Powerful and full of pathos between mother and son, this duet is danced by the renown American contemporary dancer of today, Desmond Richardson and former Ailey dancer, Carmen De Lavallade. The piece is choreographed by Dwight Rhoden and the music is composed by Kevin Keller.
Desmond Richardson is an amazing dancer who was a principal of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre company for seven years after which he danced with the Frankfurt Ballet in Germany and later as principal with ABT. He is currently co-founder of Complexions Contemporary Ballet Company. He is enormously versatile having accomplished many different dance styles from ballet, modern to contemporary to include broad way, film and even acting. He is a true dance legend of today.
I was fortunate to find this gorgeous duet of his with Carmen De Lavallade who looks wonderful dancing here. It is so rare and special to see such a mature dance artist dance in Western dance, and together these dancers are stunningly dramatic and powerful. I had to post it.
In this piece we see the powerful spiritual connection between mother and son even though they dance in two separate spaces of light, mirroring each other with the stark table and chair. They reach out and speak to each other from their private spaces in desperate longing.
I really like the way the movement is mirrored in each of the dancers’ parts such as the way they walk around their tables. The way Carmen uses her dress to cover her head and the table are powerful metaphors and so is the way Desmond uses the space under and over his table to the final drop at the end.
This is a stunning duet although it is very dramatic and full of anguish, it is brilliantly danced by two exceptional dancers.
Enjoy!
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