Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre presents Spring 2025 Concert Series

CRDT debuted their Spring 2025 Concert Series, helmed by co-founder and artistic director Wilfredo Rivera, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts this past weekend. The program included a collection of pieces from past years and a few premieres, featuring work from choreographers Wilfredo Rivera, Shannon Alvis and Michelle Manzanales and composers Joe Cerqua and James Sanders.

The night opened with Lágrimas Negras, which, despite the name (Black Tears) and the song’s history as a 1931 bolero-son by Miguel Matamoros, was an exuberant celebration of Salsa and other Caribbean rhythms. However, the tone of the night was really set a few pieces later, by Less choreographed by Shannon Alvis, composed by Joe Cerqua and danced by Brennen Renteria. A haunting and emotive piece, it was written in 2020 as a reaction to the experience of lockdown. Renteria danced beautifully, expressing the profound loneliness and fear felt by so many in that year. The next stand out was The Island, choreographed by Michell Manzanales, composed by James Sanders and featuring Lilia Ambler Castillo Gomez and Caitlin Clark. It tells the story of an island in Humboldt Park Lagoon that becomes the refuge of two young girls. The principal dancers infused their movements with a childlike energy that was unmistakable, and the piece also showcased what is so unique to CRDT: an earthy, tactile and intimate physicality.

The use of touch and intimacy was continued in Identity City, a piece from 2023, choreographed by Shannon Alvis, composed by Joe Cerqua and collaborated on by Lucas Greeff. Consisting of several short pieces, each one explored gender identity in a unique and lyrical way, while still adhering to the earthy, organic feel of the earlier pieces. Dancer Yui Nakatani had a particularly lovely solo, called Reflection.

The second half of the night included a Paul Simon cover by Joe Cerqua, and an excerpt from a larger piece by co-founder Wilfredo Rivera, American Catracho (2019). The dance was a semi-autobiographical exploration of Rivera’s own journey as a young immigrant. It was a deeply personal piece, reflected in both the continued use of physical intimacy of the dancers and the costumes, plain streetwear that somehow highlighted the emotional struggles of everyday people as they go about their lives, as if we could see the workings of their souls beneath the trappings of the everyday.

The CRDT style was a captivating departure from other dance companies. More theatrical than a modern or experimental company, but more abstract than theater or ballet. There was a live band, and at times, the musicians left the band box to participate in the dances, creating a deeper feeling of connection between the music and the dance. The dancers themselves move with an athleticism and power that they seem to be channeling up from the very earth itself. At moments in The Island I found myself imagining that the company had emerged from some magical wood, moving with an almost primal grace. Overall, the show was an exploration of identity that seemed to highlight the very physical reality of life as a human in a body, with an occasional, incongruous Paul Simon cover. The style is unique and captivating, and worth coming out to see.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

To learn more about Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, check out their website www.cerquarivera.org

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.