JOURNEY OF THE HEART
An Evening of Works
by
DONALD McKAYLE
with
UCI Etude Ensemble
JOURNEY OF THE HEART
PROGRAM
An Evening of Works by Donald McKayle, pays tribute through dance to the extraordinary life and career of Donald McKayle, unquestionably one of America’s greatest choreographers. Presented by Sedona Chamber Ballet (SCB) and the Donald McKayle Legacy Trust, the show opens at 7:30 p.m. on May 13, 2017 at Gammage Auditorium, 1200 S. Forest Avenue in Tempe, AZ.
On May 13, 2017 SCB will honor and present works by legendary dancer, choreographer, teacher and humanitarian, Professor DONALD McKAYLE. SCB, in collaboration with the DONALD McKAYLE LEGACY TRUST, with the permission and cooperation of Lisa Naugle, Chair at University of California, Irvine (UCI) Dance Department, McKayle will present works danced by UCI Etude Ensemble. The SCB is o ering to the public a tribute to McKayle, a gala performance of masterworks and workshops with UCI dancers. UCI Etude Ensemble was initiated by McKayle as outcome of his RAINBOW ETUDES, a work given to the Dance Community of the world as a gift. It is an outlet for UCI dancers to experience the creation of new works and performing. Auditions are held yearly for these positions by McKayle and all artist receive credit for admittance to the Ensemble. McKayle, has spent his entire life devoted to his art with works that have reached into nearly every topic in the human experience numbering over 250 and span 65 years. He has for his entire career been in the forefront as a major leader in dance and all entertainment media. For the past 36 years, McKayle has created works for the UCI Etude Ensemble bringing dance education to new heights in training and with every new creation. Dancers from across the United States and throughout the world have rallied and competed for positions to work with McKayle, “one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: the first 100.”
On May 13, 2017 SCB will honor and present works by legendary dancer, choreographer, teacher and humanitarian, Professor DONALD McKAYLE. SCB, in collaboration with the DONALD McKAYLE LEGACY TRUST, with the permission and cooperation of Lisa Naugle, Chair at University of California, Irvine (UCI) Dance Department, McKayle will present works danced by UCI Etude Ensemble. The SCB is o ering to the public a tribute to McKayle, a gala performance of masterworks and workshops with UCI dancers. UCI Etude Ensemble was initiated by McKayle as outcome of his RAINBOW ETUDES, a work given to the Dance Community of the world as a gift. It is an outlet for UCI dancers to experience the creation of new works and performing. Auditions are held yearly for these positions by McKayle and all artist receive credit for admittance to the Ensemble. McKayle, has spent his entire life devoted to his art with works that have reached into nearly every topic in the human experience numbering over 250 and span 65 years. He has for his entire career been in the forefront as a major leader in dance and all entertainment media. For the past 36 years, McKayle has created works for the UCI Etude Ensemble bringing dance education to new heights in training and with every new creation. Dancers from across the United States and throughout the world have rallied and competed for positions to work with McKayle, “one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: the first 100.”
DEATH AND EROS is the initial entry in Donald McKayle’s “Story Dance Theatre” evening. The Lula Washington Dance Theatre premiered it on February 11, 2000. The work is immersed in the lore of indigenous peoples. The dance is a movement illumination of the legend of the “Skeleton Woman,” an Inuit tale passed down in the oral tradition from generation to generation.
A father casts his daughter into the sea for committing an act of unforgivable effrontery to communal mores and sacred beliefs. Beneath the waters her flesh is eaten away leaving only her bare skeleton and her spirit that remains alive. A hungry fisherman, far away from his home, comes to the cove of the Skeleton Woman, a place believed hunted by the local fisherman and therefore avoided. The fisherman arrives as a great storm suddenly ceases and casts his line into the waters. He hooks the skeleton woman tossing in the currents below and pulls her upward to his kayak. He retreats in fear from the horrific sight that he beholds, dragging the caught skeleton woman with him. In a macabre dance, she seems to trip across the surface of the water. He reaches land and races across the frozen tundra; with the skeleton woman lashed to him, in a constant pursuit. He reaches his hut and dives inside in the darkness. Trembling with hunger and fear, he lights a fire. In the flickering glow of the flames, he perceives the skeleton woman lying in an entangled heap. In this vulnerable state, she is no longer frightening or dangerous. Something is awakened within him; he approaches her, rearranges her bones, and decides to bury her properly the next morning.
As he sleeps tears seep from his eyes. The skeleton woman crawls over to him and drinks the salty liquid. Flesh returns to her bones and hair grows lushly upon her head. She awakens the sleeping fisherman, pounding his heart like a drum with a sacred and lustful rhythm. They join together in a communion of body and spirit.
Whenever the northern lights are seen, they are there, ever present as two piercing dots of light within the Aurora Borealis. Their love is eternal and stronger than death.
A father casts his daughter into the sea for committing an act of unforgivable effrontery to communal mores and sacred beliefs. Beneath the waters her flesh is eaten away leaving only her bare skeleton and her spirit that remains alive. A hungry fisherman, far away from his home, comes to the cove of the Skeleton Woman, a place believed hunted by the local fisherman and therefore avoided. The fisherman arrives as a great storm suddenly ceases and casts his line into the waters. He hooks the skeleton woman tossing in the currents below and pulls her upward to his kayak. He retreats in fear from the horrific sight that he beholds, dragging the caught skeleton woman with him. In a macabre dance, she seems to trip across the surface of the water. He reaches land and races across the frozen tundra; with the skeleton woman lashed to him, in a constant pursuit. He reaches his hut and dives inside in the darkness. Trembling with hunger and fear, he lights a fire. In the flickering glow of the flames, he perceives the skeleton woman lying in an entangled heap. In this vulnerable state, she is no longer frightening or dangerous. Something is awakened within him; he approaches her, rearranges her bones, and decides to bury her properly the next morning.
As he sleeps tears seep from his eyes. The skeleton woman crawls over to him and drinks the salty liquid. Flesh returns to her bones and hair grows lushly upon her head. She awakens the sleeping fisherman, pounding his heart like a drum with a sacred and lustful rhythm. They join together in a communion of body and spirit.
Whenever the northern lights are seen, they are there, ever present as two piercing dots of light within the Aurora Borealis. Their love is eternal and stronger than death.
CROSSING THE RUBICON, Passing the Point of No Return, will have its Southwest premiere danced by UCI Etude Ensemble at this concert. In McKayle’s own words, it “follows the plight of refugees and their experiences, struggles and fears. It is meant to remind us that even as these people flee from crimes against humanity they remain human beings; aching from loss, fearing the unknown, finding tender moments in the chaos of fleeing, and banding together as a collective to help one another.”
Donald McKayle’s newest work, CROSSING THE RUBICON is yet another masterpiece in his long and illustrious career of over 250 works. At once, the tone is set for this very serious, poignant and relevant work of art. The entrance and the groupings of the ensemble throughout the work suggest the long and arduous journey to find peace and freedom. Human beings migrating to a new, frightening unknown land are an all too familiar tragedy today. McKayle address the matter with poignant accuracy. He dares to ask his dancers to perform mostly in unison to powerful effect as if everyone were experiencing the same life-threatening situation. Rarely does a choreographer get away with this kind of staging. McKayle is a master handling the bitter truth and plight of immigrants who have suffered and are suffering in the world today with the deepest respect. Wrenching honesty and truth is this works hallmark. It is a work that touches the soul and pierces our hearts.
Douglas R. Nielsen, Professor of Dance says, “Some dances you watch, and some dances you feel. I just can’t stop remembering the ‘feeling’ I had after experiencing the premiere of Donald McKayle’s stunning CROSSING the RUBICON: PASSING the POINT of no RETURN. I was moved to tears by the soul of the work; plus the social relevance embedded in the choreography. Not just steps – it suggested a ritual that was meaningful, and utterly human.”
Donald McKayle’s newest work, CROSSING THE RUBICON is yet another masterpiece in his long and illustrious career of over 250 works. At once, the tone is set for this very serious, poignant and relevant work of art. The entrance and the groupings of the ensemble throughout the work suggest the long and arduous journey to find peace and freedom. Human beings migrating to a new, frightening unknown land are an all too familiar tragedy today. McKayle address the matter with poignant accuracy. He dares to ask his dancers to perform mostly in unison to powerful effect as if everyone were experiencing the same life-threatening situation. Rarely does a choreographer get away with this kind of staging. McKayle is a master handling the bitter truth and plight of immigrants who have suffered and are suffering in the world today with the deepest respect. Wrenching honesty and truth is this works hallmark. It is a work that touches the soul and pierces our hearts.
Douglas R. Nielsen, Professor of Dance says, “Some dances you watch, and some dances you feel. I just can’t stop remembering the ‘feeling’ I had after experiencing the premiere of Donald McKayle’s stunning CROSSING the RUBICON: PASSING the POINT of no RETURN. I was moved to tears by the soul of the work; plus the social relevance embedded in the choreography. Not just steps – it suggested a ritual that was meaningful, and utterly human.”
UPROOTED: PERO REPLANTADO had its first performance on February of 2015 by members of UCI Etude Ensemble. This work deals with undocumented immigrants to the United States. In the late spring and early summer of 2014. McKayle says, “I watched the reports and pictures of young children carried by their older siblings parting from their mothers climbing the border fences of our country in search of freedom from oppression, poverty, and desperation. I watched the young and watched the mother sad brave and selfless. I read the re- ports of, heard the talks and started a process of getting in touch with the different aspects of being uprooted from a country, a culture and genetic memories and replanting yourself in a different land. Besides personal past memories I took a deep look at the whole generation of my students and their different ethnic backgrounds some may have come here legally or undocumented or already born here in the US to parents that came here looking for a better life. I observed them being American yet carrying their cultural heritage and genetic memory and their upbringing by hard working families grateful for the opportunities available to their children. This thought process led me to wholeheartedly want to create a dance expressing the story of one such ethnic group the closest to our borders, yet encompassing within it all others in the replanted part which will express their rightful claim to belong with no prejudice with rights intact to their new land through theirs and their families hard work, sacrifices and dedication.”
McKayle spent the summer researching and searching for music t and worthy of such a work expressing all the suffering, pain and cry of being uprooted and encountering prejudice yet honoring the cultural background of both the uprooted and our country, the US, that can o er them freedom. Once the music was found sections of the incredible Lila Downs composer, lyricist and singer from her record “Borders”. He started rehearsals in the fall semester on this new choreographic work – UPROOTED: PERO REPLANTADO combining even in the title the 2 cultures. Cleo Parker Robinson, Founder of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance says, “I remember how visibly beautiful and thought-provoking the work is - and now, in light of current affairs in our world, - see the work as even more relevant than it was just that short while ago.”
McKayle spent the summer researching and searching for music t and worthy of such a work expressing all the suffering, pain and cry of being uprooted and encountering prejudice yet honoring the cultural background of both the uprooted and our country, the US, that can o er them freedom. Once the music was found sections of the incredible Lila Downs composer, lyricist and singer from her record “Borders”. He started rehearsals in the fall semester on this new choreographic work – UPROOTED: PERO REPLANTADO combining even in the title the 2 cultures. Cleo Parker Robinson, Founder of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance says, “I remember how visibly beautiful and thought-provoking the work is - and now, in light of current affairs in our world, - see the work as even more relevant than it was just that short while ago.”
SUITE LANGSTON HUGHES and SONGS OF THE DISINHERITED (Excerpted and performed together) are some of Donald McKayle’s heritage masterworks.
SUITE LANGSTON HUGHES is set to a series of poems by Hughes and are sung by Darrel Taylor. It was first choreographed on the UCI Etude Ensemble. “Down Where I Am” is the fourth song of Erik Santos’ song cycle Dreamer: 7 Poems by Langston Hughes.
SUITE LANGSTON HUGHES is set to a series of poems by Hughes and are sung by Darrel Taylor. It was first choreographed on the UCI Etude Ensemble. “Down Where I Am” is the fourth song of Erik Santos’ song cycle Dreamer: 7 Poems by Langston Hughes.
Down Where I Am
by Langston Hughes
Too many years Beatin’ at the door -
I done beat my Both fists sore
Too many years Tryin’ to get up there -
Done broke my ankles down, Got nowhere.
Too many years Climbin’ that hill,
‘Bout out of breath. I got my fill.
I’m gonna plant my feet On solid ground
If you want to see me, Come down.
SONGS OF THE DISINHERITED was choreographed in 1972 for the Inner City Repertory Dance Company of Los Angeles and since than has entered the repertories of the Lula Washington Dance Theatre and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble among others. The solo Angelitos Negros has also been performed by Elizabeth Roxas of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Roxane D’Orleans Juste of the Limón Dance Company, Melissa Young and Nycole Merritt of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and is a signature performance piece for the dance soloists Stephanie Powell and Nejla Yatkin.
SONGS OF THE DISINHERITED examines and speaks deeply of varied aspects of the Black Diaspora in the New World. It’s four movements begin with the driving spiritual “I’m On My Way,” a relentless rendering of determination and forward movement out from the abyss of slavery. The second movement, “Upon the Mountain,” a depression blues, is an anguished cry of hunger and the resolve to survive. The third movement, “Angelitos Negros,” a study in black majesty, is a towering depiction of female strength. The final movement, “Shaker Life” is an urban gospel that dispels doubt and celebrates life. It brings the audience to its feet, everyone celebrating all that is good in life.
SONGS OF THE DISINHERITED examines and speaks deeply of varied aspects of the Black Diaspora in the New World. It’s four movements begin with the driving spiritual “I’m On My Way,” a relentless rendering of determination and forward movement out from the abyss of slavery. The second movement, “Upon the Mountain,” a depression blues, is an anguished cry of hunger and the resolve to survive. The third movement, “Angelitos Negros,” a study in black majesty, is a towering depiction of female strength. The final movement, “Shaker Life” is an urban gospel that dispels doubt and celebrates life. It brings the audience to its feet, everyone celebrating all that is good in life.
Photo credits: John Gerbetz
