‘Off the Edge’ brings contemporary dance to Rialto

"Off the Edge," the Rialto Center for the Arts' biennial dance festival, will bring some of the world's most innovative contemporary dance companies to Atlanta for two evenings of performances this Friday and Saturday.

“Most of these companies are new to Atlanta, so that’s great,” says the event’s Toronto-based curator, Ilter Ibrahimof.

Ibrahimof says he sought out companies that were making work about contemporary issues and ideas. Together, the companies represent a broad range of approaches and styles, giving audiences a taste of what’s happening in the world of contemporary dance.

“You can come catch a glimpse at some of the most sought-after contemporary artists in dance today and what they’re up to,” Ibrahimof says. “You’ll discover what you like and what speaks to you. These kinds of platforms are great for that.”

The Rialto, Georgia State University's performing arts theater, first began hosting the festival in 2012. Ibrahimof curated the second festival in 2014, and after a successful event, he's returned to curate the latest iteration. The festival takes place over two evenings, and Ibrahimof says that the lineup on Friday night is a little more experimental and risky in its aesthetics and subjects, while Saturday night is a little more accessible.

Included in this year’s program is the work of MacArthur Genius Grant winner Kyle Abraham, whose work will appear on both nights of the event. On Friday, audiences will see the company perform “Absent Matter,” which focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality, and on Saturday, the troupe performs “The Quiet Dance,” which is a more personal piece considering the death of Abraham’s father.

Also appearing on both Friday and Saturday evenings is Gauthier Dance from Stuttgart, Germany, performing the work “Ballet 101” by the company’s founder Eric Gauthier and on Saturday “PacoPepePluto,” which is a dance for three men set to the songs of Dean Martin.

Toronto's Coleman Lemieux & Company, founded by renowned dancer-choreographers Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, performs on Friday evening. The work "The Man in Black" by James Kudelka is an unusual and emotional ode to Johnny Cash, featuring dancers in cowboy boots performing to late cover songs by Cash.

Also part of Friday’s program is New York’s MADBOOTS dance company, which at just 5 years old is the youngest company on the program. The all-male troupe will present the duet “Beau,” created and performed by the company’s founders Austin Diaz and Jonathan Campbell.

Included in the lineup on Saturday evening is Montreal’s La Otra Orilla, which puts a contemporary spin on traditional flamenco performance, often integrating musicians into the movement. “It’s a flamenco you’ve never seen before,” Ibrahimof says. “It’s very contemporary and untraditional. The base language is there, but it’s very quirky.”

Also on Saturday's program are two Atlanta-based organizations known for their innovative approach to contemporary dance: the Kennesaw State University Dance Company headed by Ivan Pulinkala and the Atlanta Ballet's contemporary chamber performance group Wabi Sabi. The dancers of KSU will perform Israeli choreographer Ido Tadmor's "Empty Room," and Wabi Sabi performs Heather Myers' "Lost Rite," an ensemble work set to the music of Béla Bartók that the company originally performed on the Great Lawn at the Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2014.

Before the program each evening, Decatur-based dance company CORE will present a free program of works by Atlanta choreographers called “Edge in Unexpected Places,” taking place at 6 p.m. at 55 Park Place on the Georgia State University campus.

Ibrahimof says the diverse festival makes a great opportunity for audiences to sample what’s happening in the world of contemporary dance, a sort of “tasting menu” for people who may not typically take the risk of seeing a full-length dance show. “If something isn’t speaking to you, you know 15 minutes later you’re going to be seeing something else,” he says. “That’s part of the fun and part of the sense of discovery. ‘Off the Edge’ definitely should have a sense of discovery. And who doesn’t like that?”