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Contradiction Dance group survives shaky start

by Jeremy Arias | Staff Writer

A month ago, the Takoma Park-based Contradiction Dance group was facing its final curtain call in its new studio due to a lack of investment support after opening in June. But some break-through performances put the studio in the spotlight and back in business.

"By the middle of November I got to a place where I was ready to close," said Kelly Mayfield, director of Contradiction Dance, of the studio's rocky start. "We had a great run, some great performances, but nobody had stepped forward to buy in."

Then, following a November performance at the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, the fledgling studio got its big break. Two generous investments arrived in rapid succession, along with a partnership with the nearby Takoma Park-based Institute of Musical Traditions that Mayfield hopes will keep the studio in business during the application process for nonprofit status.

"It went from one of those feelings where we had a great concept but it failed, to we have a great concept, and it can't fail," she said with a laugh.

The studio, 7014 Westmoreland Ave. in Takoma Park, celebrated its new life and showcased its offerings Saturday at "All Lit Up," a laid back, enjoyable open house event that was full of the casual friendliness that exists between Contradiction and its three affiliated troupes: Mini Shock, Dance Afire and A Different Drum.

"Dance isn't just something you watch, it's something you do," Mayfield said. "The audience wants to be included, entertained and conversed with, and I think we're doing that."

Audience members quickly became active participants in the acrobatic escapades of Arianna Ross, one of Mayfield's longtime friends and the artistic force behind Story Tapestries, a visual storytelling program. Darhyl Ly-on led a group of five audience members in an impromptu jam session to showcase his percussion class, A Different Drum.

Hoola-hooping, a kid's Hip-Hop performance, and a tai chi exhibition followed. The evening concluded with a heated performance by the new fire-dancing group, Dance Afire, in the studio parking lot.

This is the first time we've come together as a group," Mayfield said. "This is the first real opportunity to do something where every entity had a slice of the stage to themselves."

With classes that typically cost about $10 a day coupled with the many different artists and specialty groups housed at the studio, Contradiction and its affiliates have quickly gained popularity in the area.

Bob Senseney has been taking his 14-year-old daughter, Leah, to modern-dance classes since meeting Mayfield at a performance at Saint Mary's College last year.

"She's tried a couple of different programs in Montgomery County, so we thought we'd give this one a try because it's more one-on-one," he said. "It's learning the basis of dance as opposed to, ‘Oh, we've got a performance at Wheaton Plaza; we've got to memorize a routine.'"

Lou Valentine, the artistic director of Dance Afire and a development director with Contradiction, said instructors also enjoy the group's approach to art, and fire-dancing in particular.

"We get to define who and what we are," he said after his group's performance, in which flaming batons, fans and slings were whirled and tossed about with precision and ease by the costumed dancers. "There's not an established [group] of professional fire dancers to say, that's not fire dancing."

Carol Ortiz, an instructor at the nearby Roda Movements Brazilian and Latin American dance group on Carroll Avenue, participated in Ly-on's drum line. She decided to come to the event after she noticed performers practicing inside the day before.

"I was going to my car and then I saw the guys in here practicing," she said. "I love art in all of its manifestations; every time I pass by the studio I take a look in; what's that? What are they doing there?"

The Contradiction Dance studio will host another open house 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday where visitors can register for the new session which begins Jan. 5. The group is planning to perform at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in January and plans to return to Round House soon to increase its exposure to the larger artistic community.

A complete schedule of Contradiction Dance's programs and workshop times can be found at the studio's Web site, www.contradictiondance.com.