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A Fist Full of Feld
Mandance Project at The Joyce inspired by Spaghetti Westerns
Ha-Chi Yu in Radiance (Photo: Lois Greenfield)
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When Eliot Feld’s Mandance Project presents their New York season, you can be certain there will not be a swan on stage. Feld, an ardent mastermind of creativity and popular face in the American dance scene, has choreographed three new works to go along with a U.S. premiere by Taiwanese company HORSE. The dual program at The Joyce Theater will include all the humor, introspection, and imagination he’s famous for.
Mandance Project’s two-week season is March 25–April 5, and Program A includes three Feld world premieres: Radiance, Dust, and The Spaghetti Ballet. Alongside his latest works is the return of Proverb, which first made its Mandance debut in 2004 with New York City Ballet member Sean Suozzi.
Dust is a solo danced by Wu-Kang Chen and set to music by John Adams. “It takes place in a storm of flying debris that is blown around by 36 fans,” says Feld of the new piece. “It’s a very strange dance.” However, Radiance, another solo, will be performed by Ha-Chi-Yu to the music of Brian Eno, and will be a less theatrical offering, described by Feld as a dance about dancing.
Performed by Ha-Chi Yu and an ensemble of other dancers, including three children from the Ballet Tech School, The Spaghetti Ballet is a series of scenes wherein the performers play several roles. Ennio Morricone’s familiar movie music sets the tone, as the dancers transform from gangster to good guy to the ragamuffin on the corner. “It’s a fist full of money, it’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, it’s the over-the-top Italian genre films,” says Feld. “It is really a ridiculous dance. If it’s not funny, I’m in trouble.”
Program B presents the U.S. premiere of Bones, an evening-length piece by HORSE. The company was originally founded in 2004 and is directed by Wu-Kang Chen (a Feld dancer), along with other collaborative choreographers. “It’s a very beautiful piece. I went to see it in Taiwan in the fall,” says Feld. “Danced by five men, it’s very moving and very poignant.”
With several new works, Mandance Project’s season will be one of many firsts, although it will not be the first time Feld has treated the Joyce audience to something distinct and inventive.