INTERVIEW: Complexions Contemporary Ballet turns 25

Photo: Desmond Richardson is the co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Photo courtesy of Gene Schiavone / Provided by GOGO PR with permission.

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Complexions Contemporary Ballet started as a mere idea 25 years ago, and thanks to the dedicated efforts of artistic directors Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, the company has flourished and held down numerous residencies around the world.

Complexions, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is currently playing a two-week engagement through Sunday, March 3 at the Joyce Theater in Manhattan. Featuring three distinct programs, the offerings on view are both varied and novel. Audience members can experience Star Dust, featuring the music of David Bowie; Woke, set to a remix of music from a number of star musicians; and Bach 25, a New York premiere.

“It’s our special anniversary for Complexions Contemporary Ballet,” Richardson said in a recent phone interview. “We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary season, which will involve some classics of Complexions, meaning a repertory of Complexions that some of the crowd knows. We’ll be bringing those back with these young dancers, and also Dwight Rhoden, my collaborative partner and main choreographer for the company, is choreographing a new work called Woke to various music of Logic and Kendrick Lamar.”

Woke, Richardson said, is a commentary piece that speaks to the headlines of 2019. The dance is Rhoden’s thesis on what he sees today in the world.

Also of note is that Richardson recently bid adieu to his full-time dance work with the company, and this special night was Complexions’ gala performance Feb. 21 at the Joyce. This is believed to be the last time he will dance with the company as a full-time member. It’s fitting that during the gala performance he performed with up-and-coming performers who are taking the baton.

“I probably will come back at some point and do something, but in my 50s it’s time to go on and continue the artistic directorship and nurturing these new voices,” he said. “For me, it’s not bittersweet. I’ve performed around the world in the most important houses. I’ve had an illustrious career, and now it’s time to share that. And I will continue to do special projects for sure here and there, but I think for the concert world, it’s time to say adieu. It’s OK. I’d like to really go out gracefully and basically say a thank you.”

To re-create some of the dance pieces from Complexions’ early existence takes time for Rhoden and Richardson. Sometimes they need to look at archival videos, but other times the routines reside in their memories.

“It’s a matter of looking at the dancers before us to see if they can even handle it because it’s not only about the technical prowess, but of their artistic development,” Richardson said. “So there is a brainstorming that is necessary to speak about and make the right decisions, so we feel really confident that we’ve made the right decisions and that the audiences that will be coming to view the performances will have a great time. … If we hadn’t had these videos, what would we do? They would be lost. We often do the videos, but also too some of the ballets I know verbatim. They’re in my bones, so I can just hear the music and go right into it. So I can teach specificity in detail right away with this sort of clarity for the dancers.”

Both Rhoden and Richardson were previously associated with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with Rhoden choreographing many works for the company and various other troupes as well. Then, a suggestion from Ailey himself changed Richardson and Rhoden’s professional life.

“We wanted to bring all of this together, and actually it was Mr. Ailey who said, ‘You know what, you should probably do a show, and put everything together so that you can see what it is that you have here because you’re doing a little duet here, a trio there. Why don’t you put it all [together] and see what you got,'” Richardson remembers. “When we started, we didn’t even have a name. It was just a concept in dance, and the name came out of one of the rehearsals that we were in. … Actually one of the dancers’ father was in the rehearsal, and he said, ‘Wow, it’s so complex in here from your movement to the music.’ Dwight and I both looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, Complexions.’ That’s exactly how it dropped out of the universe to us, so thus we got the name and put on the show at Symphony Space in 1994. We sold out three nights, and 25 years later here we are.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Complexions Contemporary Ballet continues with performances through March 3 at the Joyce Theater in Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.