. Spina has to say. Mses Krishnasastry, Manning, Zurek and Owens (who emerged as the leading dancer of sorts), dressed in black tight pants and brightly colored loose blouses performed high, round leg swings alternating with tight, hip swinging steps. The second number, "Where To?" started with fast steps in place and sent the dancers about the space. For this work, Ms. Coleman joined in. As the work speeded up it ended with a nice canon of smaller round kicks bringing the five dancers to the same pose. "Crystal Epitaph," a trio had a more Latin beat which didn't seem to affect the steps. "Crystal Epitaph" had the tightest patterns of the evening, its only discernible feature.
The first part ended with "Laura and the Eights" which began with a breezy solo for Laura Coleman, soon joined by Ms. Owens and Ms. Zurek. This work had the best contrast of legato and staccato movements and the three women seemed to look at each other with more.
"Evelyn's Dream" opened the second half. It was the only number in which the dancers actually wore dresses, not terribly flattering purple dresses, but something different from the workmanlike black pants and different colored blouses. Possibly because of the more flowing costumes, "Evelyn's Dream" had a pleasant dreamy quality and sent Ms. Coleman, Ms.Krishnasastry, Ms. Manny and Ms. Zurek into balletic chaine turns and ended in a charming courtly bow. However, Ms. Spina had the dancers keep on the clunky black tap shoes, which looked terrible with the purple dresses. Here was a chance for a more elegant, less "classroom" look, which would have been provided by the kind of tap shoes that Broadway dancers wear. Maybe it's too much to ask?
"Count on Me," was the goofiest work, with looser-limbed movements, sliding steps and loose sidebends. "Stop the Music," brought back the black pants in a strong, pounding trio. "Helen's Heart" had the bluesiest music of the evening. Each of the five dancers gets a little solo and the work built up to a fast finale full of well-executed jumping and beating steps.
The evening ended with the only work not choreographed by Ms. Spina. Buster Brown's "Laura," to a jazzy version of the famous movie theme made for a great, quick-footed ending.
On what was a stormy Friday evening, there was something cozy and old-fashioned about Ms. Spina's concert in her own loft. She sold out the small space with a combination of friends and interested strangers. However, there was not enough "letting go" in the evening. These five women are dedicated and impeccably trained, but they dance in a way that reminded me more of old-school modern dance: steps performed neatly, but without passion. This was also evident in the use of space. Sure, nobody ran into anybody else, but they never possessed the space eagerly. They all worked hard, avoided cliches (although a few would have been welcome, such as a sense of competition in one or two numbers or the use of a few props) and came through with an enjoyable, but not memorable evening.
The Spina Company:
Laura Coleman
Maya Krichnasastry
Alison Manning
Misty Owens
Kristen Zurek
The Joel Forrester Quartet:
Joel Forester, piano
Dave Hofstra, bass
Vito Dieterle, sax
Matt Garrity, drums
Friday, March 7, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Spina Loft, 115 Prince St., New York, NY
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