As the lights came up after the opening dance at a show at the University of Michigan’s Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, my nine-year-old son—who was my date for the evening—saw tears rolling down my cheeks. “Mom, why are you crying?” he asked. “I don’t know,” I said. As I’d listened to the haunting music of David Gray’s pop single “Alibi,” about a promising life come undone, and watched the Jazz Dance Theatre performers in their black costumes, moving in slow, searching movements, the sights and sounds had pushed me past the emotional tipping point.
“I’m glad we moved you,” said Lisa Darby Clark after the show. Clark is one of six dancers in the nonprofit company that she and her husband, Adam, direct. During their dozen years leading the troupe, they’ve seen the choreography and the dancers’ performances reach a higher emotional level, she says.
Several groupies surrounded Sarah Carlson, who was balancing three bouquets of flowers from admirers and perspiring through her stage makeup. Carlson, who wears her blond hair in a bob, is in her eighth season with Jazz Dance Theatre, yet she’s humble about her polished performance. She says there’s always room for improvement.
Jazz Dance Theatre makes its home at the Clarks’ studio, Dance Alliance of Saline, where they also offer dance classes for all ages. The adult troupe puts on an annual fall concert and joins forces with the theater’s Youth Dance Project in a benefit performance each spring for Mott Children’s Hospital. This year’s concert, scheduled for April 24 at the U-M’s Power Center, features some of the area’s best young dancers in grades seven through twelve.
When I visit Dance Alliance for a youth rehearsal, it’s a cold, dreary winter afternoon. The climate instantly changes as I step into the humid studio, where more than thirty girls are following Adam Clark’s instruction as he marks some movements in his bare feet. When he turns on the pop music, the room comes alive. Three groups of dancers move in different directions on the wooden floor, yet they flow cohesively.
“Cool! That was so cool!” he exclaims. With more than 100 dance competitions in Michigan each year and some young dancers taking up to twelve classes a week, there’s a need for a less serious approach during these rehearsals, he says.
The Clarks’ passion for dance has taken them around the world for performances and competitions. The work is physically and emotionally demanding. But it’s a creative wellspring.
“As long as I’m creating movement, I’m a happy person,” Adam explains. He says he and his wife work hard to bring many styles of jazz dance to the public. And because the art of jazz dance is as varied as the music itself, the creative possibilities are endless.