That rare occasion is Ella, a modest 2007 piece that I gather was created for a NYC AIDS benefit. Marlena Wolfe is dressed in jazz shoes and a man’s black suit jacket, and her sudden shifts of direction — from little foot taps to a big, unexpected dive to the floor — are a perfect analogue to Ella Fitzgerald’s free-association scat singing in “Air Mail Special,” which takes the great dame from Davy Crockett to Johnny Mercer and back again. When a chorus of Wolfe’s half-dressed colleagues, among them a rather tubby Robert Battle himself, flit across the back of the stage, as if sneaking out of a shower, it’s a welcome and unexpected dose of silliness. Here, for three delicious minutes, was a dance imagination I wanted to see more of.
Related:
Trailing Ailey, Drama dance, Speed angels, More 
- Trailing Ailey
Neither the Ailey company nor The Groove ’s choreographer, Camille A. Brown, acknowledged these roots.
- Drama dance
Half a century ago something known as dance drama occupied a large part of the modern-dance repertory.
- Speed angels
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is like a car company that’s developed such a perfect product, there’s no way to make a better one.
- Sunday school
Ronald K. Brown’s flamboyant choreography comes with a big serving of spirituality.
- Dancing across the city
The ICA’s Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, with its sprung wood dance floor and wrap-around windows framing the harbor, is positioned to become Boston dance’s most significant venue.
- Dancing in the year of the Rat
If you’re hot for Victoria’s Secret ads and addicted to Dancing with the Stars, Tango Fire will be right up your alley.
- Pas de divorce
It’s been a roller-coaster six weeks at Boston Ballet.
- Converging streams
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater offered two milestones in the development of contemporary dance during its annual Celebrity Series visit to the Wang Theatre last week.
- Terpsichore’s delight
Traveling troupes and local dancemakers spring up around the Boston area this season.
- Two tales retold
The big ballet companies are shackled tighter than ever to the idea of the story ballet.
- Keeping it fresh
The ’80s were a fertile time for dance in Rhode Island, spawning the still-thriving Island Moving Co., Everett Dance Theatre, and Fusionworks.
- Less
Topics:
Dance
, Entertainment, Nina Simone, Davy Crockett, More
, Entertainment, Nina Simone, Davy Crockett, Dance, Performing Arts, Mark Morris, Paul Taylor, Modern Dance, Alvin Ailey, Steve Reich, Less
