Latest Ellen Sinopoli project lets performers determine movement ideas as they reimagine life’s boundaries

For 33 years, the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company has brought dance to the Capital Region. But on Saturday at the University at Albany, she’ll feature two dances — one from an inspiration she’s never utilized before.

“I chose phrases from a journal I keep and from imagery that was inspired from the music to incorporate them into dance on boundaries, and how they change and make them reform, and how that affects the dancers,” Sinopoli said. “It’s a malleable concept … to find where the linchpin is on a boundary and how it can open to the individual or the group. Can it be solid or a perforated boundary, and how can the dancer move through the space?”

Usually, Sinopoli demonstrates to her six dancers what she’s trying to achieve. But, she said, now that she’ll soon turn 80 (in May), she decided to ask her dancers to come up with movement ideas.

“I gave the dancers some quotes to explore. For example: ‘Sweep my footprints out of the distance.’ I want to intrigue my dancers,” she said. “It’s about entering new spaces within boundaries and, depending on someone’s life experiences, what one may do with a quote may be an entirely different movement from another dancer.”

She’ll be using the dancers as trios, duos or solos that keep changing, just as boundaries change.
“It’s to re-see boundaries as a living entity rather than a barrier,” Sinopoli said.

The dance is titled “Boundary Behavior” and is set to music by David Walther’s “Eighth Duo.” Original costumes are by Kim Vanyo.

The other dance, titled “Seen from Above,” was originally premiered in 2018 as part of a 25th anniversary of the college’s arts and science program. The inspiration behind it was bird chatter, which Sinopoli often heard during walks with her dog.

“I was fascinated by it,” she said. “So I have my dancers chatter or pantomine what birds can do and how they interact, to capture the essence of this, the energy, the dynamic.”

The music Sinopoli uses is “Book of Hours” by William Matthews, who, as it turns out, is the brother of violinist Hilary Cumming, who is part of the Capital Trio that originally worked with Sinopoli. They’ll be working with her again for this concert. The group also includes her husband, Duncan Cumming, on piano and cellist Solen Dickener.

“We’d always talked about doing another concert and now we’re revisiting that,” Sinopoli said.
Hilary Cumming said working with dancers has proved sometimes challenging.

“It’s interesting to note how sensitive the dancers are to our tempi,” she said. “We must be right on the same speed, so we’re working with a metronome to be sure we’re not too fast or too slow because the dancers catch it. They know.”

Both composers write in a contemporary style. Walther’s music is very idiomatic and is for violin and piano. There are three movements: the first is genial with repeating ostinato patterns; the second is ethereal; and the third has obsessive-type rhythms plus disco, Cumming said. The trio will use four of the six movements from Matthews’ piece. The movements range from a frenetic kind of early morning catbird greeting, through the kind of chaos of kids rushing off to school, to a peaceful twilight and finally a blend of Thelonius Monk’s “Round Midnight” classic with Francois Couperin’s early Baroque style.

To round out the program, the trio will play Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 1, No. 2 between the two dances.

“It’s from his classic style period that we love and is four movements,” Cumming said. “We also wanted to put his style versus the contemporary style of the other music presented.”

Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: University at Albany Performing Arts Center
HOW MUCH: Free
MORE INFO: pac@albany.edu; 518 442-3995