Angst light came to the Byham Theater on Saturday night when Danzahoy performed its vision of urban alienation called "Exodo."
Created and choreographed by Luz Urdaneta, sister of company founder Adriana Urdaneta, "Exodo" lasts a little more than an hour. The backdrop is often a video of hyper-speed travel by car or train. At one point, the dancers' steps create the clickety-clack rhythm of a train.
The piece begins with a clump of dancers moving together, out of which several individuals emerge only to rejoin the group. For the exodus to foreign land, the dancers drop to their knees and, with bent arms moving rapidly forward and back, go forward as a group. Danzahoy is a well disciplined ensemble in the precise matching of gestures and also the creation of clean lines amid ranks of dancers -- equally on their feet or knees.
Beautiful old tango recordings provide an aptly bittersweet aural environment, featuring the sounds of the bandoleon, the square-shaped button-accordion favored in tango bands, as well as fervent vocals.
Jacques Broquet is the strong lead dancer in "Exodo;" he conveys the fatigue and despondency that is at the core of the dissatisfaction being expressed. He was amplified to let us hear his breathlessness as a character.
During the period of exile, individuals from the group form transient couples -- changing partners with light cheerfulness.
The poetic description of "Exodo" in the program begins:
The passion of living
Expels us from ourselves.
Yet while the choreography conveyed elements that contribute to and reflect alienation, the it didn't convey to me any individual fragmentation - only dissatisfaction.
When "Exodo" nears its end, the dancers come forward to pick bright red flowers in what proved to be a problematic transition. Those nice flowers do not serve the ballet's plot. Danzahoy's program note ascribes different maladies -- such as hardship, desperation and frenzy -- to the flowers which are to be picked with love. Lacking thorns, these pretty flowers took the thematic edge off embracing them, as well as the poetic charm.
In addition, the flower picking confused the audience, which applauded as though the show was over.
The final dance conveyed the idea that upon returning from exile "we remember that we never truly left home." The choreography of this section provided an emotionally and formally satisfying conclusion.
The Venezuelan group Danzahoy, founded in 1980, was presented by Pittsburgh Dance Council.
