Josephine Steinmetz

GHDT taking on epic stories

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By John Lyle Belden

Just in time for Passover, Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre revived an excellent work of visual storytelling, “Exodus,” at the Tarkington in the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel at the end of March.

Inspired by the Biblical story, the central character is not a particular person but The Chosen, represented stunningly by Olivia Payton. Her grace and strength are on glorious display here. She communicates her apprehension at her high position, being adopted by royalty, which gives way to anger in an incident that banishes her to the slave class. The others in bondage include Nathalie Boyle, Sophie Jones, Josie Moody, Vivien Michels, Audrey Springer, and Abigail Lessaris, who also earlier plays the Chosen’s mother, with Lucille Harris as the child.

The ruler over this land is simply known as The Persecutor, a performance of menacing strength by Thomas Mason. As Gregory Glade Hancock wrote this (including choreography and costumes) with emphasis on feminine strength being oppressed, he made the army of Oppressors more androgynous in masks and dark, loose clothing. The sigil on their chests resembles a computer Power button, hinting at their control.

Oppressors are danced by Mary Kate Burks, Maura Burks, Gwyneth Conner, Fay Dale, Renata Felice, Riah Gerwels, Katie Gretschmann, Lucy Grontkowski, Lauren Harrison, Natalie Huff, Grace King, Kelly Kubinski, Jilli Myers, Lucy Nevins, Reese Palmateer, Caitlyn Pingel, Serena Roe, Kingsley Southard, Josephine Steinmetz, and Claire Vreeke.

Children in this production are Harris, Eva Abakunova, Valerie Bussell, Addie Dibner, Valeria Griffis, Vivienne Maresh, and Anya Willis.

From the original narrative, we get one of Hancock’s most stunning pieces of movement, a representation of The Burning Bush with several dancers gathered at center stage, each with their own eccentric motion so that together we get the mesmerizing effect of flickering flames. This, as well as the eventual Parting of the Sea, are aided by skilled lighting and clever set design by Ryan Koharchik.

As with the old story, the land also suffers Plagues; however, Hancock wished these to be more relatable to modern audiences. The representation of pollution – “Desecration of the Earth” – is particularly startling. Other ills including Gun Violence, Racism, and indifference brought on by Social Media also reveal our destructive nature.

Regarding this production as a whole, one impressive aspect is how the music – from various sources – was assembled to provide the the perfect palette for the dancers to present every scene.

“Exodus” had just one weekend of performances, but is likely to return in a future season. GHDT’s next full production is “Antony and Cleopatra,” inspired by the Shakespeare play based on these historical figures, June 5-6 at The Tarkington. Original music will be by frequent collaborator Cory Gabel. (Get tickets at thecenterpresents.org.)

In the meantime, The Florence stage at The Academy of GHDT (329 Gradle Drive, Carmel) will host the Melange series. At each performance, a vocalist will perform, joined by a dancer and visual artist who each improvise in their own way. Thus, every session is unique, and the artwork that is created during the hour is immediately auctioned to a generous audience member, with funds going to GHDT.

  • On April 18-19, Evelyn Rai is vocalist; Cody Miley, who has performed with GHDT and Dance Kaleidoscope, is the dancer; and Christina Hollering will create visual art.
  • On May 16-17, Angela Nichols Manlove is the vocalist; with dancing by Olivia Payton; and visual art by Debbie Slack.

For more information and Melange tickets, visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.

Anguish of atrocity honored in Gregory Hancock program

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By John Lyle Belden

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre presented another brilliant example of its ability to tell a story and evoke feeling through movement with its “Autumn Nights” program.

“Art should be challenging,” founder and director Gregory Glade Hancock says. This is certainly brought to bear in the debut of his important work, “Beyond These Gates the Land Groans.” These words were written on a wall of the Police Prison Camp at Salaspils, Latvia, operated by Nazi Germany as a labor and concentration camp from October 1941 until the Soviets closed it at war’s end in 1945. Though not as infamous as larger facilities, it was just as cruel, leading to the deaths of thousands of people (many of them, children) from disease, starvation and other mistreatment.

In 1967, a Memorial was built to remember those who were lost there, which included a number of sculptures whose brutal appearance reflected their suffering. Hancock saw these on a recent visit to Latvia and said he was instantly inspired to compose this piece.

The resulting performance literally stunned us. The movement portrayed the grace of humanity but no further beauty. Dancers worked in open space against the constant tension of being in a restrained, hopeless place. They appear as representation of the memorial statues, in the same poses, and move to express their struggle and sorrow. They come forward, challenging us to see them, hear their silenced cries. The stark vision extends to the costumes (also by Hancock), plain prisoner uniforms hanging loose upon starved bodies, as well as there being no music, just the ongoing rhythm of a recorded human heartbeat. At a moment of desperate necessity, there is the wail of a violin. At the end, as we had been cautioned before the show, few felt like applauding – some in the audience briefly clapped out of respect for the artists; the rest of us, intensely moved, honored it with silence.

Dancers were the principal GHDT company – Sophie Jones, assistant director Abigail Lessaris, Thomas Mason, Cordelia Newton, Josie Moody, Olivia Payton, and Audrey Springer – with GH Academy students Arden Brothers and Hazel Moore.

The program also had lighter and otherwise entertaining works. It opened with “The Visit,” a 1992 Hancock dance with Eastern European influences, appropriate to the Halloween season. Mason enters the center spotlight and summons the others in a bewitching circle of celebration and magick. The “sisters” include Lessaris, Moody, Payton, Springer, and provide a lovely introduction of new dancers Jones and Newton – the latter getting a brief solo. Student Penelope Lomax also makes an appearance.

Hancock also revived a fun 2008 piece, “The Seven Deadly Sins.” All listed above, as well as students Abigail Arboleda, Fiadh Flynn, Morgan Rice, Josephine Steinmetz, Charlotte Terzino, and Brittney Zhang, take turns in various numbers embodying Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, and, of course, Lust. In the end, Terzino reappears as Virtue to set the moral order right.

The “Autumn Nights” came and went – last Friday evening and Saturday afternoon – at The Tarkington of the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel. Upcoming events will be nearby on The Florence stage at Gregory Hancock’s office and Academy, 329 Gradle Drive:

 “Melange” returns with three artists of different disciplines combining their talents in a single improvised theme. On Nov. 16-17, visual artist Kevin James Wilson, vocalist Tessa Gibbons, and GHDT’s Josie Moody will create a masterpiece within the same space.

“WinterFest,” a celebration of different year-end holidays, will be at the Florence on December 6-8 and 13-15.

For information on these and performances in 2025, visit GregoryHancockDanceTheatre.org.