 |
|
| |
 |
"In 'World', relationships - like
breaths- are fluid movements" " Abel has solid choreographic chops and her company has talent" "One of the most gratifying aspects of choreographer Deborah Abel's hour long concert over the weekend was that, at its most elemental, it reminded us to breathe...it reinforced the power of personal connections, or relationships both intimate and communal." "Abel and Jeffrey Polston emerged as the central couple... their duets were the heart of the work...their partnering became more intricate and dynamic with striking lifts and deeply intwined embraces." - The Boston Globe, 2007 |
"Dance Chant" "Abel's dance is anything but the thrill-packed, angst-driven spectacle that dominates our stages. that, of course, is the point. Influenced by Hindu philosophy and yogic physical practice, the dance flows along, assimilating crisis and celebration as if they were natural features in a landscape. Accompanied by Sanskrit chanting and Indian-influenced instrumentals,three episodes of what you might call life drama are connected by and somehow synthesized into the group's actions. Struggle, weakness, grief, even love, are subdued and balanced againstthe larger, stressless whole." "With a musical ensemble directed by Lee Perlman, the 10 dancers established an atmosphere of profound calm..." "The entire evening was skillfully put together." - The Boston Phoenix, 2007 |
| “Tender embraces warm Deborah Abel’s world. Embraces
are never far away from the abstract gestures in Deborah Abel’s dances.
Whether drawn together by eroticism, mutual support, tenderness or even
more demanding and equivocal connections, the dancers hug, move away,
and return to hold each other.” “Simple gifts Women’s Healing
Circle is infused with lovingness, and I found myself moved…”
|
“Abel’s
solemn, graceful work evokes ashram
Her choreography is yogic, but of a particularly American type. The movements are cut free of religious inference while the messages tilt toward rather contemporary strategies of self-assertion and emotional health. Abel is
a choreographer who walks the edge of a paradox. A program like this
one alternates between a commitment to her Indian downbeats and a wish
to disengage her dancing from time itself.” |
“Abel’s
movement sculpture
Boston
choreographer Deborah Abel creates dances in which bodies are
continually interwoven, arms and legs entangled, weight supported and
then released…This movement dynamic is both visually alluring
and kinetically alive. The dancers seem a part of a single, seamless
movement sculpture.”
|
|
|
|
“Elegantly
framed and well
danced…the feel of something grand and stark and American, like Martha
Graham’s Frontier or Appalachian Spring.” - The Boston Globe, 1992 |
“Deborah Abel’s program of recent choreography is entitled Going Home, and she means psychically, home being the place of inner peace. Yet like so many earlier spiritual seekers, Abel seems to have focused her sights on Mother India as a place of orientation...choreographing to traditional Indian music for the erotic duet Shiva and Shakti, or the ensemble Night Song/Cool of the Day set to the eerie close harmonies of the American acoustic band Trapezoid. | Abel
builds on a
steady, articulated, and complex eastern pulse. Her work is unusual in
its rhythmic acuity – perhaps due to her Connecticut College training –
and if the effects are a little studied, they are also often pleasing.”
– The Boston Globe, 1989 |
|
About The
Perfect Relationship About A Dream
of Unknowing About The
Reflecting Pool “As Abel travels her long, liquid arms part the space like oars breaking water. The two meet and, like a human cat’s cradle, commence to slide effortlessly from one startling formation to another.” – The Boston Phoenix, 1991 About The Right
Touch “The Right Touch
is a duet of domestic irritation, a funny, seesawing partnership
between Abel and the very capable Andrew LeBeau. The embraces that turn
into strangleholds are handled with just the right light touch.”
– The Boston Globe, 1994 About The
Eye of the Heart |
 |
