PRESS - The Winston-Salem Journal

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC
12-05-03
Review (excerpts) for "Fibonacci & Phi"

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Susan Gilmor, Journal Arts Reporter

" It ("Fiboancci & Phi") is a remarkably innovative piece, both profound and visually dazzling.The beauty of the dance is only part of what's going on here. Jennifer Burg and Yue-Ling Wong have done some impressive work with their computers in creating these images. The music, by Mark A. Wienand, Sam Taylor, Jeff Schmitt and Jon Pratt, evokes the mood and meaning of the piece. ... Math never sounded so good. It would be easy for lesser performers to get lost in the dazzle of the onstage technology. But with the grace, strength and athleticism of these dancers .... that's not an issue.

She (Ms. Luttringhaus) and her collaborators have much to be proud of. Fibonacci & Phi not only provides an intriguing and challenging evening of dance, but also leaves the audience with plenty of ideas and images to reflect on in the weeks to come.

Winston-Salem Journal, NC

05-30-03
Review (excerpts) for "Lux Eterna part II"

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By Ken Keuffel, Journal Arts Reporter

" Schizophrenia isn't exactly the easiest subject to explore on stage. But LUX ETERNA II ,...,illuminates a disturbing, complex and mysterious condition with grace, insight and imagination. In LUX, these (delusions and hallucinations) take a multitude of forms that forcefully confront the eye and the ear. ...oddly beautiful.

LUX showcases a masterful synthesis of many media,..."

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC

10-10-02
Review (excerpts) for "Lux Eterna part I"

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By Susan Gilmor

"...In one of the most mezmerizing segments, Karola Luttringhaus conveys the frightening and confusion of a schozoid episode, wrapping her limbs around her torso until she forms a knot with her body.

Luttringhaus, the founder of the company and choreographer of lux eterna, takes on a distinctly masculine role here, with Andrea Lieske as her female counterpart. The two dance with incedible athleticism, balancing on each others bodies and contorting themselves as they dangle from ropes and bounce on bungie cords.

At one point, Lieske assumes the air of a caged jungle cat- wary, reacting sharply to noises around her. She prowls with a sensual grace, her hips suspended from a rope that holds her back as she takes menacing leaps towards the audience. From time to time the audience hears poetry being read aloud as Luttringhaus, clad in a man's suit and tie, scribbles on a piece of paper... Could this be a comment on the maddening frustrations of the creative process? Whatever it is, lux eterna is unsettling stuff. Abstract in the extreme, but very compelling. And always hypnotically beautiful."

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC
07/30/2002
Review (excerpts) for "Auction 2002" (Fundraiser and performance)

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a Journal Staff Report (susan Gilmore)

"MOVING NIGHT: Dance troupe impresses audience" Fans of contemporary dance theatre got free seats at a performance featuring the work of a company that suspends its dancers from ropes, sheets, ...in order to create an alternate reality, as well as a spectacular theatrical experience.... Faye Gilgo, the facilities manager of the Sawtooth Center, gave attendees a preview of what they were to see. "Something amazing, spectacular and fabulous," she said."You wait and see." Karola Luttringhaus, 34, has been described by dance critics as an important new force in choreography and dance, and in the combination of dance, visual art and modern technology. Alban elved, her 5 -year-old company, performs nationally and internationally, combining art forms to dazzling effect. ...(MS Griffith) agreed:"Their performances all differ, but they transform the way you think about the human body: they dance horizontally, they dance vertically. They dance on the wall. They are creating some extraordinary work." Her (K.Luttringhaus) use of props and technology distinguish the company's work..."

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC

12-07-01
Review (excerpts) for "MiDi"

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By Lynn Felder, JOURNAL FEATURES EDITOR

"In MiDi, which opened at the Scales Fine Arts Center, alban elved's artistic director Karola Luttringhaus applies technology to dance in much the same the way that we use technology in everyday life. It is part of the landscape, unavoidable. The question might be: What will we do with it? Will we be its slave, or will it be our tool? It is Luttringhaus' most cohesive work. The music changes. The lighting changes. The movement changes. But the emotional tone sustained for a quick 90 minutes is dark, witty and wondrous.

The dancers - Luttringhaus, Andrea Lieske and Catherine Lewan - emerge, and the flat, still stage explodes into glorious sound, movement and light. Jonathan Christman designed the lighting. The intensity of the collaboration among technicians and dancers is palpable and effective, paying off in a highly original performance.

MiDi is sometimes baffling, often beautiful and every minute fascinating. "

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC
11-01-01
Review (excerpts) for "AURORA..."

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By Lynn Felder , JOURNAL FEATURES EDITOR

"UNREAL: Alban Elved Tweaks Reality"

"Like Alice's trip through the looking glass, an alban elved dance company concert can turn the world of ordinary reality upside down and topsy-turvy. Aurora -- always water -- everywhere!, .....immerses the audience in an ocean of light, sound and movement. ... They use every part of the theater -- from the floor to the ceiling to doorways, high ledges and the handrails that lead into the audience seating area. ...
If you go, and I strongly suggest that you do, prepare to have your consciousness altered, your reality rearranged and your senses sent swimming."


The Winston-Salem Journal, NC
06-29-01
Review (excerpts) for "ANIMATE"
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By Ken Keuffel

"... (the piece) is remarkable and will force you to consider SECCA in a different light. Mobile audience members look up, down and around at the action. The outdoors trio boasts precise unison movements, with roped dancers performing push-ups against walls, spinning face down and falling at a 90-degree angle. ... high above the ground. The piece thrived on sudden lunging movements, cartwheels, ... Virtually everything about the evening amounted to the best kind of sensory overload. "

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC

05-18-2000
Review (excerpts) for "SWIM BABY!"

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Lynn Felder, JOURNAL FEATURES EDITOR

"PHASES OF LIFE:
PRODUCTION STIRS EMOTIONS WITH INGENIOUS PHYSICALITY"

"Last night's performance by the alban elved dance company careered through phases of relationship and life passages, turning emotional ideas into stirring, moving pictures... First we heard the flutter of 8 mm film projector, then the recorded techno-industrial soundtrack by Rhan Small and Sylvia Bognar. The soundtrack was as richly shaded and textured as the dance. In one especially moving segment, Luttringhaus and Lieske, in white costumes, danced directly in front of two white screens. When two different 8 mm film were projected onto the screens, they are also projected onto the dancers, and Small's voice sang, "Everything in the world seems brand new. Even for me, it seems brand new." Luttringhaus has described "SWIM BABY!" as a self - portrait of a time in her life when she was in transition... ...it is like being between two worlds, not quite belonging to either. "SWIM BABY!" captures the unease of being between worlds ... Not everyone makes the transition; some people fall into the abyss in between. "

The Winston-Salem Journal, NC
01-09-2000
Review (excerpts) for "Outer Half"

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Robert Workmon, JOURNAL ARTS REPORTER

"The debut of the alban elved dance company in Winston-Salem last December was a watershed event for dance, particularly modern dance, in Winston-Salem. The community now has a vibrant, innovative dance company for the first time since N.C. Dance Theatre departed for Charlotte..."