Press Packet Quotes

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2006/10/30/doug-varone-and-dancers

Possession:
“…a vivid abstract drama on connections and loss in romance.”
- Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune arts critic

…”smoothness and warmth that conveyed a truly heartfelt sense of

companionship.
- Rebecca Chaleff, Columbia Spectator

“…sweeping momentum that flows beautifully both within and between the
dancers.”
- Rebecca Chaleff, Columbia Spectator

“Premiered in 1994 andnow considered a classic exploration of the subtle

complexities of a relationship…”
- Ellen Jacobs Associates

Of the Earth Far Below:

“…the seething, convulsive outpouring of movement, set to the slashing rhythms
of Steve Reich's "Triple Quartet," had provoked an equal and opposite reaction in
the spectators, who could only sit there and clap.”
- Sylviane Gold, Newsday

“…a brawl of a dance set to Steve Reich's "Triple Quartet.”

- By Claudia La Rocco, Associated Press

“The rushing waves of dancers, swelling and subsiding, coalescing and

scattering, that make "Of the Earth Far Below" so compelling…”
- Sylviane Gold, Newsday

Bench Quartet:
“As Bach's Cantata swelled and grew, so did the movements with a steady and
logical crescendo that eventually took all four dancers off the bench and into the
broad phrases and gestures that characterize Varone's choreography.”
- Rebecca Chaleff, Columbia Spectator

Sacre du Printemps:
“The dancing is lyrical, virtuosic, breath taking; his dancers displaying a rough
and tumble physicality coupled with exquisite grace.”

The Constant Shift of Pulse:

“…movement that seemed to spill across the stage…”
- Cross Currents Magazine
- “…broken by scintillating pauses, that left both dancers and audience
breathless at the end.”
- Cross Currents Magazine

Strict Love:
“…bold movement that looped and hurtled in unexpected directions, then
screeched to shocking stillness or stylized, slow semaphorics.”
-Jennifer Dunning, New York Times

“The superficial brashness of the songs and the disc jockey's chatter serve as
effective contrasts to the insecurity of Mr. Varone's characters. Despite many
passages of unison movement, each dancer seems always solitary, rather than
part of a community.”
- New York Times

Rise:
“Time doesn’t pause, and neither does the dance, with the pace charging onward
and upward with fierce determination.”
- Ra Hir, Critical Dance review

“…a breakthrough piece for Varone, is full of movement as loose and floating as
the light tunics the dancers wear.”
- Tresca Weinstein, Special to the Times Union

“…physicality is romanced with a distinctly Varone imprint.”

- Celia Ipiotis, Eye on Dance Review of Joyce

“…the dancers move through the light then scatter over the darkened stage,
resolute individuals starring down a breathless audience.”
- Associated Press review of Joyce 2004 by Claudia La Rocco