arts
Solid Ground

Indie dance troupe bows with
"The Bodycheck Concert"
By Christina Rees


"A Sunday afternoon along the storefronts of Exposition Park in Dallas is usually still, punctuated only by the whir of cars passing by the darkened windows of Bar of Soap, the Angstrom Gallery, and a new restaurant still under construction. After a weekend of drunken revelers and tourists, it is time to rest.

But at 3607 Parry Avenue, a loft located in the middle of the block, there's no time to dawdle. An intense all-day rehearsal is under way for CoCo Loupe, Shanon Leyrer, and Angela Sharp, co-artistic directors of the Ground Level Dance Company. On this day, the threesome and several guest dancers are thrusting, sweeping, jerking, and arching to thumping rhythms, which seep under the door and out to the sidewalk.

On Thursday, July 17, the group debuts its first formal stage performance, "The Bodycheck Concert." Staged at the Deep Ellum Opera Theater, it will be the city's official introduction to Ground Level: 60 minutes of original choreography by the three co-directors, performed by them and their selected colleagues. The women agree that the theme centers on relationships. "Not sexual, necessarily," says Leyrer. "It's about people relating to each other. Friends, strangers."

At 8 a.m. the following Thursday, the trio sits for an interview. They straggle from the recesses of their loft apartment and stumble toward the couch, shaking off the listlessness that follows a night of sleep. Sipping their morning coffee, they groggily light their first cigarettes of the day.

Mention Ground Level Dance Company, and their eyes brighten. They sit up straight and begin to chatter excitedly about their new project - their "baby," as they affectionately call it. "When you say 'modern dance,' people think it's dancers pulling their hearts out and beating their chair with it," says Loupe. "That's not what we're about. We're doing some stuff people haven't seen before. We still use technique, of course. We're all trained in repertory, so we can do technical. But we mix it up and let ourselves go."

Gracious, relaxed and brimming with youthful energy, Loupe, Leyrer, and Sharp are no rookies to the Dallas Dance Scene. Loupe came to Dallas from the University of Southern Mississippi in the early '90s; Leyrer and Sharp both studied dance at SMU. All in their 20's, the threesome has been dancing in the city's primary outlets for a handful of years: Dancers Unlimited, Dallas Morning News Dance Festival, Dallas Dance Gathering, Dance for the Planet, and Collage, among others.

Chutzpah and shared ambition made them fast friends by 1995, and now sets them apart from the scads of other talented Dallas dancers who are only too happy to find work dancing in others' projects.

The trio formed Ground Level in January of this year; by April, they had moved into the Parry loft. The back area serves as their home while the adjoining storefront provides them with space for a full-scale rehearsal studio. By starting their own company, these three women hope to make Ground Level not only a haven for their own aspirations, but also an outlet and perhaps springboard for other area dancers. Leading up to this weeks "Bodycheck Concert," they've already staged a few informal performances with and for their colleagues. "We've all danced for free for so long; it's very draining," says the effusive, muscular Loupe. She speaks like she dances - with powerful, athletic thrusts - sweeping her arms about or compacting herself to illustrate a point. "We already have 10, 12, 15 pieces we can use. We want a budget, we want to pay dancers, and even a tech crew."

The regal, leggy Leyrer goes further. "We'd like to use guest choreographers, multimedia, actors, painters," she says.

And ultimately, all three of Ground Level's directors push toward an honorable "independent choreographer" status, but striking out on their own hasn't been easy.

Out of financial necessity, they still work day jobs, teach dance at community colleges on the side, and continue to participate in city dance festivals and other troupes' programs. When asked how they feel about launching their project in a town not always receptive to the performing arts, the lanky, languid Sharp wrinkles her nose. "Dallas sometimes only lets a dancer get so far; I've seen too many good dancers and choreographers get stuck and regurgitate the same stuff. But I think there's hope in this area. Interest. Hunger for something new."

"And our styles are very different," says Loupe. Indeed, Loupe's syncopated athleticism, Sharp's fluid snappiness, and Leyrer's graceful precision convey just how different their methods of expression can be. And yet, when they dance together, their responsiveness, energy, and familiarity with one another merge to form something unique to the Dallas dance scene.

"With a good dance company, the underneath may be shifting, but the style is unmistakably them," states Sharp. "That's what we want for Ground Level." Loupe laughs. "But as of right now, our fliers are still our business cards."