LA Dance Is Again On the Move

Review of ORANGE at Brockus Project Studios

By Jeff Slayton, LA Dance Chronicle | Mar 24, 2023

The only film with dance in it on the program was the extremely enjoyable and high energy BALANCE ON THAT! choreographed and directed by Nannette Brodie to the exciting score by musician and composer Eric Ruskin who for many years was the Musical Director for the California State University, Long Beach Department of Dance.

Filmed in Hart Park on Glassell Street in Orange, CA., four performers, Julisa Figueroa, Dennzyl Green, Stephanie Maxim, and Matt Reiner, walk, tumble, climb and transform pedestrian movement into wonderful dance phrases while traversing metal or beautiful stone handrails. Laced with humor, the dancers were always on the move. This was not my first viewing of Brodie’s BALANCE ON THAT! and it was even better the second time around.

A few years ago, I saw the full work of Brodie’s titled HEARTLAND – The Immigrant Song, and therefore recognized the duet presented on this program titled EVER NEAR AT HAND. Beautifully crafted and performed wonderfully by Marin Asano and Alfonso Fuentes to music by Enoch Train, the duet may have felt unfinished to anyone not familiar with Brodie’s longer work. The costumes by Diane Browne aided greatly to inform the viewer that this was a very much in love Latin couple, but the context of their journey was lost.