MCINTYRE AND IDAHO---A GOOD MATCH IN DANCE
                                              By D. Rane Danubian
        artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music and dance 
                                                                 Week of Nov. 19-26,  2011
                                                                  Vol. 14, No. 23
            BERKELEY---The Trey McIntyre Project is an exuberant, high-flying modern-dance company in---hold your breath---Idaho. And Trey is appropriate; it refers not only to its 6-foot-six director and sole choreographer, but also to the number three, exactly the age of this Boise-based operation of 10 dancers and the highly mobile company. Its Boise base represents an important step in the continued decentralization of dance, which at one time was almost entirely in New York City.
            The TMP impressed with its all-2011 program at Zellerbach Hall Nov. 18, winning enthusiastic plaudits at the end after showing off a male-dominated ensemble, three contrasting works, and a high discipline for the well-balanced roster of professionals. 
            McIntyre tailors his dances to the rural slice of Americana. Dancers will turn up in farmer’s suspenders, or overalls, and much of the music is country-western or Nashville. But when he sets them in motion, there is no drawling, dawdling or letup; the sparks fly, and the high-energy is sustained through the whole evening, almost as if he was afraid of showing lethargy.
            The think piece in all this was the keystone work “Gravity Heroes,” which may or may not be about the immigration concerns in today’s America. A poorly dressed redneck character (Jason Hartley) sings the  National Anthem very badly. And then an array of piñatas materialize, suspended above the stage, with the flying, leaping dancers trying to smash them on the run. Eventually a change of costumes leads to simulated nudity, with flesh-colored attire, and the two men---the tall John Michael Shert, and the bearded, fast-shifting  Brett Perry---carry off the night’s most stunning solos, almost faster than the eye can follow. Though she does not have the typical dancer’s body, Chanel DaSilva provided expressiveness in spades, both here and in the finale.
            The opening “In Dreams” was purest Midwest culture, complete with an Elvis-style singer as (prerecorded) accompaniment. Lauren Edson emerged as the woman to watch. Despite some needless naivete like Edson’s exaggerated hand-wringing anguish, the piece is quirky, darting, humorous.
            “The Sweeter End” was less meaty, bent on total entertainment with some frenzy (and a shimmy shtick for DaSilva). After this finale and the bows, McIntyre adroitly built an uninhibited Charleston number by way of encore, so seamlessly that it seemed part of “Sweeter End.” And a sweeter end it was, ultimately.
            As they’d say if TMP ever decided to go to Paris, Trey bien!!
            Trey McIntyre Project, a 10-member modern-dance company, at Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, Nov. 18, presented by Cal Performances. For CP info: (510) 642-9988, or go online.

        ©D. Rane Danubian 2011
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        D. Rane Danubian has been covering the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with relish -- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
    These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never weakly) will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with forays into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local artists as well.
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