Arriving at Overture Center with a tornado watch in effect, we sheltered in place at the Playhouse Theater, where we received frequent updates from the calm and cool Overture Center staff. We also had the unexpected opportunity to watch the last-minute preparations for Forward Theater’s current production of Lady Disdain. In the end, the harsh weather delayed the start of Kanopy Dance’s Divine Mythologies: Anna Sokolow’s Epic ‘Odes’ + Other Luminous Voices only by a few minutes.
This production brings together Kanopy Dance, whose roots lie in the technique, influence, and repertory of Martha Graham, with the New York City–based Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble. Anna Sokolow, a principal dancer in the early years of Graham’s company, was also a pioneering modern dance choreographer. Her choreography, teaching, and work with actors shaped generations of dancers and artists. In her opening remarks, Kanopy Artistic Director Lisa Thurrell explained that uniting these two companies in performance had long been a goal.
The program opened with Robert E. Cleary’s Transformations, a solo for Miye Bishop. Originally created in 1999 and “reimagined” in 2024, Transformations is a crucial reminder that despite current trends, dance isn’t just about sky-high extensions, multiple pirouettes, and improbably flashy leaps; it is also about the understated artistry of a dancer interpreting a choreographer’s work with sincerity, clarity, and commitment. Of course, the always lovely and impeccable Bishop has the training and technique to execute those “tricks,” but in this stripped-down solo, wearing a flowing garnet dress, we appreciate the simplicity of her slowly coiling her arms around her supple back, and again and again slicing one hand through space, crossing over the opposite arm to form a V. Just watching her smoothly run across the stage was unexpectedly moving and satisfying…