The Wedding, in review

NOW, a brand new Salt Lake based dance company that seeks to be international and interdisciplinary, premiered their first work The Wedding to a enthusiastic and receptive crowd this past weekend.  The performance took place at the Masonic Temple, which houses an interesting in-the-round theatre.  This space bears a charge and a history of the rituals and ceremonies that are known to occur regularly.  Even walking up the many steps at the grand front entrance, flanked by stone lions statues, felt processional and added to the atmosphere of the night.  Audience members were free to pick from the three different facings of the theatre, a choice the undoubtedly affected how the movement was experienced.

The piece began with Ted Johnson, tall and calm, tracing the shape of the space, preparing both himself and the audience for what is about to take place.  Jo Blake, a former dancer for Ririe Woodbury, and Katherine Lawrence Orlowski, a Ballet West dancer, stood together, waiting for the experience to begin.  It may be assumed that the wedding was to be between Blake and Lawrence, as they have numerous duets, and both have the most developed solos.

Much of the dancing has an urgent unyielding quality, familiar textures in Boye-Christensen’s choreography.  There was also an air of solemnity and ritual, created both by the choreography, and especially by some of the music selections.  Yumelia Garcia, a Joffrey Ballet dancer, performed a solo that felt particularly severe and final, her body and performance at times rigid and uncompromising. The duets between Lawrence and Blake were cool and precise, displaying Lawrence’s strong lines and technical abilities.  They danced with a sense of execution and drive.

Blake had a solo that was both urgent and yielding, and served as a needed exhale to the mounting tension of this ritual.  He danced with beautiful abandon, allowing the movement to seep in his bones and sincerely be affected.  The moments of calculated uneven timing made familiar movement motifs seem new again.

Four Groomsmen flood the space, immediately filling the space with a non-dancer non-performer energy.  At times this pedestrian aspect of the piece works, particularly when the movement is kept to walking patterns, standing still or shifting from side to side as if in a real wedding, and at times their inclusion is alternatingly awkward and obvious, such as the moment when they pull flashlights out and begin to menacingly shine lights on a frantic Blake.

Later, a duet between Blake and Johnson gave the warmth and sentiment that some imagine and expect when a wedding is what is at stake; it is curious that this tenderness was not more explored between the two dancers (Blake and Orlowski) that were presumably the two that were undertaking the nuptials.  It is in this duet that we see Johnson, as he faces Blake, pass onto Blake his knowledge or blessing through a series of gestures.  It was striking to see these two men move and breathe together on stage.  They both are able to perform without the shell that sometimes encases a performer.

The last section of the piece includes the four dancers coming together as one united group.  This is the one part of the piece that felt choreographically rushed or underdeveloped.  The ceremony and ritual is climaxing, and just as soon as the audience catches on that the end is perhaps near, all but one are on the raised stage, arranged by the installation and four placed chairs.  Johnson, again marking a change in time and space, giving importance to what is being witnessed, quickly finishes the ritual with embodied and solemn movement.  And then the lights go to black, and similar to the events after two people experience the lightening quick change of marriage: the audience claps, congratulations are exchanged, and the crowd continues with their evening.

Erica Womack is a Salt Lake based choreographer. She currently teaches at SLCC.

Dance Outdoors: Justice for Some? at Art Access and Movement Forum at the Arts Festival

Despite the common perception that dance is most frequently found in performing arts venues, Utah’s dance artists have always stepped outside of theater settings to find new venues for their work. Sofia Gorder’s recent work with inFluxdance at Art Access and Danell Hathaway’s direction of Movement Forum at the Utah Arts Festival are only two examples of location shifting audience expectations to produce unique experiences.

At June’s Gallery Stroll, Art Access, in partnership with Brolly Arts, was host to an interdisciplinary evening of art exploring issues of social justice. The Friday night opening included a curated exhibit by Terry Jackson-Mitchell, choreography by Sofia Gorder of inFluxdance and other projects/performances by groups including the Drum Bus.

At Art Access these criticisms fell away. The setting of the Artspace City Center parking lot allowed the issues explored to cast themselves into the larger space rather than falling flat in the theater. In the open air, Gorder’s work read as an earnest exploration of the intersections between abortion, religion, sexuality and poverty as she opted to focus on personal narratives of performers, including Ariane Audd, Scotty Hardwig and Alison Spehar, rather than the historical footage of past iterations. Narratives were delivered to a microphone much as at a protest and played alongside simple and repetitive structures reminiscent of a body swallowed in a larger revolt.Art, and particularly performance, has a complex relationship to social justice. In dance, it can be difficult to use the moving body to relate topical concerns; something so inextricably linked to identity is already so layered and multi-faceted that to explore it directly often becomes heavy handed. inFluxdance in particular has dealt with this problem, trying to mount the dance “Justice for Some?” over the last few years at various settings in Salt Lake City, Virginia and Montreal. Criticisms of these performances have consistently reflected that the dance, while relevant and well-intentioned, is not producing new information about the conflicts of choice and equal rights it addresses.

Inside, the tone was similarly direct. Rather than being left to ruminate about the visual art’s relationship to justice, visitors had the opportunity to engage with the artists, who were on hand discussing their process. Jackson-Mitchell notably shared her history as a survivor of the racist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, which has inspired her work.

While this collaborative format addressed particularly complex issues, the following day at the Arts Festival, improvisation group Movement Forum was able to share their work in a much lighter way for new audiences. Performing some of their improvisational scores alongside the music of the Salt Lake Whalefishers opened up their form of improvisation in a casual way. Similar to inFluxdance, Movement Forum has received criticism (most recently in SLUG magazine) for presenting a grab bag of improvisational strategies, so the Arts Fest was a perfect fit for their work. Their performance was able to hold the attention of the crowd while allowing space for reflection on how it may relate to the more formal performances on the main stage. Similar to the protest language of Gorder floating across the Art Access parking lot, the movement jokes of Movement Forum were engergized by the festival environment and a great live band, something that would have been lost in the quiet solitude of the theater.

Ashley Anderson directs loveDANCEmore events as part of her non-profit, “ashley anderson dances”.  She is also the dance editor for 15 BYTES where this post is shared, along with other coverage of dance in SLC.

Daughters of Mudson

In its second installment, loveDANCEmore’s Daughters of Mudson proves to be a viable resource for artists who not only value the investigative nature of choreography, from inception to presentation, but who dare to reexamine and refine their work, allowing the audience to be privy to both the successes and challenges of the process and product in an intimate way.  The stripped-down, streamlined yet “rough around the edges” feel of the studio theater of the Rose

Though a variety of aesthetics and artists were presented, many converging choreographic devices emerged early on, ranging from nostalgic musical scores to the use of repetition and motif to create specific structures.  These unintentional but recurrent markers gave the audience a through line, suggesting a “choreographic formula,” which, depending on one’s viewing palette, was informative and fully investigated.

“Skewered: An unrelated summation of the whole” by Efren Corado Garcia and Tara McArthur revealed several tantalizing vignettes as a disjointed relationship between them unfolded.  Emphasized by mobile lights and building to a satisfying unison phrase and a final “face-off” pose, the piece dissected, restricted and obstructed the body through a puzzle-piece narrative.  The shadows thrown on the stark walls added another texture and would be a welcomed exploration as it could further the interplay between the dancers and light.

The luscious improvised movement of Josie Patterson-Halford’s “point b” was captivating as the repetitive sweeping of the arms, expressive torso, exquisite lines and attention to each movement complimented the sound score which reflected upon a new mother’s hopes, fears and wishes for each defining moment of her baby’s life. Patterson-Halford’s use of diagonal line and one entrance and exit point with a continual build onto established movement solidified the connection between the relationship.  At one point, Patterson-Halford began removing articles of clothing, suggesting either a shedding or giving of one’s self.  As only two socks and one layer of a shirt was removed, the gesture seemed to be more of an after thought than a poignant exhibit in context to the text.

“Temporary Triptych” by Katherine Adler, in collaboration with four dancers, also drew upon entrances/exits and the traveling diagonal to survey a quirky collection of random connections.  With dancers in jeans and Bob Dylan music to boot, the piece felt like an alternative, tongue-in-cheek Gap commercial. The movement was endearing and surprising at times; complete with encoded gestures, smirks, tiptoed shimmies and many, many vivacious stag leaps.

Being able to see both first drafts and final performances of  “Mi Corazon” by Eileen Rojas and “Neils” by Ashley Anderson was intriguing and gratifying.  Both choreographers’ use of repetition, musical selection, strong focus/facings and counterpoint helped set the foundation of each piece; however, each choreographer fleshed out their investigations in very different ways.  Rojas’ internal dialogue portrayed through simplified gestures asked the universal questions, “Why do we love who we love?” while examining the driving force between interpersonal relationships. The repetition of the fingers incrementally tracing down the centerline of the body had a lasting residue, much like the overlaying text on a particularly engrossing sound score.  Just as Eileen and partner Nathan Shaw approached movement with a perceptive, palpable touch, so did the subject matter, asking the audience to continue the conversation long after the piece concluded.

Anderson’s masterful use of counterpoint and analogy to songs performed by artists who all share the name of Neil was a highlight of the evening. Using similar structural configurations as the other pieces, Anderson’s playful way of taunting the audience with subtle interjections of irony (like horribly loud colorful sweaters and random bursts of oddly-crafted gestures) helped keep the piece fresh, mischievous and lively. The piece included songs by Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond and Neil Young, each song highlighting one dancer while the others completed tasks; each round, though, included a slight change in order, direction, movement or energy, keeping the mind alert to the many different versions at play.

At just under an hour and showcasing an eclectic array of artists, Daughters of Mudson is an accessible and refreshing reprieve; it creates a fine balance between process and product and continues to support the innovative dance artists in Utah.

Danell Hathaway directs Movement Forum and teaches dance at Olympus High School.

Screendance in review

This Sunday and Monday saw the beginning of the University of Utah’s Ninth Annual International Screendance Festival. Sunday’s screening was a juried program of student  work from the US, the UK, South Africa and Rwanda. Last night’s was the collaborative work of real life partners Simon Fildes and Katrina McPherson. (You might remember her from her visit and workshop in 2011). We were treated to the world premiere of their new film the time it takes, a choreo-cinematic exploration of the Isle of South Uist, a strikingly wet landscape in the Outer Hebrides.

Ellen Bromberg, who directs the festival and the University’s screendance program, put it best as she was introducing Fildes, who’s teaching a workshop on editing. She suggested that the sense of immediacy which is usually the first thing lost in the transfer from live dance to the camera, is exactly what Fildes lends McPherson’s dancerly intelligence through his editing expertise. Their work also has a nuanced relation to environment from which Utah artists could learn a lot, despite the fact that lush Scotland couldn’t look any more different that the San Rafael Swell or the Salt Flats. They have clearly given a lot of thought to the politics of what it means to settle in a compelling location and to use it as the canvas for a body of work.

Sense of place was also crucial to many of the student works on Sunday. Abandon, by Virginia Commonwealth choreographer Charli Brissey was a droll structuralist experiment revealing as much about the quietly charged landscape of a Richmond neighborhood as it did about the woman who calmly walked toward the camera as it receded through the duration of the work. Haildance, by University of Oregon students Molly Everts and Robert Uehlin, rendered a similar formal brilliance out of a home movie of esctatic choroegraphic spontenaity in a suburban hailstorm played backward then forward. Vulnerability, directed by Ndoli Kayiranga Ezechiel and co-produced by the Kwetu Film Institute, won the small cash prize and deservedly so. This incredible film said more in it’s ninety seconds than most screendances manage in fifteen or twenty minutes. It owed much to the performance of Eugene Dushime, whose nervous energy lent the film’s depiction of Kigali, Rwanda; a striking claustrophobia.

Local choreographers/recent grads also made a strong showing. Wyn Pottratz’s Antarctica and Scotty Hardwig’s we walk blood earth explored Utah landscapes and Rachael L. Shaw’s Symbiosis depicted a handsome young couple sizing each other up in a rainy out-of-focus half-sleep in the sculpture next to Capitol Theater downtown. In the lobby before the show, other films were projected on the ground and on the walls, including Tanja London’s Imprint, which featured Katherine Adler and Amy Falls finding their cool in the woods. London and fellow student Claire Bagley should be commended for their hard work in helping Bromberg put all of this on.

This Friday, Fildes has curated an evening of notable screendances from Europe and Australia. It’s at the Post Theater at 7:30 and costs seven dollars, cash only. He’s also showing an installation, Crux, which deals with rock climbing and Laban notation. It’s on display at the Marriot Library on the first floor for the duration of the week. Both will be worth seeing.

Samuel Hanson makes dances, videos and coffees. He often writes for loveDANCEmore.

SUITE at Sugar Space

Along with loveDANCEmore’s Mudson, Sugar Space has become a “go-to” venue for seeing alternative and experimental dance, along with dance film. SUITE: Women Defining Space is another fine example.

Given that the number of female dancers in Utah far exceeds that of male dancers, one could legitimately ask what the rationale of a “women only” dance event is. But the quality of the choreography and dancers is remarkable enough to make SUITE a worthwhile “dance night out.”

The program begins with “Dust Rising” by Krista Di Lello of Body Logic Dance Company. The dance was inspired by Di Lello’s grandmother, who was prematurely put in a nursing home for dementia and drugged, leading to an untimely death. The title refers to dust rising from covered furniture in a no-longer lived-in home. The dance itself features three dancers in ivory gowns defining both themselves and the space they find themselves in through gestures that reflect the traditional feminine as well as the search for a lost self: looking in a mirror, brushing back hair, wrapping skirts into bundles and others.

Courtney Norris’s “Tis a Gift” is a deceptively simple dance set to traditional folk songs, and featuring Norris and Erica Womack. The dancers alternately dance with and without music, remaining intriguingly still while music plays, silently asking if stillness can be considered “dance,” and finish dancing unaccompanied. Womack’s lyricism lights up the dance, while Norris’s polished choreography demonstrates that it truly is “the gift to be simple.”

Aleisha Paspuel contributed two dance films to SUITE. The first, “Shadows,” features three women dancing and playing on the beach by a body of water.  While it explores the topic of defining space, it lacks focus and cohesiveness and was the weakest link in the program.

Paspuel’s second dance film of the evening, on the other hand, is a charming, unique, creative film featuring only the two dancers’ feet and legs, along with a few geese and ducks. In “”Footage” the feet wake up, walk, dance and play in the park, and ultimately tell a heartwarming story about friendship and love. Kimberly Campa and Kristine Keliiliki’s feet “act” better than many Hollywood actors and demonstrate that well-trained feet really can communicate.

Katherine Adler’s introduction as a professional choreographer, “From Walt, to you, from Us,” also explores not only women defining space but women defining themselves through their bodies and movements. Adler’s choreography is challenging and provocative, and her dancing shows a virtuosity and passion that I haven’t seen from her when dancing in others’ choreography.  This piece, which was originally conceived as a dance for one woman and one man, explores feminism from a viewpoint of women being different, but equal to, men. The piece is strong enough that the device of writing and drawing on paper taped to the wall included in the piece serves as more of a distraction than a support for this impressive debut.

SUITE is a wonderful, informal way to become acquainted (or better acquainted) with some of Utah’s best female dancers and choreographers outside of the major dance companies. It will be performed again Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7, at 8 pm, at Sugar Space. Visitwww.thesugarspace.com for more information and tickets.

Sarah Thompson is a retired physician and psychiatrist, as well as a writer and a fan of the arts. Her writing has been published in a variety of magazines and textbooks and she is currently working on a short story and a novel. This review is published in conjunction with 15 BYTES.