Push Dance Company + Blog

DANCE REVIEW
By Tatum Kai Harmon

With Every Step, A Message Is Clear

Push Dance Company debuts at Joyce SoHo


In an intricate showing of work on July 23-24 Raissa Simpson and Push Dance Company debuted three NYC premieres at the Joyce SoHo. The dancers brought a melodic, drama filled, subtlety to their performances. The three pieces of the weekend were Mixed Messages, Judgments In Milliseconds, and action-filled Black Swordsman Saga. Each piece different in its own way came filled with promise. Together each piece had a bright existence, from the lighting, to the curving movement and the dancer’s expressions.


The show opens with Mixed Messages for four dancers, Jetta Martin, Julian Pham, Raissa Simpson, and Kat Worthington. The dancers show off beautiful extensions and intricate interactions. They often break away from the group and then collide back together with fury.


Judgments In Milliseconds, a solo performed by Simpson, twists and turns in management of over curves and under curves. The character Simpson takes on is a confused prodigy with two wigs- one straight haired and the other an Afro. It’s as if the hairpieces manipulate her body throughout.


Black Swordsman Saga is an ambitious full-length hip-hop opera danced by the whole company. Choreographer Raissa Simpson who also dances in the piece unleashes mystery as she totes around a vial given to her by a Prophet played by Robert Henry Johnson. There is a book that they carry and hold up that seems to be the gift of knowledge. Each dancer goes through their own drama but they come out of it together in this wisely sequenced hip-hop drama.


Simpson is a choreographer who does not avoid emotion. She uses lighting designers— a major part of her show— to gear up her intelligent and witty choreography. Push Dance Company is a well-rehearsed mixed media company. Their company debut in New York was well received by audiences and this writer alike.

Photo by Sinru Ku