Making a pointe
‘Dances from the Heart’ speaks to the soul
By Eliot Sekuler
For the TODAY
Metaphors in motion: one dance simulating the creatures of our dreams — juxtaposing calm and chaos, another equating the Earth’s tectonic movements to life changes brought about by the pandemic.
Both are pieces of a timely and challenging program featuring Newport’s venerable Pacific Dance Ensemble, each offering an observation on pressing matters of our times, combined into a single presentation at Newport’s Performing Arts Center from Friday, June 3, through Sunday, June 5.
“When the Animals Danced” is a Native American-inspired piece that speaks to humanity’s relationship to our environment and “Dances From the Heart” is a series of five dances collectively described as “a reaction to the past two years of pandemic restrictions and isolation, environmental disasters and political upheaval but also the finding of beauty and new insights about ourselves and the world around us.”
The dance company, among the oldest continually operating cultural groups on the Central Coast, has a tradition of employing the grace and pure aesthetics of dance movement as a medium for socially relevant expression, and the two programs, originally conceived as stand-alone performances, have a natural connection.
“Both halves of the show are reflections on our place in the world today, how it affects us and how we can influence it,” said Nancy Mittelman, founder and director of the PDE and the Newport School of Artistic Movement, which has been training hundreds of Central Coast dance students since 1975.
A New York native who studied with a who’s who of modern dance luminaries, she co-wrote and choreographed “When the Animals Danced” and choreographed one of the five “Dances From the Heart.”
The latter program, which will be presented to a public audience for the first time, was slated for earlier this year before plans were upended.
“We were going to do pieces about living in the time of COVID in February but the Omicron variant started up as we were getting close to the performance,” Mittelman said. “So, we cancelled the public performance and just did it for the dancers’ families. But it’s a very good program and I didn’t want to lose it.”
Pieces were choreographed by Cecily Wechter, Catlin Cobb, Michaela Shoberg, Maria Barten and one by Mittelman. Cobb was an artist-in-residence with the City of Newport. The others are all past or present members of the Pacific Dance Ensemble company. Though created at different times, the pieces have a common basis in their observations of chaos and grace, grief and harmony, amid the often-bewildering times the world has experienced during the past two years.
“When the Animals Danced,” has a longer history, having first been performed in 1992. It is native-inspired but not based on an actual traditional story.
“In our story, the animals get frustrated with people’s lack of respect and concern for the environment and its flora and fauna,” Mittelman said. “As the story evolves, the animals come to the humans in dreams to show them how to live as one with the natural world. Reviving this piece seemed very appropriate during this time. Many of the young people I teach today are very concerned about climate change and the harm humans are inflicting upon our environment.”
A 30-year-old video of “When the Animals Danced” had been shown to the PDE company and when it came time to choose repertoire for the June show, Mittelman consulted with her students. Millie Follet, one of the company’s senior students, remembered the piece and suggested that it “speaks to the state of the world today.”
“When the Animals Danced” was co-written by Mittelman with E.K. “Kim” Caldwell, the late Otis writer, musician and counselor of Native American ancestry. The performance will be narrated by veteran actress and PDE alumnus, Mary Eastman, who is of Oklahoma Cherokee descent.
“The narration will help the audience interpret the movements of the story,” Mittelman said.
Music was written by Leon Forrest with chants by Caldwell and Snoball Butler and includes singing and drumming by Butler and Mitzi Shoemake, members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
Mittelman has had a life-long interest in indigenous cultures.
”My connection with nature and interest in other cultures started when I was little,” she said. “As a girl riding in the car, I looked out the window at the trees as we sped by, and they looked like they were dancing with me. I’ve always felt intimately connected to the Earth and to people who live harmoniously with it, which eventually led me to obtain a degree in cultural anthropology.”
She studied at State University of New York then the University of Oregon before moving to Newport in the mid-1970s.
“Dance for me is an integral part of life,” she said. “Movement is another language. In my teaching, I attempt to create dancers who are both technically proficient and emotionally charged. There is less stress on showy movements and more on using dance as a means of communicating an idea, story or abstract feeling to each other and the audience.”
The performances are at 7 pm on Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4, and at 2 pm on Sunday, June 5. Tickets are $23 for adults, $18.25 for seniors and $13 for students and children.
Pay only $10 for a student or senior ticket with a donation of two or more non-perishable healthy food items for Food Share of Lincoln County. Discounts limited to two tickets per household/ticket order. No glass please. Expired foods will not be accepted.
The Newport Performing Arts Center is located at 777 W. Olive Street. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-ARTS (2787).