Dance Council Opener a Stunner

Rocio Molino doing the unbelievable Credit: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

I’d be committing a sin of omission if I didn’t write something about the artist, Rocio Molina, who opened the Pittsburgh Dance Council’s 2023-24 season on September 23.

Molina started off slow, practically standing still, then slowly moved her body into a series of sculptural shapes. Dressed in a pure white dress with a long whip like flange, she fell to the floor, then began slowly crawling over the stage, flipping on her back, then her side and front torso, somehow keeping the white tail of her dress under control.

The dancer bases her choreography on traditional flamenco but reinvents it with avant-garde elements. Accompanying her in the evening performance of “Caida del Cielo” or Fallen from Heaven were a guitarist, singer and electric bass player, hand clapping percussionist and an additional percussionist.

While the first 20 minutes or so of her performance was more performance art than dance, the remainder of the show featured some fast flamenco, heels of her shoes pounding into the stage, with unexpected ultramodern adaptations danced to a wide range of musical genres.

A solo dancer, Molina appeared with the four male musicians, which included Kiko Pena’s exquisite vocals. In an aerobic marathon, she danced for at least an hour, stopping only for a few interesting interludes. During her performance she had several costume changes, all done on stage and included one where she appeared to be entirely nude.

What amazed me most was the precise interplay between her percussive feet and her hand-clapping, drum-playing quartet, and how it broke some very intricate rhythmic patterns with an instantaneous dead stop to silence, followed by another round of frenzied flamenco-styled foot pattering.

Adding a bit of novelty to the performance were some comic interactions between Molina and her crew as well as some rather bawdy imagery. With the staying power of an Ever Ready bunny, she danced at top speed for lengthy intervals, adding astounding body contortions that included a arching her back to the point of defying gravity.

So enraptured by her performance, the Byham Theater audience gave her a well-deserved standing ovation. It is said that, after a performance of Oro Viejo (Old Gold) at age 28, none other than Mikhail Baryshnikov kneeled before her at the door of her dressing room at New York City Center.

The Dance Council chose a talented performer to kick off its current season. The rest of the lineup looks equally inviting. For more information, go to https://trustarts.org/pct_home/events/series/pittsburgh-dance-council.

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