Contributed photo/Stephanie Berger
Compelling. Intimate. Provocative. The performance this past Friday by Varone and the Company was an almost cinematic representation of conversations and quotes put to life.
After a week long residency at Fairfield University, the critically acclaimed choreographer, Doug Varone, presented the world premiere of “Chapters from a Broken Novel”, a collection of 21 short dance performances in Fairfield’s very own Quick Center for the Arts.
Doug Varone is a multi-talented choreographer and director, applauded in many venues including theatre, opera, film, fashion, and television. The New York based Doug Varone and Dancers has been an international success for more than twenty years, performing in stages that include the Lincoln Center, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Moscow’s Stanislavsky Theatre.
When beginning “Chapters from a Broken Novel” more than one and half years ago, Varone was inspired by the notion of placing text in a dance performance without actually putting it in there. He began extracting quotes from books, newspapers, television and more notably, random strangers while eavesdropping on their conversations.
From this, he condenses his collection to about 50 phrases and adds music to “filter out what I see in front of me.” He explains that music creates worlds for his performances and it is easier to imagine a piece in this state of mind.
This effect, the creation of worlds through music, is evident throughout the entire play. The first chapter seems to be a very suspenseful thriller, teaming with fluid yet violent movements in a claustrophobic space. Entitled “Spilling the Contents”, this first chapter certainly made one expect a suspenseful mood throughout the performance. In a chapter that follows entitled “The Ghosts of Insects”, that mood becomes somber and is present throughout. The stage seemed moonlit, chilling ballerina music played, giving one an uncanny feeling that someone was going to die at some point.
The chapter aptly named, “Tile Riot,” portrays a dramatization of what occurs in the bathroom. What begins as a woman entering a quiet place to do her business becomes a dance frenzy. Apparently, a bathroom is an excellent area where one can apply make-up, dance with their fingers, and smoke a cigarette – all to the tune of what I can only describe as music that would come out of an old James Bond film. The performer, Erin Owen, did an excellent job producing all of the necessary comedic movements and facial expressions to get a lot of laughter from the audience.
In the clearly provocative chapter, “Men”, two men are dancing slowly with each other in dim lighting and romantic music. Was the audience supposed to laugh to this sight, or idea? Probably not, although they did. More into the story, another character enters to cut in and begin dancing with Men dancing. Homesexuality. Should people be laughing? The way Varone chose to portray the dancing, their gender is irrelevant. They are just dancing like normal people.
Long time traditional dancer, Katie Piccininni ’11 said the performance was “entirely different” – struggling to even categorize it in any genre. She goes on to say that she was very intrigued that even though there are 21 chapters, there didn’t seem to be any distinct beginning or end. “It all flows,” she said.
Ellyse Quitadamo’11, Felt the performance was suspenseful and captivating. She believed the dancing was the main focus and the music set the mood, noting the simple attire which Doug Varone later clarified was purposeful to establish what begins as a “nonplace” and ends as a thrilling tale. “We must believe who they are in the dance”, explains Varone.
For more information on Doug Varone and the Company and a schedule of performances, visit
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