Dance Atop the Mountain

Cold Spring company looks to expand
With five ballet programs in the can, two more in the works and a troupe of professional dancers that gel well, the Cold Spring Dance Company is entering an ambitious phase since incorporating as a nonprofit in 2019.
Last weekend at her studio, artistic director Cally Kordaris debuted The Greek Ballet: Resurrection, which combines classical ballet, contemporary movement and Greek folk dances. At one point, the four female dancers struck poses resembling images found on ancient vases.
"I like to call it 'expressive ballet,' " says Kordaris, who nurtured the piece in her imagination for decades.

To spread her love of dance, she built a professional studio three years ago at the top of a Philipstown mountain where she has lived since 2014. Her handpicked group of dancers, which ranges from six to 10, depending on the piece, come from prominent companies in the city, including Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp and Dance Theater of Harlem.
In these troupes, cast members learn a few vignettes and rehearse them for months. For The Greek Ballet, Kordaris put eight dancers in an Airbnb for four days and, after learning the steps, they presented two performances.
"One challenge is that not all of us have danced together before," says Kara Walsh, who freelances. "We enjoy coming up here so much, but we call it a 'work retreat' because we're at it nonstop to make this happen."

They pick up the complicated steps quickly because "the brain transfers the muscle memory to the body in a way that's hard to explain," says David Wright, a member of Dance Theater of Harlem. "Repetition also helps."
The company presents work twice a year when professional seasons end. An hour after the final performance on Dec. 7, the dancers hustled off to the train station and Nutcracker gigs.
The troupe appreciates the studio's sprung floor, which gives a little and reduces wear and tear on their legs, says Wright. After leaping like basketball players, the male dancers landed with gentle thuds.
Kordaris' 45-minute ballet animates 2,500 years of Greek history, "something we absolutely revere," she says. "As Greeks, we take it so seriously it's almost like a religion in itself."

The professional production, with a light show and voiceovers, recounts many dramatic moments throughout the ages. Of the seven movements, four are set to Greek music.
Despite the demanding athletic choreography, which sometimes resembled gymnastics and ice-skating twirls, the dancers moved with amazing grace, even when holding a partner over a shoulder before dropping them to the ground like feathers.
Ramona Kelley made a sit-up look fluid and elegant. In another segment, after using the entire stage and expending the equivalent time of someone dribbling a soccer ball the length of a pitch and back, Micah Bullard kept his breathing under control as his chest barely moved after the lights went down.
Now that the company is building momentum, Kordaris wants to bring her work to a broader audience in Putnam County or Beacon and plans to pitch producers and impresarios in New York City and beyond.
"I've been in a cocoon the last few years, and now that we have five cohesive pieces and a solid core of dancers, it's time to make some moves," she says.
For more information, see coldspringdance.org.