On Friday, February 7t, 2025, Complexions Contemporary Ballet (CCB) performed at The Auditorium Theater, 60 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago, in a vibrant program choreographed by Co-Artistic Director Dwight Rhoden. With simple, spare costumes by Christine Darch, impactful lighting by Michael Korsch, the first half was comprised of 5 variant works from the Company’s repertoire, while the second half, For Crying Out Loud, was an homage to the music of U2. In 5 sections, danced “attacca” to Where The Streets Have No Name, Every Breaking Wave, With Or Without You, I Will Follow and Pride, the dance concert was a celebration of the body’s unique ability to triumph over traditional limits.
There are several impressive and distinctive hallmarks of CCB’s style embedded in the presentation. The dancers are superior athletes. Their ability to hold a difficult pose is mesmerizing. They are a thoroughly diverse company, including height span, and coupled with signature asynchronous moves, there is a controlled chaotic energy that emanates in each piece. Whether watching dancers solo, in pas de duexs, in pas de trois, in a line, the eye is never still, the action busy and actually difficult to follow in its fluidity, save for the sense that the strong musical choices dominate the vibe.
This Time With Feeling, and Deeply, the first 2 pieces on the program, circa 2024, sum up the breadth of CCB’s stylistic ability. The first piece, danced to Beethoven by the full Company, deploys a vast line of dancers united in strength and the full reaches of bodily limits. The second piece, an extended solo impressively danced to the music of Arvo Pärt by Vincenzo Di Primo and Joe Gonzalez was a dramatic tour de force of strength as they leapt into grandeur, triaging with Marissa Mattingly in consummate grace.
The last piece, For Crying Out Loud, is comprised of 5 running segments, all danced to the music and lyrics of U2 songs. The dancers reprise motifs from the first portion, thunderous lifts and turns, balancing acts, and their signature en pointe spectacle of positioning and steps. The evening’s prowess at work accomplished CCB’s stated mission: “to create a dynamic and inclusive performance experience that transcends boundaries, captivates audiences, and inspires a profound appreciation for the limitless possibilities of movement.”
This company, founded in 1994 by Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, both formerly Alvin Ailey principals, is celebrating 30 years of artistic excellence, are innovators in the Contemporary Ballet genre, utilizing a patented technique. Entitled “NIQUE”, this mode of training is designed to take dancers to the apex, with a concentration on coordination, physical ignition, precision, efficiency and clarity of form. Focus on versatility and range has enabled this company to electrify an audience with sheer power and beauty of physical extension in motion.
All photos by Andy Argyrakis
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