I reviewed the rising young company LEVYDance for Voice of Dance today:
“Rarely does a young dance company appear on the scene with the immediate appeal of LEVYDance. Founded in 2002 by UC Berkeley grad Benjamin Levy (and well stocked with fellow alumni who do that dance program proud), this fresh-faced group radiates commitment and ambition with every step they attack, every defiant stare they hold. The troupe?s latest home season at ODC Theater was a shrewdly focused affair: four works by Levy, one premiere, out the door by 9:30. But those intense 90 minutes left a compelling impression of why these dancers have placed so much faith in Levy?s talent.
At this point in Levy?s development, his gifts shine more in the aggregate rather than in the achievement of any one particular work. His movement is dense and distinctive, obsessed with the collapsing of joints, or the swing of a leg from its hip socket. Dancers often cluster together, cascading over each other in layers of dynamism. The dancers are forces acting against one another, each touch setting off an unstoppable chain of kinetic reactions, each potential embrace transmuted into confrontation. This choreographic style can look earthy, as in the intimate duet Falling After Too, or mechanical and menacingly futuristic, as in the trio Holding Pattern. Whichever the case, Levy smartly chooses music that lets him capture broad emotional shifts.”
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