carrying out Jones’ powerful choreography with ease and richness of interpretation. Eric Williams shows strength and sensitivity in his representation of Lincoln. At one point, he stands in swim trunks letting a video tableaux run over his body. Then he is dressed by two of the women in the cast as one of the speakers recites an essay about Lincoln that is surprising in its emphasis of his love of fine clothing and luxury. At the end the women wrap red duct tape around his waist, perhaps signifying his impending assassination.
The Bill T. Jones' choreography (which recently won a coveted Tony Award for his work on Spring Awakening) flows like a river, sometimes calm, sometimes tumultuous, always compelling and physically difficult. Dancers combine in seemingly impossible ways with lifts, falls, swirling turns and tumbles. At times Williams propels one of the dancers up into the air repeatedly into super-high lifts, perhaps signifying Lincoln's attempt to lift African-Americans out of the darkness of slavery and into the light of freedom. The dancers often form a vertical line at center stage in positions that reflect the mood or emotion of the current scene.
Because of the physical difficulty of the show, there are two alternating casts of corp dancers and alternating singers. I saw the April 9 cast. Stand-out dancers were Eric Williams, Melissa Anduiza, Audrey Richter and Sadie Lehmker. The music combines some old standbys like The Battle Humn of the Republic with contemporary compositions. Vocals by Nicole Bird were outstanding and in the spirit of the work.
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The movement onstage is complemented by the powerful set design. The six large white pillars positioned upstage at first look very plain and simple, but the backdrop comes alive as it turns into a moving tableaux of Civil War-era sepia cityscapes in video projections by Janet Wong. Images race along the backdrop and at times turn into flames in the windows of a southern mansion. Eerie lighting effects (by Robert Wierzel) make the pillars appear to be moving and changing. The costumes by Anjia Jalac (reconstructed by Marilyn Gaspardo Bertch) reflect the spirit of the era while having a contemporary feel that moves well with the dancers.
What is emphasized here is our relationship with history, how it affects our lives and our interactions in society. Jones refers to history as a feat somewhat like riding two horses as once, especially when they're going in opposite directions. The show is emotional in unexpected ways and shows the brutality and futility of war that could also apply today. “Neither party expected the magnitude or duration of the war.” Knowing the devastation of the Civil War, that simple statement is chilling. Serenade/The Proposition is well worth viewing, especially for the complex choreography and its effortless interpretation by the seemingly tireless USF dancers. More than that, it makes us think.
Serenade/The Proposition runs April 14-17, 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., Theater I, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, $8-$15, theatreanddance.arts.usf.edu.
