dance writer

The World Dance Alliance-Americas General Assembly held in Madison, Wisconsin this year, christened a weekend-long conference of classes, lectures, panels and performances with a showcase concert mixing a bill of local groups with out-of-towners. For the most part, the dances were ill-suited to a venue the scope of Madison's lovely historic Capitol Theatre. A smaller theatre would have served the intimate works better and made the show feel less tiring. A few exceptions kept the audience connected to this technically smooth, but way-too-long program. Out of the thirteen pieces emerged a stunning minimalist solo with Escher-like video projections entitled "Somewhere Close to Now". In it, Philadelpia-based Niki Cousineau used simplicity and economy of choreographic form to its best. Rare that dance and video are so perfectly married, Cousineau, obviously a strong dancer, boldly chose to draw attention to the power of hand gesture, simple running, and stillness, allowing tim