Audience Reviews

AUDIENCE REVIEW: “How High the Moon” - Drye/Marinaro Dance Company (DMDC) Celebrates 15 Years

Company:
Drye/Marinaro Dance Company

Performance Date:
April 1, 2026

Freeform Review:

With swift, spiraling turns, Virginia Santucci powerfully whirls on stage in the opening sequence of Jamie Drye’s “Something Gratified.” As Santucci arrives centerstage, joined soon after by Hannah Albin, Carl Ponce Cubero, Israel Harris, Chieh Hsiung, and Caleb Patterson, the stage bursts with charged, intricate movements. From the get-go, I feel I am in for a thrilling experience. 

“Something Gratified” marks the opening of an evening of dance titled “How High the Moon,” celebrating Drye/Marinaro Dance Company (DMDC)’s 15th anniversary, taking place at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center on Wednesday, April 1st and 2nd, 2026. This special DMDC performance was created in collaboration with guest artists; on April 1st, presenting guest choreographers included Robert Redick, Natalia Nikitin, and Marisa F. Ballaro/Balarro Dance. 

In Drye’s “Something Gratified,” elegance and thrill set the tone for the evening. Three duets begin the work. Each couple connects at the wrists, counterbalances tossing liftees effortlessly into the air. The artists lean, suspend, and fall, driven by fast-paced strings music.

As “Something Gratified” morphs from its jubilant opening into a more intense scene, the lights blare magenta, and the strings music continues to drive the dancers’ movements with a more sinister palette. My mind continually returns to an image where the six artists create a circle centerstage, facing one another. They pause, allowing a moment of stillness from their frenzied movements. Three dancers kneel, connecting once more at the wrists to those standing next to them in the circle. They all slowly retreat before bursting into momentum once more. The image feels like the ripples of a water droplet spreading out in succession, continually growing and expanding.

Two guest pieces follow this lively opening. Robert Redick’s poignant solo “Respire” (danced by Akira Kong), followed by Natalia Nikitin’s playful quintet, “Somewhere, There is a Rainstorm” (performed by Charlotte Aucella, Avery Boose, Alisha Khatwani, Sara Thoreson, and Gracie Zytynski).

DMDC’s 2006 work titled “Creation, Excerpts” follows. Six sections build this work: ‘Creation,’ ‘Rocks to Ashes,’ ‘Clay,’ ‘The Gathering,’ ‘Rain Dance,’ and ‘Imagine Me.’ 

‘Creation,’ a solo danced by Khalid Dunton to James Weldon Johnson’s poem of the same name, depicts the Bible’s story of the Earth’s creation: from light to planet. Dunton’s fluid, supple movements ripple with virtuosity and grace. The piece transitions starkly, as electronic music pulses, and Ponce Cubero, Harris, Robenson Mathurin, and Patterson take the stage. The quartet crawls, slides, and leap through this section, embodying the solid foundation of the Earth itself. 

Chieh Hsiung captivates in ‘Clay,’ dancing to a poem describing the potential and power of “making something unique, full of purpose, and incomparable,” through clay. After, ‘The Gathering’ brings us into a celebration, as the full company (led by Mikalla Ashmore) walk slowly and calmly on stage, creating a circle: perhaps reflecting Earth itself. Ashmore dances through the circle’s center, gesturing to the surrounding artists, and the lights fade to a cobalt blue. The cheery, acoustic music morphs to an ethereal, instrumental soundscape and the full company dances in an adagio of floorwork. Some, such as Patterson, briefly burst out of this gooey movement quality. As the cast unites, rising together, it feels as if they are floating. 

Rounding out this generous work is a finale solo section titled ‘Imagine Me,’ danced beautifully by Patterson. The full company joins him at the conclusion of his solo, swaying and dancing to the joyous music and celebrating life together, blowing a final kiss of gratitude to us witnessing.

Francesca Marinaro’s technical solo work “A Glimpse of Her” follows intermission, danced by Artist Mackenzie Bingham. Bingham’s animated movements enthrall. I still remember a series of beating jumps on the diagonal, Bingham’s height and split increasing with each leap before gently sliding fully to the floor. Videography by Chieh Hsiung lives in this work as well, capturing Bingham from multiple vantage points such as against a solid wall, outside under a bridge, creating angular geometry on the stage from the light’s reflection. Bingham mirrors the video’s movements, breaking away to react to them.

Guest artist Marisa F. Ballaro/Ballaro Dance’s trio “Fever Dream” (danced by Hannah Dillenbeck, Jen Silver, and Christina Tribo) lives in a world of gesture, stride, and specificity. The trio wear ties, long-sleeved collared white shirts and long, gray dress pants, creating a business-like appearance. And yet, though the work begins on a more serious, staccato note, it morphs into a more playful, buoyant atmosphere as the artists skip, swing, and even shimmy through the space. 

“How High the Moon” (2026), performed by the DMDC company, concludes the program in spectacle. The half-hour work splits into seven dynamic, distinct sections, and includes familiar tracks such as Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and Ella Fitzgerald’s “High High the Moon.” Poetry also lives in this work, such as Jace Jacobs’ “The Moon I love.”

DMDC’s precise, sparkling style is captured in this piece. I particularly enjoy the melding of jazz and modern styles; some scenes, such as a section titled “Wholly Earth” danced to Abbey Lincoln’s song of the same name, capture the grounded, organic, and human qualities of modern. And later, such as the dance’s conclusion, the cast re-enters in sparkling, shimmering silver costumes and capture the joyous, driving beats of Ella Fitzgerald’s music.

Chieh Hsiung’s solo, set to Mahogony Diva’s spoken word/song titled “I am an Artist,” sticks with me after the curtain closes. Hsiung shares stories through each rippling, flowing movement: from statuesque shapes to tossing, floating extremities, this sequence captures the vibrance of living as an artist. 

Virginia Santucci’s dancing stands out to me throughout as well for her spritely jumps, and an authentic, yearning pull embedded within each of her movements.

This glowing group work concludes a spectacular performance – congratulations to DMDC on 15 fantastic years, and I am excited to continue following this wonderful company as its journey continues. 

Author:
Kristen Hedberg

Website:
kristenhedberg.org

Photo Credit:
Photo courtesy of Drye/Marinaro Dance Company