LINDSAY TOMAKA
Special to The Leader
The LehreDance Company, which was founded in July 2007 by Jon Lehrer, is a small dance company consisting of only eight dancers that is focused on modern dance. The group’s style of dance is based on three main elements of movement: circularity, three-dimensionality and momentum.
This small company of dancers has made a name for itself in the dance world. The company travels the world teaching techniques while holding a partnership with the University of Buffalo and visiting Fredonia frequently for master classes and performances.
During their weeklong visit, the dancers practiced new pieces, hosted a free class, and on Friday, showed what they are all about by performing some of their new dance works for anyone who wanted to watch.
“I strive for every piece to be different,” said Lehrer during a costume change. “A lot of pieces will tend to look the same, so I like to give each dance a completely different style.”
The first piece performed was “Femeie De Lume,” which means “woman of the world” in Romanian. The dance featured Colleen Walsh as the centerpiece, with the four male dancers in the company surrounding her, as if she was a blooming flower amidst them.
Walsh, dressed in a simple white, but warrior-like leotard, walked across the backs of the male dancers, as each one moved to her as she stepped. The piece also featured many lifts, and Walsh’s feet never touched the floor until a few minutes into the piece. The dance was beautiful and smooth, and was clearly about women, strength and femininity.
After “Femeie De Lume,” “Cash or Check” was presented. This piece has a 1920s style, so its title is only fitting, since the phrase “Cash or check?” is actually ‘20s slang for “kiss me now or kiss me later?” The piece was also performed in the Fredonia Dance Ensemble last semester. This lighter, fun dance is usually set to open the show.
“I don’t really know a lot about dance but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed watching them,” says Courtney Domst, a senior business management major. “‘Cash or Check’ was my favorite piece. It was so much fun to watch, and it made me feel like I was on Broadway.”
LehrerDance has visited Russia many times to bring the country the best of modern dance, but also to learn about the different cultures and dances of certain people in Russia. During its most recent visit it met the Chukchi tribe, a group of inuits who live on the Chukchi Peninsula off the coast of Russia.
Lehrer described this visit as inspiring and set the next piece the company performed, “Chukchi”, to the original music of the Chukchi tribe, who practice a unique style of throat singing. Their performance was a “special preview” since they only just finished fine-tuning it. The dance will debut during their shows in Baltimore and Orlando. The tribal style of this dance was shown through their unique costumes, which Lehrer described as “wonderfully revealing.”
“The goal of any dance company is always to perform with live music,” explains Lehrer while waiting for the last costume change, “but the problem is always the cost and scheduling.”
This year things worked out, and LehrerDance will be doing a piece with 10,000 Maniacs, a local band which was formed in Jamestown. The band just released a new album and is on tour, but after the lead singer, Mary Ramsey, became friends with Lehrer, the band made time to perform with them.
This was the piece that the dancers were working so hard on while at Fredonia, but it’s still not complete. There are no official costumes for this piece yet, and transitions still need to be figured out. What is for sure is that the band will be on a raised stage and the dancers will perform in all white. This piece is about the joys of dancing. This lyrical piece titled “Like a Dream in the Night” will put a spotlight on the band, and there will be moments without dancing. This piece will close the show like it closed Friday’s performance at Fredonia.
After the final dance, the dancers sat in front of the audience and answered a few questions before allowing time to talk to people one-on-one.
“I’ve been obsessed with them since I was about 10,” said Amanda Sanbelmo — a senior psychology major with a minor in dance — as she waited in line to talk to Walsh. “I think my mom is more obsessed with them than I am, and we can’t wait to go see them with 10,000 Maniacs.”
When there was finally room for Sanbelmo to get in, she turned around with a smile and told Walsh, “You’re my idol.”
The LehrerDance residency was made possible through a generous grant from the Carnahan Jackson Humanities Fund.