"What are the ways in which we can return to ourselves, to the places and feelings we define as home? RyderDance’s first evening length work, Homecoming, addresses these questions and uncovers layers of meaning in both the physical and cognitive sense. Visceral, vigorous, and penetrating, Homecoming contrasts gentle sentiment and fierce athleticism to revisit the past while celebrating the present."

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"Ryder utilized primal, tribal, sensual and at times animalistic movements and expressions to tell the story of humanity's arrival. A steady heartbeat and gasps of breath underscoring the composition set the tone. There were dynamic pairings between a male and female dancers that evoked both Adam and Eve as well as the duality and polarity of masculine and feminine, positively or negatively charged qualities in other forms of life such as animals and even amoebas and atoms. When the cast would cluster together and move in a domino-effect cascade of gestures, as one unit with many parts informing the actions of the others, it was like a network of cells in the human body. Then they'd transform into feral creatures engaging with each other in ways that called to mind our ancient ape-like ancestors."

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"The grant recipients will preview their EARTH choreography in five independent workshop presentations at Martha Graham Studio Theater, 55 Bethune Street (Greenwich Village) in NYC. The second workshop, featuring the work of Jordan Ryder (RyderDance), will take place Friday, May 11 at 8pm, with "Man is Born." FREE with suggested donation. Program includes film, performance, Q/A"

 

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"The third and final performance--choreographed by Jordan Ryder in collaboration with the dancers--was entitled "Railways" and featured an original electro-synth composition by Rob Neubauer that was composed in tandem with the creation of the choreography for a truly collaborative experience. Each of the evening's pieces increased in number of dancers from three to four and then a group of six (Julia Gold, Gabe Katz, Emma Massarelli, Dante Norris, Philip Strom, and Miranda Viars). The dancers wore sleek black garments and black and neon knee coverings with a futuristic feel that matched the music. The whole piece had a bit of a space age, high-tech "Tron" sense about it from the sharp, angular movements in pairs or groupings that would burst into speedy leaps and flips, robotic gazes, stark grounded floor work (thank goodness for those knee pads--clearly not just for fashion), erratic flailing, collapsing then rising up again and huddling as a unit, sometimes in support, other times in rejection of a member of the group. To me--aided by the soundscapes and visuals--it was evocative of a kind of network, a complex system such as a computer or brain where signals fire rapidly and rely on each other to function as every gesture seemed to inform another, but sometimes these machines (including the human mind) can short-circuit or malfunction and not cooperate so fluidly. Of the motivation for the themes behind "Railways", Ryder said that the inspiration was "barriers" in physical, mental, and social senses, but that the narrative is the last step in her process--movement guides the relationships, then the narrative further informs and defines what they want to say through the performance and how it relates to and supports the original concept."

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"We would like to introduce you to another one of our 2018 ETD New Choreographer Grant Recipients, Ms. Jordan Ryder. She just recently graduated from NYU and bursting onto the professional dance scene! Here is a little more about her and her dance background. "

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