Circumstances contrived to render Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s opening Friday a blend of its past and its future.
Jim Vincent, who took over the reins as artistic director from Lou Conte two years ago, unveiled his first original work for the company, the intriguing, tantalizing “counter/part.” Meanwhile, two dancers who each worked under Conte for much of the last 15 years, Ron De Jesus and Sandi J. Cooksey, launched their last Hubbard engagement by teaming for Conte’s silky, irresistibly romantic “Georgia.”
They’ll perform the duet twice more during the engagement through April 28 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. But Friday’s performance, before key supporters gathered for the company’s annual gala benefit, had all the bittersweet sentiment of a farewell.
Bouquets they deserve. Their dreamy, fast-moving partnership will long be remembered, beautifully captured in Conte’s romantic mystery set to Willie Nelson’s rendition of “Georgia on My Mind.” A brief but powerful, lush and gorgeous work, it turns on a woman, waiting hopelessly while a telephone rings unanswered, conjuring up her missing lover, something of a reverse of the gender pining outlined in the lyrics.
Vincent’s “counter/part” is an intricate, layered, subtly witty and not-so-subtly sexy ensemble work full of teasing, unresolved melodrama and colorful theater. Clearly influenced by his time in Europe, “counter/part” also boasts pinpoint musicality. Though the selections from various Brandenburg concertos demand it, Vincent rises to the occasion and engagingly mirrors Bach’s balanced strains, from speedy legwork to solemn moments when a dancer rises from a chair.
This is a work that hints at a story without telling one, a tone enhanced by Vincent’s own set design, a kind of silhouette city. There are polarities everywhere, not just in the titles of the six sections, alternately styled “part” or “counter,” but in Mario Alberto Zambrano’s role in section two, his raven locks shoulder-length and his attire a scarlet robe. Bare-chested, he seems a wild savage juxtaposed with the more urban styles of the other four dancers.
Cheryl Mann serves as feminine counterpart to Zambrano, and then to her partner, Jamy Meek. She’s clad in a white negligee that eventually echoes an elaborate set piece that mostly hides her striptease act, a slow, peekaboo enactment. Vincent handles this eroticism gracefully, using it slyly to shift to a different sleight-of-hand, in which Zambrano returns in a bit of stage magic.
But more fundamental is Vincent’s style, the company’s most serious flirtation with ballet so far. He adds his own eccentric hand and arm gestures to this otherwise flowing, rapid homage to classicism, just one of the reasons “counter/part” demands repeat viewings to be fairly judged.
The program also included the company premiere of Ohad Naharin’s “Queens/Black Milk,” a startling, two-part piece beginning with muscular, Amazonian solos for the women, followed by an alternately creamy, alternately combative piece danced with warrior-like ferocity and style by five men.
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Hubbard Street opening
When: Through April 28
Where: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.
Phone: 312-902-1400