dNaga Dance Naganuma performs at Laney College

Last night I saw dNaga Dance Naganuma's amazing modern dance show, "Peace about Life and Reveal Freedom," by Claudine Naganuma at Laney College in Oakland. The company is celebrating its 10th anniversary.  See the show through Sunday. 

"Peace" is cast around people with Parkinson's dancing with children, something they do for therapy, bringing a certain amount of inner peace. "Reveal Freedom" is a history of the civil rights movement, based on stories from a Japanese immigrant family, using butoh-inspired movement. There's a gritty, energetic New York in the 60's, there's the life and times of Malcolm X, the rage and violence of ethnic groups long denied status, and so much more...tales told through dance by the visionary Naganuma. Tremendous performances all around.

Naganuma integrates her dance company with young and old, healthy and Parkinson's afflicted, to bring the inner sensations and reality of the disease to the viewer. Dancers wear flowing Asianish costumes in blue and green, like grass in the wind, and move in fluid and contrasting tempos, to tell personal stories along with a background of heart rending audio interviews about Parkinson's layered along with an original mysterious electronic score. The young dancers are mainly students at Danspace in Oakland, CA., and the older dancers use movement for therapy in class. Dancer Beth Hoge, longtime Danspace owner, teaches many of them.

Here's a piece - it has since evolved - recorded over a year ago: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDbeRYxVmhE

Here's the dNaga Dance Naganuma website:

http://www.dnaga.org/ 

Here's Synchronized Chaos, about movement work with Parkinson's patients:

http://synchchaos.com/?s=parkinson%27s+dance

The kids, ranging in ages from 8 on up, are all focused, beautiful, and strong. After the show I met the talented 17-year-old Khalil Lamnaouar, whose family had come to support his performance. Khalil had hurt his foot, but, watching the show, you would never have known he had been dancing in pain all night. Here's his bio from the program:

"Khalil Lamnaouar attends Oakland School for the Arts. He began studying movement forms when he was 4. Four years of dance-like Capoeira gave flexibility, and some gymnastic ability. He has studied and performed Tap and Hip Hop in competitions in San Mateo, as well as performing at Six Flags. He plays saxophone and loves to sing. New to Ballet and Modern dance, he is currently studying Ballet at Danspace."

Claudine Naganuma's husband, Joel Davel (http://www.isproductions.com/joel/), co-inventor of the marimba lumina, a melodic keyboard instrument, brings a most refined and unusual soundscape to dNaga, as he performs the Freedom piece live with saxophonist Khalil Shaheed.




Date/Time/Location:
June 3 & 4, 2011 at 8pm
& June 5, 2011 at 2pm
Laney College Theater
900 Fallon St.
Oakland, CA
$15.00 in advance, students and seniors
$20.00 at the door
To purchase tickets visit www.brownpapertickets.com