Performance Art Festival & notes on reviews

Below are some photos Winston Inoway shared of the annual Performance Art Festival at the Main Library earlier this month. A review of the 2014 festival can be found here. Although no one wrote about the PAF this year please consider commenting on the thread below if you saw the works presented and want to share your thoughts.

Because we are a peer based blog and performance journal most readers know that we rely on interested writers to reach out with performances they want to cover. The same goes for the previews and profiles we share with 15 BYTES. As our organization has grown, we also have a new reliance on artists sending press material about their work so we can make sure to cover it.

Since loveDANCEmore programs began in 2010 the number of reviews we post annually has almost doubled with every passing year. This trend of consistent shows by independent artists and their creation of larger collaboratives is incredible. But that trend also means the freelance nature of our peer reviews has to shift. Artists with upcoming shows, please submit a press release to admin@lovedancemore.org at least two weeks prior to your show. We want to continue covering the diverse range of performances across the Wasatch Front; if there is something we missed we hope our readers can help fill in the gaps.

Aerial Arts — Children’s Review

This year, Aerial Arts of Utah presented a child-friendly matinee through RDT’s outreach series, Ring Around the Rose.  I took two of my children, Zachary (4) and Kate (2).  The show was a perfect length and with tickets at five dollars, and children two and under free, it was an affordable Saturday activity.  All those involved did an excellent job, and I admit that I shed a happy tear watching my children become transfixed by the magic and ability of the human body, their little hands clapping in tune with everyone else’s.  Here is what they had to say about the show…

Zachary:  I liked the show and it was fun.  I liked all the moves you did.  I liked it when you guys were twisted around in your curtains.  I hope you had a good day dancing and your moves are pretty cool.

I saw them hanging upside down with their legs in in their curtains and swinging on big rings.  It was a nice lovely time and I liked everybody, even the clown.  When it was over I got a green balloon, and even saw the person with the really long legs.

And when asked about the show, Kate, who is not a big talker, just said “Thank-you.”

Erica Womack is a choreographer based in SLC. She also teaches at SLCC and contributes regularly to loveDANCEmore.

RDT’s RITUAL

Repertory Dance Theatre’s RITUAL marked the first performance of the company’s 50th anniversary season. While the company’s repertory itself is steeped in history, RITUAL was also a celebration of the company’s dancers and choreographers over the decades. A photo gallery of past company dancers hung in the lobby of the Rose Wagner, and RDT alumna Lynne Wimmer compiled a documentary-style video featuring a host of past and present RDT affiliates paying homage to the company and its continuing legacy.

Those speaking in front of Wimmer’s camera in “For the Love of Dance: Reflections on RDT’s 50 Years” emphasized the importance of RDT, its repertory, and opportunities gleaned through time spent working with the company. A deep respect and passion for RDT and its mission by the dancers was apparent in the evening’s performance.

Six of RDT’s eight dancers gave us a taste of the clarity and poise they bring to the stage in Chant, a brief but satisfying foray into the classical modern world of unitards and arms held in low and balletic roundedness. Tim Wengerd’s choreography from 1967 gave us glimpses of Merce Cunningham and even of Martha Graham (whom Wengerd danced for), broken up occasionally by coquettish knee swings while seated.

Energizer (Section III) by Molissa Fenley highlighted the stamina and performative abilities of RDT’s men. Section I of the same work, performed later on the evening’s program, similarly highlighted the stamina and precision of RDT’s women. Both sections of Energizer left me wondering, at times, “When will it end?”: repetitive scores by Mark Freedman accompanied rather than propelled the oft-repeated motifs, phrases, and formations, many of which were executed while prancing. Variety, however, was found in each dancer’s approach to Fenley’s mix of both quirky footwork and classically identifiable steps (stag leaps, chaînés, etc.). Efrén Corado Garcia drew the audience in with his passionate engagement, Justin Bass with a subtle sensuality, Dan Higgins with a stalwart strength, and Tyler Orcutt with his lithely airborne leaps. The dancers of RDT understand how to imbue the works they are given with continued relevance via both the clarity and excitement with which they perform.

Pigs & Fishes, created originally for the Alvin Ailey Company by Elisa Monte in 1982, featured more full-bodied movement and groundedness than Wengerd and Fenley’s upright dances. Ursula Perry had a stunning opening solo before she was joined by the group, who entered rocking their pelvises back and forth while flexing their hands. Similar to Wengerd and Fenley, Monte finds power in form; her use of shapes, repetition, and formations all solidified the strength of the group as a unit. Pigs & Fishes exhibited a noticeable continued growth alongside Glenn Branca’s avant-garde ambient guitar score. It’s a different experience when we know the apex of the dance is approaching: where Fenley keeps us guessing and the effect is durational, Monte guides us with a traceable arc that is more narrative in nature.

Dabke, by frequent RDT choreographer Zvi Gotheiner, premiered in New York in 2012 and takes its name from “dabkeh” – the national dance of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Palestine, and of which Israel has its own version (Gotheiner was born and raised in Israel). The curtain opened on the first group section to reveal an exposed backstage area, and subsequent sections meandered through different “subplots” in the dance’s structure.

A solo by Jaclyn Brown exhibited dynamic stamps, whacking kicks, and tossing of the hair. Bass lifted Orcutt in a duet while Orcutt continued to push off the floor with his hands. Garcia removed his shirt, engaged in tumultuous inner dialogue with it, and was joined by three others who entered and removed their shirts in solidarity. Lauren Curley and Higgins had a fairly collaborative duet, despite each exhibiting moments of quaking in place and moments that felt rougher in touch than others; when three women entered and accusingly pushed Higgins offstage away from Curley, I wondered what he had done to warrant such treatment.

After diverging in many directions, the dancers came together in a line to make obscene gestures at the audience. Clearly rebelling against a force from either the dance or the outside world, it was unclear where their frustration truly stemmed from. Billed to be about global conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, the dance undermined a nuanced exploration with this display. Each dancer did perform this section with gusto with RITUAL demonstrating, at large, the dancers’ versatility and strength.

Amy Falls coordinates loveDANCEmore’s Mudson series and has a BFA in modern dance from the University of Utah.

Most of our reviews are shared with 15 BYTES. For “RITUAL” we had two different writers, click here for Geoff Wichert’s take.

a review of Fall Season

Ririe-Woodbury’s Fall Season showcased three dances, two of which were world premieres, this past weekend.  Each piece showcased six dancers, the first two with guest Breeanne Saxton, and the last with Alexandra Jane Bradshaw making a return after an injury.  The company looked strong, dancing with confidence, nuance and polished athleticism.

Adam Barruch’s prima materia offered a clear sense of craft and traditional partnering where the women shine.  The stage was set with three transparent pillars that divide the space and blur the dancers into hazy forms as they move behind them.  This gives an otherwise crystalline work an air of ambiguity.  It was beautiful to watch the dancers show us line, breath and shape, and this is a piece that doesn’t polarize or offend.  It shows lovely dancing and clear emerging relationships; it is "the first material", before life (the show) unravels with questions and tension.

Shift, choreographed by Daniel Charon, wastes no time in establishing intent as the lights go up to Mary Lyn Graves dancing vivaciously in a bright red dress, while Bradley Beakes faces upstage pantomiming being on his phone, oblivious to the world around him.  This work, which is part one of the trilogy Together Alone, has several truncated sections; a fun dance party, an exploration of isolation within a group, a young couple in duet, and even a section evoking the beloved musical West Side Story.  All these sections add to a disjointed and non-linear experience, not unlike the experience of scrolling Facebook and reading statuses of civil unrest, displaced refugees, celebrity follies and cute cats.

The idea that our virtual lives are perhaps more interesting, or at least more commanding than our flesh and blood is again confronted when the dancers’ shadows are projected on the cyc.  On the cyc they are clear, sculpted, and larger than life, making their real bodies on the stage seem terribly ordinary.  When given the choice, what do we chose to see?

At times it was hard to decipher if Shift was being cheeky or was making an unapologetic departure from the cool abstraction many expect of modern dance.  A duet using the projection of texts (complete with emoticons) show us a juvenile tumult, a cellphone loudly ringing interrupts the dancing, the dancers stark and undressed become trapped in the image of their phones…whether serious or obvious, cheeky or scattered, the message was clear: Get Off Your Phone. But this message becomes more complicated when one considers all the exposure and advertising companies garner via social media.  Before coming to the show I had read a preview, promotional material, and several status updates surrounding Fall Season.  So maybe I should get offline, but not so fast that I miss ‘liking’ Ririe Woodbury’s status update.

The show ended with States Rendered, a Doug Varone piece choreographed last year which features video design by Ellen Bromberg.  This piece hardly settles or solidifies; the dancers are like popcorn in hot oil, simmering and then exploding through the space. The electronic sound mixed with black and white video gives off tension and contributes to a rich, if not overwhelming, sensory experience.  Perhaps instead of showing us what our modern life with technology has become like Charon did, Varone exaggerates it until it becomes almost unbearable to experience.  Alexandra Jane Bradshaw has a strong solo juxtaposing breath and tension, and like the piece generally, hints at aggression and violence.  The grey muted costumes echo a structure that is just shy of finding one thing, and just as an image is found, it is broken and dissipates into another. The piece ends mid-sentence with the dancers barely making it into a pile downstage and then the lights go black and it’s over.

Erica Womack is a regular contributor to loveDANCEmore. She is also a choreographer, performer and adjunct faculty member at SLCC. This piece is shared with 15 BYTES. 

RDT LINK series: Brine review

BRINE, produced as part of Repertory Dance Theatre’s LINK Series, featured choreography by Sara Pickett, Symmer Andrews, Ashley Creek, Sarah Donohue, and Maddi Jones. The LINK Series has recently presented other local artists Graham Brown and My Turkey Sandwich,  providing each group with rehearsal and performance space at RDT’s home theater, the Rose Wagner.

Sarah Donohue’s “Still Life With Flight” was the standout of the evening. Performed by Lyndi Belnap and Jocelyn Waite, the duet demanded technical precision but also nuance as the dancers moved on and off a long wooden bench. Pivoting between wide fourth positions and off-kilter arabesques while standing, they fidgeted purposefully and gracefully while seated on the bench. The restless gesture sequences unfolded in unison perfectly executed by Belnap and Waite as they crossed their arms, fixed their hair, and rested chins on hands. Their engagement, directed both toward each other and the audience, was captivating and subtly playful throughout.

“An-other”, created and performed by Pickett and Jones, also toyed with playfulness, this time in conjunction with hesitation. Beginning and concluding the dance kneeling side by side, Pickett and Jones played with gesture, weight-sharing, and their relationship to each other. Several times, the two women held hands, one arm crossed over the other, like the four cygnets in Swan Lake. Moments such as these and performative facial expressions provided points of interest, but the duet itself ended nearly as it began, with little development occurring despite musical potential.

Pickett’s additional works on the program featured larger casts of dancers. In “Solitude, The System”, two soloists existed in opposition to the group framed by dangling lightbulbs. “Play Forward” was set to the upbeat tunes of Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela and had the dancers doing jazzy drags, chassé-ing in a circle, and even snapping their fingers in a moment of pause. High kicks were punctuated with grins in a large group unison section.

Pickett’s entertaining dances differed considerably from two more topical dances by Andrews and Creek. In “Cognizant Regression” the stage was dimly lit save for a strip the dancers inhabited alongside a lone chair (whose purpose was never made clear). Here and there, one would murmur something to the other - “It’s going to be okay” or “I’m not really sure”. The two would then lean in as if to tell a secret or to embrace, but the true nature of their touch in these moments was not revealed. A satisfaction was found in these vague brevities and Andrews and Creek displayed clarity of movement throughout, despite conceptual uncertainties.

Andrews’ “Verve” was set to a very brief recording of astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, to which the group of dancers executed movements that struggled to relate to the text. Clarity was established as the dancers looked directly toward the audience when Tyson spoke “...the universe is in us”, but the short piece ended before any further relationship between the dancing and text could develop.

Creek’s “Apolitical Discourse” also utilized text, in lyrical form by hip hop group Deltron 3030. The opening trio of dancers had strips of fabric tied over their mouth or eyes, the “shhh” gesture appeared regularly as a motif, Deltron 3030 rapped about “crushing corporations” and “global apartheid”, and TSA-style pat-downs were conducted on dancers by those who repeatedly stepped out of a large, moving line. While “Apolitical Discourse” existed on the brink of a statement about freedoms (of speech, of personal space, among others), the specific direction of this statement was lost in the chaos of many ideas.

BRINE not only hoped to create one evening of dances by the five choreographers featured, but aims to serve artists in the Salt Lake City area as an ongoing creative collective. With dance as a potentially exclusive profession, the more artists that are able to present and perform, the better. Creator’s Grid and Mudson are among other choreographic platforms that provide local artists with such opportunities.

While the inclusion of multiple voices positively serves the community, viewing a full performance of this nature and of this length does present a challenge both for makers and viewers in terms of its vast range of material and topics. When emphasis is placed on the quantity involved, the depth of exploration in each individual work can suffer as a result.

Amy Falls performs, choreographs, and administrates in the Salt Lake City dance community. She serves as program coordinator for loveDANCEmore’s works-in-progress series, Mudson.