Nevada City Dance Fest shines with regional talent

Linda Bair and Jorge Luis Morejon in My Hands/Tus Brazos. 

Nevada County Dance Festival, 2017. Photographed by Steven A. Jones 

LINDA BAIR DANCE CO.

Similar to Hanna, Linda Bair, founder of the Linda Bair Dance Company (LBDC), has committed much of her professional life to presenting world-class dance in her community. Based in Davis, CA, LBDC is in residence at the Davis Arts Center where Bair teaches all levels of modern dance. She also teaches in the Theatre and Dance Department at UC Davis.

"Modern dance is, for me, a participatory art," says Bair. "Sometimes audiences new to this kind of dance are frustrated by the feeling of "not getting it." I want the audience to let the dances wash over them, noticing what sensations, feelings, ideas come to them as they watch or even after the piece is over. Each dance will be viewed differently by each person and informed by their own experiences in life."

Following Lake Tahoe Dance Collective's performance, Linda Bair Dance Company will showcase three pieces. Bair chose three dances that were very different from one another kinetically, emotionally, and musically; and span her company's history from 2002 to a 2017 premiere.

The first piece "Weather" is a bold expression of the wildness, chaos and order of weather patterns. "My Hands/Tu Brazos" was made with Jorge Luis Morejon who she met while he was doing his PhD in performance studies at UC Davis and now teaches in Miami. The piece explores the idea of love in a long-term relationship. Blair's newest piece "I can scarcely move or draw my breath" takes its title from one of the lines in the opening piece of "The Cold Song" by Henry Purcell with lyrics by John Dryden. Composed in the 1600s, the song feels very contemporary to Bair and explores themes of death and love, and remembering of a life lived.

LINK:  http://www.theunion.com/entertainment/nevada-city-dance-fest-shines-with-regional-talent/