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# Opening Night of FALL FOR DANCE's 23rd Season
- URL: https://oberons-vale.ghost.io/opening-night-of-fall-for-dances-23rd-season/
- Published: 2026-09-23T15:10:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T15:10:39.000Z
- Author: Oberon

\~ Author: Oberon

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d4/f9/d4f9c027-5a59-47b4-a6ef-cadbd0b728ad/content/images/2026/09/fall-for-dance-c3-final.jpg)

Above: Alysia Johnson in Jermaine Spivey's *In the act of undoing*; photo by Alexander Diaz 

Tuesday October 22nd, 2026 - City Center's ever-popular **FALL FOR DANCE** series opened its 23rd season tonight with a program of two contemporary works book-ending a 1978 *pas de deux* in the classic style. The packed house was very quiet and attentive...well, aside from a woman behind us who kept whispering throughout the evening.

A.I.M BY KYLE ABRAHAM offered *In the act of undoing, c*horeographed by Jermaine Spivey, who also created the music; the piece was having its New York premiere tonight. Of his creation, the choreographer said: “We work so the improvisation looks choreographed and the choreography looks improvised." That statement rang true as the dance unfolded. 

A beeping rhythm commenced as the curtain rose; the dancers, dressed in loose-fitting casual clothing, meander about the stage, connecting with one another in fleeting passages, then dancing in sync. There is floor work to be done, and a walk-about. Solo passages pop up along the way; then words appear on the wall, which the dancers recite aloud. The dancers talk to one another, form small sub-groups, then drift off. The atmosphere is relaxed, the dancers' unique personalities shine thru.A hypnotic, deep bell tone begins to chime. Child-like games are played. The beat goes on as these charismatic movers and shapers do their thing. Then silence falls, but it is a false ending. The dancing continues; some visually enticing male solos pique our interest, but a feeling of 'too much of a good thing' creeps in. The ovation that greeted the dancers at the finish was loud and long, and so well-deserved. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d4/f9/d4f9c027-5a59-47b4-a6ef-cadbd0b728ad/content/images/2026/09/fall-for-dance-4c.jpg)

ABT Principals Aran Bell and Skylar Brandt (above studio photo by Arthur Elgort) brought us Gerald Arpino's *L'Air D'Esprit.* Set to music by Adolphe Adam - composer of GISELLE and "O Holy Night" - the music has a regal start: we hear a waltz, and then a *galop*. The dancers make a striking entrance, rushing across the stage with the ballerina held aloft. Their partnership in the lovingly-choreographed *adagio* was beautiful beyond description: elegant lyricism at every moment. In classic mode, the male solo gives way to the female: both are wonderfully danced and enthusiastically cheered. The coda is the delicious frosting on this balletic cake. Ms. Brandt and Mr. Bell were exuberantly hailed by the crowd. 

To close the evening, the Martha Graham Dance Company brought forth Baye and Asa's Co*rtege.* Inspired by Martha Graham's 1967 ballet *Cortege of Eagle*s, it tells the story of the fall of Troy as seen thru the eyes of the ill-fated Trojan Queen Hecuba - which was the last role Martha Graham danced before retiring from the stage. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d4/f9/d4f9c027-5a59-47b4-a6ef-cadbd0b728ad/content/images/2026/09/fall-for-dance-c.jpg)

Above: Graham stars Laurel Dalley Smith, Leslie Andrea Williams, and Antonio Leone in *Cortege;* photo by Isabella Pagano

The Baye and Asa work commences with the dancers kneeling in a diagonal, covered in a huge grey shroud. To tinkling music, the shroud is drawn off. A tribal drumbeat creates a stark atmosphere. There are spoken words as stylized movements commence. The stage is mostly covered in darkness, with individual vignettes from the story illuminated in shifting places on the stage. The percussive score - by Jack Grabow - drew inspiration from the original musical score by Eugene Lester.

As the work unfolds, each of the eight dancers dons a white pull-over shirt, seemingly arming themselves for battle. A feeling of hopeless emptiness fills the air. Death hovers overall. In the end, the dancers are again draped in the vast shroud.

Having missed the Graham 100th anniversary performances last season due to various health issues, I was very moved to see Laurel Dalley Smith, Zachary Jeppsen-Toy, Lloyd Knight, Antonio Leone, Jai Perez, Anne Souder, Leslie Andrea Williams, and Xin Ying onstage this evening: they are all sublime humans. It was also lovely to greet the Company's ever-elegant Artistic Director, Janet Eilber. 

Although my companion and I enjoyed the entire program (and *all* of the dancing!), we both felt that the opening and closing works were too similar in structure, though not in mood. A greater contrast might have made for an even more engrossing evening. 

*\~ Oberon*