Linking Dancers, Athletes in Abstract ‘Here Now’

When Judith Jamison was asked to choreograph a work about Florence Griffith Joyner, she tried to learn as much as she could about the late Olympic track star who was known as much for her flashy style as for her athleticism.

But Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, quickly decided that she could never really understand the woman nicknamed “FloJo” well enough to put together a biographical piece.

Instead, “Here ... Now” is an abstract work, inspired by Griffith Joyner’s glamour, dedication and talent while also exploring the similarities between dancers and athletes.

“What we have most in common is the joy of what we do. We get through the pain to get to the joy,” Jamison said. “For the athlete, the joy is winning the gold, being the fastest. For the dancer, it is being the best--being so accomplished you are at the top of your craft.”

FloJo burst on the track-and-field scene with wildly painted long fingernails, flowing hair and colorful, often one-legged, body suits. She won a silver medal in the 200-meter dash at the 1984 Olympics and gold medals at the 1988 Olympics in the 100, 200 and the 400 relay. She died in 1998 at the age of 38 after suffering an epileptic seizure.

“Here ... Now” was commissioned by the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival and was first performed by the Ailey company Dec. 7. It will be performed during the company’s season at City Center.

It will be danced during the company’s 21-city tour and during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as part of the Olympic Arts Festival.

Jamison’s musical collaborator on the piece was trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

“I see dance immediately when I hear his music,” Jamison said. “It has a sense of dance within. And on top of everything else, he is very easy to work with.”

“Here ... Now” is a piece choreographed for three male and three female dancers. With a curving ramp as their only prop, the dancers flow through five thematic sections--strength, style, speed, pain and heaven--meant to represent aspects of an athlete’s life.

Their costumes, from tights with two bright stripes running down the side to a flirty orange skirt over a body suit, resemble track wear. And their movements are those of athletes: a fist raised triumphantly in the air; an exaggerated attitude, with the leg bent high behind the back like a runner in motion.

In one section, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell--who resembles FloJo with her long hair and diamond earrings--slowly turns in a circle on one leg, supported by a male dancer holding her toe and her bent elbow, in the pose of an athlete in midair. Yet it is also a stunning piece of dance that demands skill, grace and control.