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October 18, 2002/Cheshvan 12 5763, Vol. 55, No. 8
'The Attic' comes to Phoenix
ALISA SLOAN
Special Sections Editor
Tucked behind a shopping center in central Phoenix, the Center Dance Ensemble's rehearsal space - not much more than a large square room with a dance barre running along each mirrored wall - is home to this vibrant modern dance troupe.
Founded by Frances Smith Cohen in 1988, the nonprofit CDE has a growing local following and a limited cast of professional dancers. With help from corporate, government and private sponsors, Center Dance Ensemble moves from its spare practice space to more upscale digs at night - the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix - for performances. By day, the troupe can often be found performing at Valley elementary schools.
From Nov. 1-3, CDE will present "The Attic," an original work by Cohen, as part of a program that includes not only the 25-minute piece, but also a work by guest choreographer Donald Dadey ("Aubade") and rotating performances by guest companies Movement Source Dance Company, Scorpius Dance Theatre, Instinct Dancecorps and lizcasebolt & dancers.
"The Attic" begins with a short newsreel compiled by the Simon Weisenthal Center. It briefly illustrates the rise of Hitler and touches on tragedies such as Kristallnacht. After the newsreel ends, the action moves to the stage as Anne, in spirit form, enters the loft and comes across her diary.
This first scene, which takes place behind a scrim to obscure her ghostly figure, introduces the voice of Anne, which is used throughout to punctuate the dance with passages from her diary.
Dancers tell the story of Anne Frank and her family, as well as the Van Daans, who shared the cramped space, without words, says Cohen, and they are "totally emerged in the emotions of it."
"The Diary of Anne Frank" came to Cohen's attention while she was in college. She immediately thought, "This is a dance."
She and her husband always felt very strongly about the Holocaust, she says, and purposely planned to have three children - two to "replace each other" and one to replace a person whose life was lost in the Holocaust.
After studying Hebrew, economics and the history of Israel with a rabbi and taking a revealing trip to Israel, Cohen says she finally became "objective enough" to create a dance of Anne Frank's story in 1993.
"What's really important are the relationships between these eight people," explains Cohen. "It's interesting what has come out since I read the original diary. There have been all these other books. And the dancers have all studied them."
The dancers' knowledge of the background story helps them bring more emotive energy to the stage, says Cohen.
"The Attic" is "very stark and very powerful," she adds. "You get emotionally involved."
"The Attic" also touches on the traditions of the families, such as lighting Friday night candles, and the tensions they experienced from living in such close proximity.
It also demonstrates Anne's sexual awakening, in the form of a first kiss she shares with Peter Van Daan.
What's most remarkable about Anne, says Cohen, is that "She could analyze what she's feeling. Most teenagers don't - they just feel."
Anne's thought process "wasn't just instantaneous," says Cohen. For instance, "It took a little while for her to not like Dr. Dussell, or (the man) who she called Dr. Dussell. She gave everybody pseudonyms in the diary."
In "The Attic," Cohen calls them by the names Anne used in her diary.
Of the piece as a whole, says Cohen, "It leaves you in a way, OK. It's not a happy story of course, but it's telling the story in such an abstract and powerful way."
Details:
- What: The Attic
- Where: Herberger Theater Center, Stage West, 222 W. Monroe St., Phoenix
- When: Nov. 1-3
- Times: 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Nov. 3, 8 p.m. Nov 1 and 2
- Cost: $19.50 adults, $16.50 seniors, $8.50 students
- Call: 602-252-8497
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