Ririe Woodbury's Momentum

Showcases can be difficult for artists and audiences; they come with potentially clunky transitions, disparate aesthetic concerns and scheduling conflicts between casts. Ririe Woodbury’s 2015 iteration of “Momentum” dispelled these difficulties for a successful two evening run of works by current company members and alumni in the Rose Wagner Blackbox. Each piece, however different, fulfilled its own concept, broadly representing the choreographic range of Ririe-Woodbury dancers.  

Some of the works presented were imagistic, beginning with Lehua Estrada’s “Cedar, Ash and Apple.” Three ballgown clad women appeared in a landscape of empty branches and shredded paper with the sound and appearance of leaves. The dancers took a surreal romp in which it was easy to marvel at the precision of the cast, particularly Kylie Rae Lloyd. It’s unclear how these women appeared in this world but nice be swept away in enjoyment of their moment.

“… So a path I walk”  by Chia-Chi Chiang relied equally on imagery (and interestingly, paper) to ground the material. A duet for Yebel Gallegos and Chiang’s young son, Jaden Tu, the dance centered on vignettes with rolls of butcher paper (making a pathway, drawing hopscotch, tracing a hand). Concluding with the magical appearance of paper airplanes. The work could be read in a number of ways: a meditation on aging, a reflection on parenting, an exploration of mortality.

Momentum co-creators, Jill Voorhees Edwards and Juan Carlos Claudio each presented dances utilizing abstract and virtuosic movement structures. The former was compelling in its gentleness and the second in its urgency. Both artists work full-time as university educators and the night was a way for them to the broaden the reach of their ideas. This was particularly true in the case of Claudio whose cast was comprised of students. Some, like Natalie Barnes Jones, are soon-to-be-graduates looking to make their way in a complicated field. For Jones, who is extraordinarily easeful, it’s an important way to remain visible as she departs academia.

A dance film choreographed by Jillian Harris was another extension of an academic project. “Red Earth Calling,” was supported in part by Temple University, where Harris teaches. When the credits began with a woman in Arches National Park, I cringed at the suspicion that aggressive improvisation would unfold. Surprisingly the concept was novel, equal parts love story and murder mystery. While it didn’t settle into either identity fully, it was refreshing in its degree of difference from common tropes in the form.

Bradley Beakes was the only current company member featured in Momentum, rounding out the show with “His Red Letter Day.” The solo was a lesson in the importance of continuing to workshop choreography in new spaces with new audiences. Recently presented at Mudson works-in-progress, 12 Minutes Max and the Greater Salt Lake Fringe Festival, the dance reached new clarity in lighting design and staging in this iteration. If his voice signals what’s to come for the company I, for one, am thrilled.

Ashley Anderson directs loveDANCEmore programs as part of her non-profit, "ashley anderson dances." The reviews here are shared with 15 BYTES, where she serves as dance editor.  See more at ashleyandersondances.com

This review was edited to reflect that Natalie Jones is a senior; the piece originally stated that she was a previous graduate. 

PORTABLES, a preview

Below is a preview of a profile of Claire Porter for the September edition of 15 BYTES. Her solo work, “PORTABLES,” will be presented this Saturday at the Rose and the full piece will include additional notes on that performance.

 

 

The Washington Post once described Claire Porter’s solo performance “Green Dress Circle,” as “more reminiscent of Lily Tomlin than any extreme avant-garde type.” Viewing her recent rehearsal process with Repertory Dance Theater it’s clear that this brand of accessibility is something the company is after but also that the points of entry into her process are much more expansive.

The tentatively titled “Begging the Question,” draws segments of movement material from a work for students at SUNY Purchase. Claire described that she prefers to work through material over time, unpacking contents to develop various potentials and often distilling group works into the solo forms she’s known for.

In rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon, Claire began rotating out two dancers to observe rather than perform. Her value of dancer feedback is unique and she offered that it “makes them more responsible for the piece. They get to see the piece and it changes dramatically.” For someone who has a short period of time to work, in this case two weeks, a high level of accountability and trust is vital.

As Tyler Orcutt and Justin Bass sat beside me, the full piece remained a mystery but several aspects were clear. The dancers would each work through vignettes of movement and text surrounding the nature of questions while other dancers periodically framed the action. As an ensemble, they traveled like a rag-tag band of acrobats who just can’t find success.

Before the dancers began, Claire gave an urgent reminder about locating distinctions: “exaggerate big and small! It’s too middle, it’s too middle! Remember, it’s not about slow and quick. Instead be thinking, sustain and quick, sustain and quick.” Afterward there was discussion between Claire and rehearsal director Lynne Larson about whether the location of these differences is found in the body or instead, at external, spatial touchstones. I fall into the latter camp and told Claire late who I found believable in the performance of less controlled moments in the space. She had a gentleness in knowing who she believed and what she was drawn to: the soft tone of Lacie Scott’s voice or the earnest spinning of Lauren Curley that peppers the middle of the dance.

These nuanced perceptions translate into some of the other feedback that afternoon. At one point she suggested to Efren Corado that when he circled his head it “looks like a swish and not a fffphewwum.” Although this is silly, in the moment and with gentle gesture, it made perfect sense. Her feedback is at times more precise and she finds her study of Laban “valuable for giving feedback. [Within Laban] there are lots of ways to work: there is phrasing, weight, space…” She tells the dancers clear corrections to the script, notes on patterning and listens to their concerns about potential collisions, ultimately noting that “I like the almost bumped into…”

Claire is aware that commissions by companies or universities are frequently meant to lighten a program.  When asked about whether she purposefully meets these implicit mandates she confesses that she makes what she’s going to make and yes, it typically includes comedic aspects. She goes on to acknowledge the development of humor didn’t begin purposefully:  “…maybe it started in high school when I didn’t know what I was doing. But later, I was just  playing with theme and variation. When the audience responded I thought oh, I understand, this is funny.”

Like most choreographers she wrestles with the feeling of creating the same dance on repeat.  She suggests that a solution might be to invent a problem, “that things can really change when the only action you can make is problem solving.”

Still thinking about choreography, Claire drew an arc on her rehearsal scripted, labeling three components she feels make-up a dance: “Content, then Structure, then Theme. The content is the movement material, the music, costumes, the whole thing, the whole shebang. Structure is, of course, how it’s organized. And theme; the theme is ‘well, what is this?’”

Thinking aloud about how to continue to reinvent the process she encourages that an artist might consider to “ask the theme what the structure is.” In the work for RDT it seems that circling unanswerable questions bounces between structure, theme, and material. And I am delighted to see where it lands.


Dance on the Fringe

The Fringe Festival, a four day long showcase of local talent, and yet another reason to love the bursting at its seams art community in Salt Lake City, featured work by Bradley Beakes followed by Samantha Matsukawa on closing night.

Beakes show, “id”, gave us four works varied in tone, technique and impulse.  “id” opened with His Red Letter Day, a solo performed by Beakes that travels to the past while being grounded in the visceral now.  The piece begins with quick movement through space and the pace and energy of a man in his prime.  We hear a muddled, but decipherable, voice-over of an older male reminiscing on war, faith, and love.  The piece alternates between charged athletic movement that refuses to settle with dimly lit, grounded retrospection.  Beakes is an arresting performer that blends power with weight and navigates this personal tribute with skill.  The piece ends with questions about and acceptance of our unavoidable immortality, and Beakes in his third costume change of the piece, this time showing the flesh and vulnerability of man.

Another stand-out piece of the night, Intercepting Light, was choreographed and performed by Beakes with Tara McArthur.  Both dancers move with clarity and intention, and paired with start-stop timing the piece maintains tension and cool drama.  These are two dancers that just look good together.   I didn’t want to miss a single gesture or second of movement, and so I shifted back and forth in my seat as the duo traveled through space.  I noticed several others doing the same.  McArthur holds center stage for much of the duet, while Beakes accompanies in the shadows.  Eventually the structure loosens and they find a more shared and symbiotic relationship.  

When There Was Here and bODY pOLITIC rounded out the evening, featuring a large group of local dance artists and showcasing Beake’s range in approach. When There Was Here utilizes a minimal yet dramatic score from Max Richter and lighting that focused the piece. The dancers navigate moving out of the floor and off each other with skill and succeed in forming a community of physicality.  While choreographically weaker than other works in the evening, it did represent a more somatic approach to the body.

In bODY pOLITIC  we are blessed with a world where dancers move virtuosically to the beat, smell and pick at one another, and experience a dynamic conversation with varied approaches to the word “Hey”, all while wearing blue lipstick.  The dancing is explosive and fun, and the ceiling is literally broken through when we see Bashaun Williams crawling above the catwalk.  The show closed with well-deserved and enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

Thirty minutes later Samantha Matsukawa was on stage showing her collaborative work “12345678910” alongside Florian Alberge and Eliza Tappan.  The three stumbled onto the stage in formal wear that somehow still felt hip, and alternate between looking like deer in headlights to smooth skilled modern dancers.  Throughout, magic revealed messages written on rolled up pieces of fabric and ultimately revealed the uniqueness of each dancer.  Alberge had a lengthy solo blending magic with physical comedy, and judging from the laughter in the audience, it was well received.  The work was well suited for the theatre-heavy festival as it deftly blended theatre with dance, and gave new patrons a doorway into our sometimes alienating world.  Matsukawa is a young dance-maker that offers a fresh point of view, and it will be exciting to see her further flesh out her ideas.

Erica Womack regularly contributes reviews to loveDANCEmore. She is also an adjunct professor at SLCC and has a new choreographic project sponsored by loveDANCEmore being presented this fall.