CURIOUS INTENTIONS

Starr Foster Dance Intentions are Clear

A Dance Review by Julinda D. Lewis

At: The Firehouse, 1609 West Broad St., Richmond, RVA 23220

Performances: April 11-14, 2024

Ticket Prices: $25 General Admission; $35 Arts Supporter; Datenight tickets 2 for $40

Info: (804) 304-1523 or starrfosterdance.org or firehousetheatre.org

Program & Casting:

All Choreography by Starrene Foster

All Lighting Design by Michael Jarett

Familiar Stranger (Premiere): Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes. Original Music Composition by Daniel Deckelman. Costumes Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster.

Last Call (2016): Costumes Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster.

 “Un” Performed by Fran Beaumont. Music Composed by Charles Dumont with Lyrics Written by Michael Vaucaire, Performed by Edith Pian, Mon Dieu.

“Deux” Performed by Madison Ernstes, Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flit, Angela Palmisano. Music Composed by Ángel Cabral with Lyrics Written by Michel Rivgauche, Performed by Edith Piaf, Le Foule. “Trois”  Performed by Shannon Comerford, Molly Huey. Music Composed and Performed by Jacquees Brel, Au Suivant.

Sisterhood (2022): Inspired by a story, Sisterhood, written by Judith Bice. Performed by Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey. Music by Mike Lazarev, When You Are. Costumes Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster.

Adjusting to the Dark (Premiere): Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Molly Huey, Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flint, Angela Palmisano with Guest Artists Roya Baker-Vahdani, Olivia Gotsch, Cassidy Kinney, Janelle Ragland, Julia Straka, Audrey Smothers. Music by Franz Schubert, Arr Prizeman, Ave Maria; Uno Helmersson, Timelapse; Jeff Russo, Zoe Keating, Savir Arrives in Oslo; Adrián Berenguer, Forzisimo, Continent; Jim Perkins, A Ritual for Saying Goodbye. Costumes Designed by Johann Stegmeir.

Deliberate yet unhurried movement. Intentional and diverse motivations. Splayed fingers, reaching, seeking, claiming, and declaring. These are words that describe my overall response to the latest performance of Starr Foster Dance – Curious Intentions.

Familiar Stranger, one of two new works, is a trio of sometimes fleeting, often exploratory movements. Remember that feeling you get when you pass someone on the street and they remind you of someone from your past, but you can’t quite remember their name? Or when someone touches you, perhaps just brushes against you in passing, and that brief contact stirs a long forgotten memory? Imagine, then, translating those feelings into movement, and you might just get Familiar Stranger. The work premiered with Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, and Madison Ernstes, all performing with a sense of urgency – and sometimes a sinister touch – as they intertwine physically and emotionally. Two moments in time that that stand out are when first Ernstes and later Comerford (I think) are held and swung by the other two; it feels like a moment that could symbolize trust or danger, but – thanks to the dancers’ spiraling upper bodies and tiny hand gestures that are somehow enhanced by Daniel Deckelman’s dramatic thriller score – we’re never sure which way it might go.

A second new work, Adjusting to the Dark, is performed by a large cast – five company members joined by six guest artists – all dressed in modest dark dresses with high necks and long bell sleeves, reminiscent of choir robes or liturgical vestments. The work actually begins with a prayer, a rendition of Ave Maria, and concludes with Jim Perkins’ A Ritual for Saying Goodbye, an appropriately moody medley of what sounds like violin and electronic yearning. A tug of war of pushing and pulling, caressing and enfolding, silent screams, and a focus on small, riveting hand gestures are all supported by a symbiotic collaboration of movement, music, and an interesting use of footlights. The audience is encouraged to look, listen, and think in new ways. What is your darkness, what are the challenges of your life, and how do you adjust?

The program also included the tri-part Last Call (2016), a three-part work (solo, trio, and a duet that re-introduced returning company member Angela Palmisano, who performed in the trio). In the solo section, Beaumont is elegant, while Ernstes, Mavrophilipos-Flint, and Palmisano take a witty turn in the trio, and Comerford and Huey close with reassuring weight-sharing. The songs accompanying these explorations (self-described by Foster as “whimsical” and as a juxtaposition of gracefulness and awkward gestures, lyrical grace and protective gestures in a review I wrote for The Richmond Times Dispatch, Sept. 30, 2016, https://richmond.com/entertainment/dance-review-starr-foster-dance-project-fifteen/article_7c259614-bb43-533d-9bd0-c6e0c4d85600.html) are “Mon Dieu” (My God) and “Le Foule” (The Crowd), sung by Eith Piaf, and “Au Suivant” (Next), performed by Jacques Brel.

The company also performed Sisterhood (2022), inspired by a story written by Judith Bice and first performed for Foster’s Page to Stage II show, part of a series Foster plans to continue in December. (The company is currently accepting flash/sudden poetry submissions for Page to Stage III.) Sisterhood a duo about a toxic, dependent, love/hate sibling relationship, was performed by Madison Ernstes and Molly Huey. The dancers’ identical brown dresses only emphasize the inequality of their relationship. Michael Jarett has added some stunning lighting, including tree patterns on the floor that lead us to where the Barbies are buried. Chilling and presumably authentic, Sisterhood makes me glad I’m an only child.

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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself, and occasionally performs.

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Starr Foster Dance presents

CURIOUS INTENTIONS   

Artistic Director/Choreography by: Starrene Foster

Art Director: Doug Hayes

Lighting Designer: Michael Jarett

Music Director: Daniel Deckelman

Company Artists: Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flint, Angela Palmisano

Guest Performers: Roya Baker-Vahdani, Olivia Gotsch, Cassidy Kinney, Janelle Ragland (SFD Intern), Julia Straka, Audrey Smothers (SFD Mentee)

Art Director: Douglas Hayes

Costumes Designed and Constructed by: Starrene Foster

Lighting Designer: Michael Jarett

Music Director: Daniel Deckelman

Starr Foster Dance is a Resident Company of the Firehouse Theatre

Performance Schedule

Thursday, April 11^th 7:30PM

Friday, April 12^th 7:30PM

Saturday, April 13^th 5:00PM & 7:30P<

Sunday, April 14^th 5:00PM

Post-performance Q&A after the Thursday and Saturday evening performances

Champagne toast after the Friday evening performance

Run Time

1 hours 15 minutes