Barton quintet does the Duo

From the Good-Things-in-Little-Packages Department:

Aszure Barton's Aszure & Artists company has concluded its three-day run of A Traveling Show on the tiny stage of the Duo Theatre on East 4th Street. Size-wise, this is a small work, as Barton pieces go--involving just five dancers--but its hour is tightly packed with intense movement, intimations of drama, and all the twisted quirks and beautiful flamboyance one has come to expect from this choreographer. It's also a lot of fun, not only for its headlong celebration of entertainment and entertainers but also for the intrigue of its strangeness and the sometimes gnarly interactions it depicts. The performers--Cherice Barton, William Briscoe, James Gregg, Banning Roberts and Ian Robinson--work remarkably hard, and their bright, individual talents are highlighted throughout.

Even nicer than getting this chance to see something fresh from the celebrated A&A was getting the news that Duo Theatre's artistic director, Michelangelo Alasá, intends to follow up with regular dance performances in this space. The East Village is home to significant dance spaces, including La MaMa--Duo's neighbor up the street--P.S. 122 and Danspace Project. Now and again, Duo's other neighbor, WOW Cafe, presents dance work by women choreographers. But dance needs new spaces, and it will be delightful to welcome another series to this neighborhood. Perhaps some of these institutions will collaborate with Alasa. Ideally, besides opportunities for small troupes and new folks, I'd like to see some major companies try out very different, very small things in small, intimate spaces!

For more information on Duo Theatre, part of DMAC--Duo Multicultural Arts Center--click
here, or write to duotheatre@gmail.com.