The New York Times called him a "person of relentless reinvention" and he was widely known as a musical chameleon. David Bowie transcended musical genres, fashion trends and cultural norms to become an iconic figure in music and, indeed, pop culture. Now, five months since his passing at age 69, the Music Hall has commissioned a tribute to Bowie to be performed by the New York-based Complexions Contemporary Ballet. The world premiere of this work will take place Saturday, June 18.
Complexions "is a perfect fit for what I wish for Detroit," said Vince Paul, artistic director of the Music Hall. "I've brought the company in 10 times. We use the medium of dance to articulate that idea — that Detroit is ready for dance. I operate on a level of affecting change and I use the performing arts for affecting change … With the Bowie project, this is a global artist that also affected change."
Dwight Rhoden, the founding artistic director and resident choreographer of Complexions, claimed credit for conceptualizing the Bowie tribute. "I wanted to do a David Bowie tribute and because we were booked into the Music Hall and I know Vince very well, I went to him and said, 'What do you think about being a part of the creation of this new work?' He was already thinking about Bowie but he hadn't come up with a project yet. So it was kind of a meeting of the minds."
Rhoden said he is a longtime fan of Bowie's. "I love so many things about who he was as an artist," he said. "Up to his dying day he was creating. (Bowie's last album was released a week before his death.) And I think that's just remarkable. He was an artist who could create so many characters and personas. He was an artist who was genre bending. In terms of music, he did everything. I'm just attracted to all of that."
Still in the process of creating the choreography for the tribute, Rhoden said he is enjoying the task. "I'm having a great time with it," he said. "Bowie's music is very multi-textural. So I'm looking at the lyrics, number one. I want to service the lyrics. But also I want to bring a visual to the music in a way that has never hopefully been done before in a dance choreographically."
The most difficult part of the process so far, said Rhoden, has been selecting the song list. "There are so many choices," he said. "I think the biggest challenge is trying to string together a certain number of his songs in a 35 to 40-minute time frame and really still be able to find that artistic arc."
Though difficult to verbalize, Rhoden attempted to explain how he matches movement to music. "Say I'm working on 'Moonage Daydream' or 'Lazarus,'" Rhoden started. "I go in with a feeling inside. I don't turn the music on immediately. I start to work through movement that I think will work with the music and kind of conjure up images that are at the forefront of the music I'm working on.
"I choreograph large, long phrases of movement then I kind of etch on it," Rhoden continued. "The musicality of the movement is everything and everyone hears musicality. So then you have to get your dancers, your people, to hear it the way you want it to be seen through the movement."
Though the audience is likely to be composed largely of Bowie fans, Rhoden said he hopes attendees will feel even more fondly towards Bowie by the time they leave. "It's kind of a love note to Bowie in a way, the love of his work, the love of his spirit," Rhoden said. "The range that this man had is just immense. And I'm hoping they take away my appreciation for that huge artistic range. Bowie is an artist who really defies categorization. I love an artist that you can't put in a box, and Bowie is that kind of artist."
Thanks to Bowie's incredible fan base, news of the tribute is traveling across the world. "You can find articles about this commission in Pakistan and I kid you not," said Paul. "It absolutely has gone global. It would take you hours to get through all the links because the world seems to have a higher respect for Detroit as a cultural capital than we have of ourselves."
Paul said that's something he hopes to help change. "I want to keep Detroit on the worldwide grid," he said. "And this commission is helpful in reminding the world that Detroit is an artistic place. It's a creative place. It's a place where we're constantly inventing and evolving the performing arts."
