Ephrat Asherie Dance

[FPF]

After seeing Ephrat Asherie with Dorrance Dance this summer at Jacob's Pillow, I was really looking forward to seeing her with her company this past Saturday night at SUNY-Albany.   I was not disappointed--this was a really fun program. The music (her brother, Ehud Asherie is the music director), was by a composer I was unfamiliar with--Ernesto Nazareth, and had an African influence and somewhat resembles jazz (but predates it). It was very danceable--at least by those dancers. The entire program was one piece, about an hour in length, called Odeon, which was the title of one of the Brazilian tangos. The performance was completely sold out and the audience seemed very happy with it.

Asherie's dancing (and that of her company) is  a mixture of street, social, and African dance. Each of the dancers had solos but they also danced together or in groups or as backup for the solos. There were parts that reminded me of hand-clapping games and some solos had voguing. It's difficult for me to describe so I'm linking to a clip. Asherie is the woman dancing with the man with green hair (Ousmane Wiles). The man who solos at the beginning is Matthew West, (who also danced with Dorrance this past summer). I think the other woman is Manon Bal.

 I'd recommend seeing her/her group if they come your way. 

Also, If you're in/near the NY Capital Region, the Dance in Albany series has been great so far and a terrific bargain. My subscription ticket for this performance was <$10, full price was $15.