For a review of Saturday Night's performance, Program Arthur: Click Here.
The ADaPT Fesitval 2013 was a tri-city dance performance that started in Brooklyn and made it's way all the way over the Southern California for another week of shows. Coordinated by Misa and Stephen Kelly of ArtBark International. This festival was one characterized by support, respect, community investment and artistic excellence. The following is a brief overview and review of Friday night performance at Center Stage Theater in downtown Santa Barbara.
Got Country? is a fun-loving group of young women who love to Country Line Dance. This group offers real-world dance performed by the real "girls next door." These ladies were flirty and fun as they swayed their hips side to side and sashayed across the stage. They performed the pre-show for the evening, and as such served as an effective way to get the audience involved and invested before the formal concert started. This pre-show format served as a mediator between social dance and performance work. Got Country ended with an invitation for the audience to join in and learn a dance right then and there. After a successful lesson and performance of the dance, the audience finished with a bow and returned to their seats fully invested and exhilarated for the show to come.
Entering into a world of light, color, curiosity and imagination, Anri Nakano charmed the audience in her sweet solo, Just Be Imaginative. The umbrellas transported the audience to a new world, one filled with possibility and potential, a place created half from the French film Amelie and half from an anime world. Nakano swept through the space with a childlike freedom that was refreshingly pure and innocent. She explored her world with a delicate care and playful abandon. Nakano's movement oscillates between design driven phrases and formless swirls of circles and spirals. One thing is for sure, at the heart of the piece is the treasure that is Anri Nakano.
Members of Nancy Evans Dance Theater performed next in a duet called Le Gemmelle/The Twins, choreographed by company director Nancy Evans. Seldom does a choreographer have a chance to work with two beautiful dancers who are so physically and technically matched. Beginning in the womb, the audience witnessed the two entities emerging into separate beings, struggling with their individual identities and finally arriving at the joy that is twinship. The unison of this piece is what made it so remarkable. The fact that many of the movements are extremely challenging technically makes it even more impressive. These dancers were challenged with performing very demanding extensions and balances with complete equanimity and ease, and they succeeded. They were so nicely unified in their movement that I almost forgot they were not even siblings.
Barbara Mahler's solo, entitled When She Stumbles, was a remarkable study in patience, stability, support and freedom. There is a sense when Mahler is dancing that she performs exclusively at her own pace, in a way that is only present and only honest. She doesn't hurry to prove herself to the moment. Rather, she takes her time, easing her body into exquisite moments. She grows her body into beautiful backbends and arabesques, taking the audience on a journey of discovering space and the edges of knowing.
Noelle Andressen, director of Rubans Rouge Dance Company, performed a solo of personal transformation entitled Storm. Andressen is a passionate performer whose continual growth has impressed me again and again. Like the woman in her story, she seems to face adversity and overcome it with a resilience that few possess.
4 Steps, choreographed by Robert Salas, is a deeply emotional, female trio, in which the lead dancer is separated by death and the others are forced to navigate their internal landscape of grief. Salas uses a balance between powerful athletic movement and quiet pedestrian movements to tell this story. I have seen variations of this piece before, however the modifications made for this version took this piece to a new level of storytelling. The devastating story, now distilled, acted as a powerful adhesive, cementing the piece into a well balanced composition that moved the audience.
One World is Never Enough, created and performed by ArtBark International,
is a dance theater piece involving suitcases, newspapers, paper
planes, and dachshunds (one real, one fake). The disparate nature of this piece is strung
together by the environment the performers create through the placement
of their props and their commitment to each moment. Of course, once the
little dachshund runs across the stage and the paper planes are thrown
from the audience, the audience is prepared to travel with ArtBark on
any adventure.
Pony Box Dance Theatre, presented a refined duet choreographed by director Jamie Carbetta Hammond entitled with(in). The first and only dance work of the festival what was performed on pointe, this piece was a modern ballet performed by beautifully trained dancers. The male resurrected the female from her cave of flowing organza fabric and lifted her up, carrying her effortless through the space until she was able to rise and fly on her own. The audience soaked in the dance with its familiar roots in ballet vocabulary.
Festival Co-director, Misa Kelly bridged the concert dance stage with "outsider art" in her solo, Patchwork Chameleon, set to music by wheelchair bound Isa Topete. Isa's disabilities (due to chromosome deletion 1Q) keep her from communicating with words, but her love of music is clear and her piano compositions are a testament to the artist that lives in all people. The solo was aptly titled in that the design and movement vocabulary seemed like a sampling of diverse gesture and actions patched together into a palette of images and dynamics. The final evocation of Isa in a primal screech by Kelly bridged these disparate worlds of ability and disability with a raw effort that hits the guts.
Cybil Gilbertson of NECTAR Collaborative performed a stunning solo, xYz, about loneliness and self acceptance. Gilbertson is a seasoned Santa Barbara performer who uses her height and length to her full advantage while inviting the audience into her world of personal liberation. As usual her goddess-like beauty and total down-to-earth sensibility charmed the SB audience into love once again.
It's a fact. The Raving Jaynes are officially my new favorite dance and improvisational comedy duo. Ok, so they are the first performers I have seen perform in this unique format, but, they are so good, that I am now (quite possibly) their biggest fan. They begin by taking a word suggestion from the audience. Tonight it was: blasphemy. What transpired after that involved co-creator Jamie Graham becoming broccoli, her partner in crime, Amy Larimer, wanting to taste her with butter, the two arguing about the future of vegetables and finally with Larimer choosing the life of a carrot. What is most exciting about this duo is seeing how the music and "dance" portions intersect with the more traditional improv-comedy format. These fine performers easily transition between the two practices and fuse them in such a way that it seems totally probably for broccoli to dance or a carrot to take root on stage.
The show closed with Megill & Company's cool and jazz tap dance, Stop. Listen. Dance, choreographed by yours truly, Beth Megill. While I was performing and cannot review my own performance, I do want to thank the audience for their warm reception of the dance. It seems once again that tap dance is brings people back to life driven by the sounds and rhythms.
Overall the ADaPT Festival was a huge success and a treat for the Southern California dance scene.
Did you see the show? Please post your thoughts in the comment box below. I write these review in hopes of sparking discussion, so please share your feedback with the community. And, take a moment to follow this blog for more So Cal dance reviews.
Showing posts with label performance art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance art. Show all posts
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Review: ADaPT Festival 2013 (Program Arthur)
For a review of Friday night's performance entitled Program Jules: Click Here.
The ADaPT Festival is a treasure of the Southern California dance scene. Produced by ArtBark International under the direction of Misa and Stephan Kelly, ADaPT is a unique opportunity for artists to gather and share, support and celebrate. This evening's program (Program Arthur), offered a distinctly diverse palette of dance and physical theater that was at times playful, shocking, intimate and powerful. Here is a brief overview and review of the performance.
Harlem Renaissance was a pre-show social dance event in which four dancers from Santa Barbara Dance Center first demonstrated a swing dance routine before calling the audience on stage to learn the east coast swing basic and a few fun moves. The stage was full of willing participants, smiling and dancing with strangers as if they were life long friends. This is the power of dance.
After the invigorated (and somewhat sweaty) audience members returned to their seats, the theater resonated with willing energy. The anticipation of the audience was virtually tangible. Having broken the invisible line between audience and performer, this concert was no longer an experience of us vs them, but rather a celebration of all dancers and all humans. The opening piece was one I have seen and reviewed before, a stunning duet by Jenn Logan entitled Coupling, Cycles 1-3. This piece never gets boring or old. Scot Tupper and Katrina Amerine manage to keep this piece of choreography fresh and vibrant no matter how many times they have performed it. And, by the audible sighs and hums of the audience, it was evident that this performance swept away the audience as it always does.
Two Mythological Birds, by BodySensate Contemporary Dance of Santa Barbara was the first of the festival to be set to live music. Clara Kim on viola (90% sure it was a viola), was a strong musician who gave flight to the imagery of the dancers. Choreographed by Mathew Nelson, this piece had a nontraditional structure that read a little bit like a day in the life of these two birds. The first bird (embodied by the choreographer himself) circled and floated through the space in cascading gestures and swooping circles, rising and falling with smooth effort. The second bird was comprised of the other four female dancers who seemed more like one entity that multiple, confirmed by their exit in union.
Remembering was an emotionally heavy and earthbound solo choreographed and performed by Emily Berry of B3W Performance Group of New York City. This female soloist, dressed in a simple purple dress, embodied powerful release technique, as she effortlessly dropped into the floor. In general I was struck by the downward energy throughout the piece, emphasized by the weighted movement and downward gaze. This piece was dark and heavy with images of back stabbing and the wringing out of one's soul. This woman's remembering was clearly one of suffering under complex circumstances.
Festival directors Misa and Stephen Kelly took the stage next in their quirky but sensitive duet, Recall is Never Replay. This dance theater piece combined nonsequitur text, with humorous gesture patterns and lots of love. Most performed to silence and live spoken word, this piece was an authentic and loving rendition of their relationship that was a precious peek into their sweet romance and daily life. The ending seated embrace, as Misa nestled into Stephen, was filled with all the joy, sensitivity, and honest love that exists in private behind closed doors.
Jessica Kondrath presented an a excerpt from a solo work, The Art of Breathing, performed by Julie Correia. I have seen and reviewed this piece before as well, but as I stated for the last piece in which this was the case, this solo is one I could watch over and over. It is crafted like a well-designed puzzle, with the body and the motifs scattered in front of you and then coming together into a well balanced visual account of line, shape, and color.
The Last Painting, choreographed by Lissa Resnick in collaboration with Michael Lightsey Fine Arts, literally made the stage a canvas for dance. The piece began with an abstract painting projected onto the cyc. The lead male dancer set out his canvas on the floor, taping it down. Then the two muses entered with an air of serenity, carrying paint and brushes to him, then guiding him through his art making process. The presentational element of this piece was a bit jarring for me at first. The preceeding pieces had been so non-presentational that the painter's exaggerated gesture seemed out of place at first. But, as the female entered with a balletic walk that shared the same dramatic flare, I better understood this element as inherent to the style of the choreographer. This piece was clearly influenced by contemporary jazz aesthetic, as highlighted in the upbeat unison sequence performed by the two muses. The company is called No Strings Attached Dance Company, and yet I felt that this choreographer maintained very strong ties to many conventions of concert dance composition, which made me question the nature of how Resnick chooses to break the rules and how that resonates in her work.
The second half of the show began with the crowd pleasing duet Unzipped, co-created and performed by Misa Kelly and Joanna Nobbe. Before the performers began, they invited two audience members up on stage for a special perspective on this dance. This alone was an interesting and unusual decision. But, as the dancers whipped down their pants and undies, bare bottoms to the audience and bare fronts to the "specially seated" members, it all became clear. What followed next was the most enjoyable and laugh out loud funny "naked dance" I have ever seen. I am a very tough to please when it comes to nudity in dance and on stage in general. I have seen many examples of nudity onstage for the shock value alone. And, in general I can't stand that treatment of the bare human form. It doesn't shock me. It doesn't have to be precious. And, most of all it doesn't have to be sexy. This dance is the first dance in the nude that I felt truly warranted the nudity. No apologies. No seduction. No asexuality either. Just the human form being it's normal butt squeezing, cheek slapping, shaking and jiggling NUDE self!
Ringing Rocks was a short dance film by Fred Hatt depicting a dancer weaving through a field of "lithophonic" rocks that literally rings like bells and chimes when struck by a hammer or other object. The black and white film managed to blur the line between human form and rock in a way that was mesmerizing and hypnotic.
Valerie Huston, professor of Ballet at UC Santa Barbara, presented a solo, Black Earth, set on Megan Ragland, a UCSB student. This young dancer was remarkable in her ability to turn, balance and release the momentum of her body through the performance space. This contemporary ballet solo was physically and technically challenging, but Ragland danced with single focus and maturity, performing multiple pirouettes with seamless endings that conveyed both abandon and deep grounding.
The Union Project Dance Company, treated the audience to another live music composition in their piece Fearing the Unknown, by Mariana Oliveira. This piece opened with a stunning solo by Raymond Ejiofor. Ejiofor commanded the stage with his strength, control and agility in such a way that I wasn't ready to see other dancers enter quite yet. Compositionally, this piece lacked clarity for me, in that the dancers frequently changed relationships to each other, sometimes acting as the aggressor and other times the one's who feared. This switching back and forth made it difficult to decipher exactly who/what these entities were and the intent behind their movement. Nevertheless, the piece resonated due to the virtuosity of the movement vocabulary and stunning execution on behalf of the dancers. The choreographer utilized the strengths of the dancers to such a degree that they at times seemed super human.
The show closed with the Mini Rave by the Raving Jaynes from New York. As they did the night before, these two dancers/improvisational actors took the stage with nothing more than an audience suggestion "Rose" and out of it emerged a fun story of Broadway bound performance, flowers, and discarded hats. This duo is fearless and fabulous. If you ever have the chance to see them, you should run. Don't walk.
For that matter, next time you even hear murmurs of the ADaPT Festival, you should be clearing your schedules and coordinating the baby sitter because this is not a show you want to miss.
Did you see the show? Please post your thoughts in the comment box below. I write these reviews in hopes of sparking discussion, so please share your feedback with the community. And, take a moment to follow this blog for more So Cal dance reviews.
The ADaPT Festival is a treasure of the Southern California dance scene. Produced by ArtBark International under the direction of Misa and Stephan Kelly, ADaPT is a unique opportunity for artists to gather and share, support and celebrate. This evening's program (Program Arthur), offered a distinctly diverse palette of dance and physical theater that was at times playful, shocking, intimate and powerful. Here is a brief overview and review of the performance.
Harlem Renaissance was a pre-show social dance event in which four dancers from Santa Barbara Dance Center first demonstrated a swing dance routine before calling the audience on stage to learn the east coast swing basic and a few fun moves. The stage was full of willing participants, smiling and dancing with strangers as if they were life long friends. This is the power of dance.
After the invigorated (and somewhat sweaty) audience members returned to their seats, the theater resonated with willing energy. The anticipation of the audience was virtually tangible. Having broken the invisible line between audience and performer, this concert was no longer an experience of us vs them, but rather a celebration of all dancers and all humans. The opening piece was one I have seen and reviewed before, a stunning duet by Jenn Logan entitled Coupling, Cycles 1-3. This piece never gets boring or old. Scot Tupper and Katrina Amerine manage to keep this piece of choreography fresh and vibrant no matter how many times they have performed it. And, by the audible sighs and hums of the audience, it was evident that this performance swept away the audience as it always does.
Two Mythological Birds, by BodySensate Contemporary Dance of Santa Barbara was the first of the festival to be set to live music. Clara Kim on viola (90% sure it was a viola), was a strong musician who gave flight to the imagery of the dancers. Choreographed by Mathew Nelson, this piece had a nontraditional structure that read a little bit like a day in the life of these two birds. The first bird (embodied by the choreographer himself) circled and floated through the space in cascading gestures and swooping circles, rising and falling with smooth effort. The second bird was comprised of the other four female dancers who seemed more like one entity that multiple, confirmed by their exit in union.
Remembering was an emotionally heavy and earthbound solo choreographed and performed by Emily Berry of B3W Performance Group of New York City. This female soloist, dressed in a simple purple dress, embodied powerful release technique, as she effortlessly dropped into the floor. In general I was struck by the downward energy throughout the piece, emphasized by the weighted movement and downward gaze. This piece was dark and heavy with images of back stabbing and the wringing out of one's soul. This woman's remembering was clearly one of suffering under complex circumstances.
Festival directors Misa and Stephen Kelly took the stage next in their quirky but sensitive duet, Recall is Never Replay. This dance theater piece combined nonsequitur text, with humorous gesture patterns and lots of love. Most performed to silence and live spoken word, this piece was an authentic and loving rendition of their relationship that was a precious peek into their sweet romance and daily life. The ending seated embrace, as Misa nestled into Stephen, was filled with all the joy, sensitivity, and honest love that exists in private behind closed doors.
Jessica Kondrath presented an a excerpt from a solo work, The Art of Breathing, performed by Julie Correia. I have seen and reviewed this piece before as well, but as I stated for the last piece in which this was the case, this solo is one I could watch over and over. It is crafted like a well-designed puzzle, with the body and the motifs scattered in front of you and then coming together into a well balanced visual account of line, shape, and color.
The Last Painting, choreographed by Lissa Resnick in collaboration with Michael Lightsey Fine Arts, literally made the stage a canvas for dance. The piece began with an abstract painting projected onto the cyc. The lead male dancer set out his canvas on the floor, taping it down. Then the two muses entered with an air of serenity, carrying paint and brushes to him, then guiding him through his art making process. The presentational element of this piece was a bit jarring for me at first. The preceeding pieces had been so non-presentational that the painter's exaggerated gesture seemed out of place at first. But, as the female entered with a balletic walk that shared the same dramatic flare, I better understood this element as inherent to the style of the choreographer. This piece was clearly influenced by contemporary jazz aesthetic, as highlighted in the upbeat unison sequence performed by the two muses. The company is called No Strings Attached Dance Company, and yet I felt that this choreographer maintained very strong ties to many conventions of concert dance composition, which made me question the nature of how Resnick chooses to break the rules and how that resonates in her work.
The second half of the show began with the crowd pleasing duet Unzipped, co-created and performed by Misa Kelly and Joanna Nobbe. Before the performers began, they invited two audience members up on stage for a special perspective on this dance. This alone was an interesting and unusual decision. But, as the dancers whipped down their pants and undies, bare bottoms to the audience and bare fronts to the "specially seated" members, it all became clear. What followed next was the most enjoyable and laugh out loud funny "naked dance" I have ever seen. I am a very tough to please when it comes to nudity in dance and on stage in general. I have seen many examples of nudity onstage for the shock value alone. And, in general I can't stand that treatment of the bare human form. It doesn't shock me. It doesn't have to be precious. And, most of all it doesn't have to be sexy. This dance is the first dance in the nude that I felt truly warranted the nudity. No apologies. No seduction. No asexuality either. Just the human form being it's normal butt squeezing, cheek slapping, shaking and jiggling NUDE self!
Ringing Rocks was a short dance film by Fred Hatt depicting a dancer weaving through a field of "lithophonic" rocks that literally rings like bells and chimes when struck by a hammer or other object. The black and white film managed to blur the line between human form and rock in a way that was mesmerizing and hypnotic.
Valerie Huston, professor of Ballet at UC Santa Barbara, presented a solo, Black Earth, set on Megan Ragland, a UCSB student. This young dancer was remarkable in her ability to turn, balance and release the momentum of her body through the performance space. This contemporary ballet solo was physically and technically challenging, but Ragland danced with single focus and maturity, performing multiple pirouettes with seamless endings that conveyed both abandon and deep grounding.
The Union Project Dance Company, treated the audience to another live music composition in their piece Fearing the Unknown, by Mariana Oliveira. This piece opened with a stunning solo by Raymond Ejiofor. Ejiofor commanded the stage with his strength, control and agility in such a way that I wasn't ready to see other dancers enter quite yet. Compositionally, this piece lacked clarity for me, in that the dancers frequently changed relationships to each other, sometimes acting as the aggressor and other times the one's who feared. This switching back and forth made it difficult to decipher exactly who/what these entities were and the intent behind their movement. Nevertheless, the piece resonated due to the virtuosity of the movement vocabulary and stunning execution on behalf of the dancers. The choreographer utilized the strengths of the dancers to such a degree that they at times seemed super human.
The show closed with the Mini Rave by the Raving Jaynes from New York. As they did the night before, these two dancers/improvisational actors took the stage with nothing more than an audience suggestion "Rose" and out of it emerged a fun story of Broadway bound performance, flowers, and discarded hats. This duo is fearless and fabulous. If you ever have the chance to see them, you should run. Don't walk.
For that matter, next time you even hear murmurs of the ADaPT Festival, you should be clearing your schedules and coordinating the baby sitter because this is not a show you want to miss.
Did you see the show? Please post your thoughts in the comment box below. I write these reviews in hopes of sparking discussion, so please share your feedback with the community. And, take a moment to follow this blog for more So Cal dance reviews.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Dance Needs You! (Or, rather, you need dance?)
I have been thinking a lot recently about the nature of dance and its need for stronger community support. And, I am not talking about TV produced Dance reality shows. Obviously.
I am talking about the little fish in the pond, the smaller buggers that put their life and soul into their art and often receive little to no community support outside of their immediate friends and family.
But, I realized that the issue is not that dance needs people, but that people need dance. I need dance. You need dance. Our society needs dance. But, why?
We are forgetting.
We are forgetting how important it is to be in communion with our fellow community members. We are forgetting what it feels like to dance in harmony, to dance in unison, as one body, with one common trust in our own humanity. We are forgetting just how it feels to be present in the moment without competition, without an audience, without an applause meter or a phone line voting system. We are forgetting how it feels to be in the body with others who are in their own skins, breathing, sensing, moving, relating. Dance isn't just about moving to move. It is about our ability to cultivate relationships in motion. To release our own sense of identity in order to partake in a larger body.
I learned just recently about a beautiful Global dance that happened today. Initiated my Martha Eddy, the Global Water Dance is a dance in celebration for all beings, of all cultures, in all locations. This is an example of how dance (and music) transcends all barriers. How dance is a safe and open invitation for all people to simply participate in being human by moving together in harmony.
I am tired of dance as spectacle. I am tired of dance for the privileged. Dance for the stars. Dance for competition. Dance can serve all people in increasing their quality of life, in their quality of being human.
When was the last time you danced? At a wedding? In your living room? In a dance studio? Have you forgotten?
And, this is not to point blame at you. I believe the active dance world is as much to blame. I suspect that the dance world may have encouraged you to forget.
And, what I mean by this is the tendency I see for the "dance world" to make work that is either "light entertainment" or "inaccessible art." What are your impressions of concert dance? When was the last dance show you attended in person? Why did you go? What did you get out of it? Please comment because I actually want to know! I suspect that most people who attend live dance concerts go because they know someone in the performance. They go to show their support. This is admirable and much appreciated, however I would rather people come to be inspired! To rediscover themselves through the experience of watching live dance. To be enriched as individuals making their ways through the world.
I am convinced that there is concert dance in this world that is both artistic and enjoyable. And, I intended to keep making dances until I find that balance. Until the audience remembers that seeing dance can increase their enjoyment of life and the richness in their understanding of themselves as humans in this world.
And, I will know I have succeeded when I see strangers take the risk to see dance performances in their local towns and return to their homes and friends with stories of how they feel more alive and more "inside their skin". . . and how they couldn't resist dancing in their hearts out in their living room.
I am talking about the little fish in the pond, the smaller buggers that put their life and soul into their art and often receive little to no community support outside of their immediate friends and family.
But, I realized that the issue is not that dance needs people, but that people need dance. I need dance. You need dance. Our society needs dance. But, why?
We are forgetting.
We are forgetting how important it is to be in communion with our fellow community members. We are forgetting what it feels like to dance in harmony, to dance in unison, as one body, with one common trust in our own humanity. We are forgetting just how it feels to be present in the moment without competition, without an audience, without an applause meter or a phone line voting system. We are forgetting how it feels to be in the body with others who are in their own skins, breathing, sensing, moving, relating. Dance isn't just about moving to move. It is about our ability to cultivate relationships in motion. To release our own sense of identity in order to partake in a larger body.
I learned just recently about a beautiful Global dance that happened today. Initiated my Martha Eddy, the Global Water Dance is a dance in celebration for all beings, of all cultures, in all locations. This is an example of how dance (and music) transcends all barriers. How dance is a safe and open invitation for all people to simply participate in being human by moving together in harmony.
I am tired of dance as spectacle. I am tired of dance for the privileged. Dance for the stars. Dance for competition. Dance can serve all people in increasing their quality of life, in their quality of being human.
When was the last time you danced? At a wedding? In your living room? In a dance studio? Have you forgotten?
And, this is not to point blame at you. I believe the active dance world is as much to blame. I suspect that the dance world may have encouraged you to forget.
And, what I mean by this is the tendency I see for the "dance world" to make work that is either "light entertainment" or "inaccessible art." What are your impressions of concert dance? When was the last dance show you attended in person? Why did you go? What did you get out of it? Please comment because I actually want to know! I suspect that most people who attend live dance concerts go because they know someone in the performance. They go to show their support. This is admirable and much appreciated, however I would rather people come to be inspired! To rediscover themselves through the experience of watching live dance. To be enriched as individuals making their ways through the world.
I am convinced that there is concert dance in this world that is both artistic and enjoyable. And, I intended to keep making dances until I find that balance. Until the audience remembers that seeing dance can increase their enjoyment of life and the richness in their understanding of themselves as humans in this world.
And, I will know I have succeeded when I see strangers take the risk to see dance performances in their local towns and return to their homes and friends with stories of how they feel more alive and more "inside their skin". . . and how they couldn't resist dancing in their hearts out in their living room.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Review: A Poet, a Musician and A Dancer Walk into a Coffeehouse. . .
This Friday night (the first Friday I have had available in what seems like an eternity), I got into my little gold Nissan Sentra, Google-mapped the Kaldi Coffee Shop and headed out of suburbia and into the city for a performance produced by Keith Glassman Dance and Performance.
I had taken a Glassman movement class once a couple years back at the Annenberg House. I knew he liked working with diverse dancers and even "non-dancers," and since that is right up my alley, I thought the adventure, costing only gas and the price of my Matcha Latte, was well worth it.
The performance space was a typical small coffee shop, hip with organic teas, vegan cookies, and decorative cactus. The show started with a poet, Santa Perversa, a Chicana poet who specializes in erotic poetry and bilingual poems. The acoustics of the shop were less than ideal, so I missed much of her wordsmithing, which was a little frustrating. However, she hit her stride in her self love/ erotic series in which her performance carried the words effortlessly through the space. This reminded me how the sentiment and delivery can make communication so easy in difficult performances spaces.
The second segment of the show was a duet choreographed by Keith Glassman in collaboration with the two performers. The female performer, Klyda Mahoney is a stately performer, at ease in her skin. I was not surprised that she is a mature dancer (I found out online that she is an impressive septuagenarian). And, I bring up her age in celebration of the dancer. I loved seeing this beautiful woman moving through the space, clad in a brown tie dyed skirt, hip wrap, ankle rattle and painted red palms. Her simple movement vocabulary was rich with references to tribal and folk dance forms, often traveling with rhythmic steps: small, patient, elegant, purposeful.
The piece started with a recorded spoken word piece (which I couldn't make out very well because of the recording and the coffee shop noise). What I did manage to capture were clear references to light and dark, white (man?) and black. After her initial circling around the audience, she surprised the audience with a beautifully sung, blues-based scat. Her voice was clear and vibrant. She was then joined by a fantastic saxophonist, Charles Sharp (whose circular breathing was quite impressive to me-- How do they do that??). Thus began the duet, an exchange of movement, gesture and sound. Sharp moved as well (while continuing to play) even laying down at one point and sitting back up with no aural indication of his effort. Mahoney, then sang her blues scat again, painting her dark skin with white paint, reinforcing the tribal references both Native American, but also perhaps Australian Aboriginal. But, the blues harmonics kept me glued into the African American story as well. It seemed a dance of loss, mourning, power and solidarity. I am sure if I heard the opening spoken word again I would have more context for the work, but as it was, even without a title or a context, the piece was a successful celebration of pairing music and movement in time and space.
The last segment of the hour long show was a Jazz trio including Charles Sharp on saxophone as well and a finessed drummer and technically savvy bassist. If you have never heard avant garde jazz, their style may have been a surprise, but for those who thrive off of the avant garde jazz style, this trio is for you. The first piece started off with a thick and harried texture, frenetic on all accounts, as each musician rallied their energy in bursts of activity. The piece settled into a groovy swing that was then extra satisfying after the quite shocking opening section. The second piece was more atmospheric in tone, allowing more space and laying out a horizon of sound that for me as a choreographer was very inviting.
I had to leave at that point, my parking meter had run out because the show had started a bit late so I needed to get going. But, the adventure overall gets a thumbs up. My favorite points being:
1. Shared stage time with words, dance and music
2. A beautiful mature dancer who exemplified fearlessness
3. Avant garde jazz (which I haven't enjoyed live in ages)
4. Dance in an unexpected and untraditional space
The audience (some unsuspecting) got a taste of the performing arts that are gritty and gusty in that Post Modern, make-a-statement kind of way. In a time when dancing on TV has become so popular, these informal, unglittered performances are the real gems. They challenge how we view the arts, why we view the arts and just how far we are willing to take ourselves away from the feel good commercialized world to discover something new about ourselves and the world around us.
Conclusion: See more live arts! And, be prepared for the unexpected.
They have two more performances in this series: Click Here for info.
Note: I am sorry I didn't get the names of the two other musicians, they really were excellent. So please, if you know their names, share it with the other readers in a comment below (and I will update the blog post as well)
Did you see the performance? What did you think? What shocked, surprised, impressed you? What did it get you thinking about? What did you order at the counter?
I had taken a Glassman movement class once a couple years back at the Annenberg House. I knew he liked working with diverse dancers and even "non-dancers," and since that is right up my alley, I thought the adventure, costing only gas and the price of my Matcha Latte, was well worth it.
The performance space was a typical small coffee shop, hip with organic teas, vegan cookies, and decorative cactus. The show started with a poet, Santa Perversa, a Chicana poet who specializes in erotic poetry and bilingual poems. The acoustics of the shop were less than ideal, so I missed much of her wordsmithing, which was a little frustrating. However, she hit her stride in her self love/ erotic series in which her performance carried the words effortlessly through the space. This reminded me how the sentiment and delivery can make communication so easy in difficult performances spaces.
The second segment of the show was a duet choreographed by Keith Glassman in collaboration with the two performers. The female performer, Klyda Mahoney is a stately performer, at ease in her skin. I was not surprised that she is a mature dancer (I found out online that she is an impressive septuagenarian). And, I bring up her age in celebration of the dancer. I loved seeing this beautiful woman moving through the space, clad in a brown tie dyed skirt, hip wrap, ankle rattle and painted red palms. Her simple movement vocabulary was rich with references to tribal and folk dance forms, often traveling with rhythmic steps: small, patient, elegant, purposeful.
The piece started with a recorded spoken word piece (which I couldn't make out very well because of the recording and the coffee shop noise). What I did manage to capture were clear references to light and dark, white (man?) and black. After her initial circling around the audience, she surprised the audience with a beautifully sung, blues-based scat. Her voice was clear and vibrant. She was then joined by a fantastic saxophonist, Charles Sharp (whose circular breathing was quite impressive to me-- How do they do that??). Thus began the duet, an exchange of movement, gesture and sound. Sharp moved as well (while continuing to play) even laying down at one point and sitting back up with no aural indication of his effort. Mahoney, then sang her blues scat again, painting her dark skin with white paint, reinforcing the tribal references both Native American, but also perhaps Australian Aboriginal. But, the blues harmonics kept me glued into the African American story as well. It seemed a dance of loss, mourning, power and solidarity. I am sure if I heard the opening spoken word again I would have more context for the work, but as it was, even without a title or a context, the piece was a successful celebration of pairing music and movement in time and space.
The last segment of the hour long show was a Jazz trio including Charles Sharp on saxophone as well and a finessed drummer and technically savvy bassist. If you have never heard avant garde jazz, their style may have been a surprise, but for those who thrive off of the avant garde jazz style, this trio is for you. The first piece started off with a thick and harried texture, frenetic on all accounts, as each musician rallied their energy in bursts of activity. The piece settled into a groovy swing that was then extra satisfying after the quite shocking opening section. The second piece was more atmospheric in tone, allowing more space and laying out a horizon of sound that for me as a choreographer was very inviting.
I had to leave at that point, my parking meter had run out because the show had started a bit late so I needed to get going. But, the adventure overall gets a thumbs up. My favorite points being:
1. Shared stage time with words, dance and music
2. A beautiful mature dancer who exemplified fearlessness
3. Avant garde jazz (which I haven't enjoyed live in ages)
4. Dance in an unexpected and untraditional space
The audience (some unsuspecting) got a taste of the performing arts that are gritty and gusty in that Post Modern, make-a-statement kind of way. In a time when dancing on TV has become so popular, these informal, unglittered performances are the real gems. They challenge how we view the arts, why we view the arts and just how far we are willing to take ourselves away from the feel good commercialized world to discover something new about ourselves and the world around us.
Conclusion: See more live arts! And, be prepared for the unexpected.
They have two more performances in this series: Click Here for info.
Note: I am sorry I didn't get the names of the two other musicians, they really were excellent. So please, if you know their names, share it with the other readers in a comment below (and I will update the blog post as well)
Did you see the performance? What did you think? What shocked, surprised, impressed you? What did it get you thinking about? What did you order at the counter?
Saturday, February 23, 2013
My Rogue Festival Picks 2013
So, going to a Fringe-type festival like the Rogue Festival Fresno can be overwhelming because there are so many options and everyone is pretty darn good at making their show sound like the best thing since sliced bread. So what is an audience member to do?
Well, this will be my 6th year attending and performing in Fresno's Rogue and I thought you might enjoy my selections for this year and a recommended schedule for the "movement minded". Granted, I could easily call this "The Dance Lover's Guide to Rogue" but there is more than dance on this list and I will explain why!
First the Plan:
Friday March 1st
Pizzicato Porno $8 5:00pm at Broken Leg Theater
The Chaser, a one-man, vaudeville musical $10 7:00pm Starline
Secrets $8 8:30pm Severance
NOCO $9 10pm Severance
Reasoning: Pizzicato Porno has a kick-ass promo image. She is clearly beautiful, and she is from Texas, so I am sure she will appreciate the support early in her run. The Chaser guy is bald with a joker like smile, I am taking a risk on him, but he is also and out of towner and "vaudeville" is my middle name so I have to go. Secrets is performed by Martha Kelly Fierro's dance group Altered Modalities, her dancers are brilliant and I have seen her choreography mature and blossom over the last few years in a way a deeply appreciate artistically. NOCO is the face of the Rogue. How can you not go?
Saturday March 2nd
Magical Mystery Detour $10 2:00pm Severance
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 4:00 pm Severance
Apocalypse Clown $10 5:30pm Starline
CDE at Rogue $10 7:00pm Severance
Reasoning: The Magical Gemma Wilcox has won Best of Fest 9x. I have yet to see her, and I plan to remedy that. Ah! That's My Dance Body! Well clearly I will be there since it is my show. But you should some to this one because it is our Premier! Then Apocalypse Clown, not far away so we can definitely make it after our show and MeCo loves clowning. Then return to Severance for CDE another dancr show with the budding talent from Fresno State's Dance dept.
Sunday March 3rd
Master Class with Megill & Company (MeCo) 1:00pm at Cal Arts Academy (Blackstone)
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 5:30pm Severance
Reasoning: Need I state the obvious? MeCo master classes are always a good time. Meant for everyBODY who wants to enjoy the full experience of dance.
Monday-Thursday: RECOVER
Friday March 8th
The Bike Trip $10 5:30pm Tower Lounge
A Secret History of the World 7:00pm $10 Dianna's North
A Hole in my Bucket $5 8:00pm Broken Leg Theater
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 10:00pm Severance
Reasoning: This Bike Trip guy seems pretty charismatic, and I am hoping for a Brooklyn accent. Secret History is a product of one of two clowns/ physical theater artists from last year's show Poe and Mathews, I'm pretty much one of their biggest fans (even though they don't know me). Then, Hole in my Bucket, because it is dance and references dixieland jazz both of which are a must for me. Then back to Severance for our show!
Saturday March 9th
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 1:00pm Severance
What Jazz Can Be $8 4:00pm bloo
Gary Has a Date $10 5:30pm Dianna's North
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 7:00pm Severance
Rogue Jazz $10 10:00pm Severance
Final day of Rogue! And, it goes so fast! After our matinee, I plan to head over to see my former FCC colleagues Andre Bush (with guest Mike Dana also from FCC). They are great musicians and great music educators. Then back to the realm of physical theater with Gary Has a Date with Emily Winder who plays funny, uptight male characters so very well. And, after our closing show, we hit the bar for a celebratory drink and head back to Severance for Rogue Jazz. Maybe if I 'm real nice, they will let me tap dance on a tune.
Total cost: $128 (FYI I didn't double check the math-- so you should)
Total # of Shows: 14
Total # of Venues: 6
Total amount of Fun: Priceless! (ok, that was dorky, but seriously you are going to have one awesome Rogue Fest.)
Well, this will be my 6th year attending and performing in Fresno's Rogue and I thought you might enjoy my selections for this year and a recommended schedule for the "movement minded". Granted, I could easily call this "The Dance Lover's Guide to Rogue" but there is more than dance on this list and I will explain why!
First the Plan:
Friday March 1st
Pizzicato Porno $8 5:00pm at Broken Leg Theater
The Chaser, a one-man, vaudeville musical $10 7:00pm Starline
Secrets $8 8:30pm Severance
NOCO $9 10pm Severance
Reasoning: Pizzicato Porno has a kick-ass promo image. She is clearly beautiful, and she is from Texas, so I am sure she will appreciate the support early in her run. The Chaser guy is bald with a joker like smile, I am taking a risk on him, but he is also and out of towner and "vaudeville" is my middle name so I have to go. Secrets is performed by Martha Kelly Fierro's dance group Altered Modalities, her dancers are brilliant and I have seen her choreography mature and blossom over the last few years in a way a deeply appreciate artistically. NOCO is the face of the Rogue. How can you not go?
Saturday March 2nd
Magical Mystery Detour $10 2:00pm Severance
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 4:00 pm Severance
Apocalypse Clown $10 5:30pm Starline
CDE at Rogue $10 7:00pm Severance
Reasoning: The Magical Gemma Wilcox has won Best of Fest 9x. I have yet to see her, and I plan to remedy that. Ah! That's My Dance Body! Well clearly I will be there since it is my show. But you should some to this one because it is our Premier! Then Apocalypse Clown, not far away so we can definitely make it after our show and MeCo loves clowning. Then return to Severance for CDE another dancr show with the budding talent from Fresno State's Dance dept.
Sunday March 3rd
Master Class with Megill & Company (MeCo) 1:00pm at Cal Arts Academy (Blackstone)
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 5:30pm Severance
Reasoning: Need I state the obvious? MeCo master classes are always a good time. Meant for everyBODY who wants to enjoy the full experience of dance.
Monday-Thursday: RECOVER
Friday March 8th
The Bike Trip $10 5:30pm Tower Lounge
A Secret History of the World 7:00pm $10 Dianna's North
A Hole in my Bucket $5 8:00pm Broken Leg Theater
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 10:00pm Severance
Reasoning: This Bike Trip guy seems pretty charismatic, and I am hoping for a Brooklyn accent. Secret History is a product of one of two clowns/ physical theater artists from last year's show Poe and Mathews, I'm pretty much one of their biggest fans (even though they don't know me). Then, Hole in my Bucket, because it is dance and references dixieland jazz both of which are a must for me. Then back to Severance for our show!
Saturday March 9th
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 1:00pm Severance
What Jazz Can Be $8 4:00pm bloo
Gary Has a Date $10 5:30pm Dianna's North
Ah! That's My Dance Body (MeCo) $10 7:00pm Severance
Rogue Jazz $10 10:00pm Severance
Final day of Rogue! And, it goes so fast! After our matinee, I plan to head over to see my former FCC colleagues Andre Bush (with guest Mike Dana also from FCC). They are great musicians and great music educators. Then back to the realm of physical theater with Gary Has a Date with Emily Winder who plays funny, uptight male characters so very well. And, after our closing show, we hit the bar for a celebratory drink and head back to Severance for Rogue Jazz. Maybe if I 'm real nice, they will let me tap dance on a tune.
Total cost: $128 (FYI I didn't double check the math-- so you should)
Total # of Shows: 14
Total # of Venues: 6
Total amount of Fun: Priceless! (ok, that was dorky, but seriously you are going to have one awesome Rogue Fest.)
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