Cristian Valentin
Equinox Staff
On Thursday, March 28, former Keene State student Alexander Davis presented his show, Alexander Davis Dance & Friends: An Evening Of Collaborations, a combination of dancing, comedy and music that took place from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Redfern Main Theatre with a talkback after the show.
It contained four major parts beginning with “Night and Gay: A Song, A Story, and A Dance,” then “Waning Crescent,” “bee(n),” and concluding with “Junk Drawer.”
Before the event began, Shannon Mayers came out to describe the event, which she called, “A celebration of the talent at Keene State College.” She also said that it is very exciting to be able to bring Alex back and share his “wonderful” work.
Davis was happy to be back as well, saying, “I’m so grateful to be here.”
Audience member Nathan Gnade enjoyed the show very much, saying, “I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but it was eclectic and different, and I’m glad I came, it was fun.” He also said that his favorite part of the show was “Waning Crescent” created by former Keene student Riley Anne Lynch and Alexander Davis, performed by Lynch.
Lynch said during the talkback that when she was making the piece she, “Took all those emotions I felt during the day and put them in an eight minute piece.” She also said that the piece was originally choreographed in silence and they didn’t find the right song until a week ago.
Another popular part of the show was “Junk Drawer” created by Joy and Alexander Davis and Eric Mullis. This was their second time ever performing it in front of an audience and it left an impact, especially with Davis’ former teacher Kate Tirabassi.
KSC English professor Tirabassi said “Junk Drawer” was her favorite because of its creativity.
The show opened with a few performances by Keene students followed by the world premiere of “Night and Gay: A Song, A Story, and A Dance.” This featured dancing from Peter DiMuro and Alexander Davis with Brian Patton on piano. The crowd enjoyed this performance very much, responding with loud applause.
Later in the show was “bee(n),” created by Alexander Davis and performed by him and his fellow dance troupe members Tyler Catanella, Dorothy Cherry, Joy Davis, and Jenna Pollack. This was an event themed around a spelling bee with the performers doing different dances with each word that they receive.
After the show ended, there was a talkback with all of the performers. During this talkback, Davis said that he wants his shows to express him and he “never wants to play a straight character.” He also said that a lot of the show is improvised but they always at least frame some of it out.
According to the Redfern Arts Center, Alexander Davis is a Keene State graduate performer, choreographer, fiber artist, and homosexual who works primarily in Boston. He has been able to work with many different organizations across New England such as Ryan Landry’s Gold Dust Orphans, Improv Asylum/Laugh Boston, Boston Lyric Opera, and many others.
Cristian Valentin can be contacted at
cvalentin@kscequinox.com
