On Stage: Behind the Scenes at newMoves

May 25, 2012

Everyone seemed to be elated over the collective strength fourth edition of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater’s newMoves Festival. Certainly each dance piece had its own merit and was easily distinguishable from the others, which you can read about in my article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

But I wasn’t able to touch on the other side of the Festival, the symposiums that were offered not only for local artists and those participating in the Festival, but the Kelly-Strayhorn itself. Top-notch panels on Friday and Saturday led to equally top-notch networking throughout the three-day event. Here are some thumbnail sketches of the proceedings, all of them with pertinent information for dance artists:

Friday

Residencies That Work: Artists and Presenters Working Together with Marya  Wethers (New York Live Arts), Craig Peterson (Philly Fringe Festival) and Kyle Abraham (NYC/PGH choreographer).

Craig likes to create a sense of expectation about a residency because “artists should engage in research and development” with monthly meetings and experts. It’s important to “get an intersection between presenting and process.” He also talked about the need for rehearsal space to be subsidized, “how to really be an artist in the context of where you live.” He is “hands on,” matching choreographers with others who look at their work and making artists show every week to see what works (although there was some dissent on the last point).

Marya is involved with the Studio Series (12 artists, 100 hours of free studio time, to be used over 12 months, informal performance(s) over the course to be determined by artist); Fresh Tracks (for emerging choreographers, 6 artists – for many their first fully supported performance  – lighting, etc. -  one month of professional development, including fund raising and grant writing); The Resident Commission Artists Program (commission and produce for touring, there is actually a salary to support being an artist full-time) and The Suitcase Fund (opportunities for dialogue and exchange between nations).

Kyle asks “how I can see the work in its entirety before it goes up?”  He used the National Dance Project to fund his start, then applied for residencies (to get everyone together, pay rehearsal fees and per diem). He mentions On the Boards (8 days, had technical support the whole time); National Production Network (4 to 6 organizations came on board to present the work and three gave residencies); Bates and Jacob’s Pillow. “I feel like time is the most important part of dance.”

10 or More Meaningful Ways of Engaging Community in Contemporary Dance with Staycee Pearl (STAYCEE PEARL dance project, PGH), Ben Pryor (tbspMGMT), Sidra Bell (NYC choreographer).

Sidra has a great Facebook page, filled with photos and the latest news, but admits that she is glued to her laptop throughout the day. She says that artists “have to be more proactive.”

The Kelly-Strayhorn has helped Staycee to increase the conversation around her and audience numbers. She mentions Pittsburgh’s Attack Theatre and Squonk Opera as local organizations that bring ideas to the table.

Ben asks, “What does the artist have to say and how do we shape a frame around it? He mentions Sarah Coffey of Vermont Performance Lab, who sits down with artists and explains resources available to them. One time an artist needed fish skin lanterns and she arranged a sewing bee with the local women. He goes on to say that the artist must find “your unique way of engaging people that is honestly you.” One good one – Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), where you can perform, but sometimes the artist just has to “hang out” in the social spaces.

Other comments from the group: “Figure out what will work for the artists, community and presenters.” (It’s all about communicating up front.) “Do you know your audience?”

Artist Talk with Reggie Wilson (NYC artistic director/choreographer), janera solomon moderating.

Reggie had the aura of a dance guru at the festival, as if everyone wanted to touch him or be touched by him. It was easy to see why in this interview, as if he was The Voice of the attending artists.

And he had plenty to say.

Reggie and janera started with the day he won the Doris Duke award and the feeling surrounding that event. He is still saying to himself “don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,” because the award puts the money in the hands of the artists. He noted how artists used to get the money, but it shifted to funders and presenters, as if “we didn’t have the maturity to manage our own money.”

“You can be the agent of your future,” he intoned to attendees.

But, there will be “tons of things we don’t get.” Or they might ask, “why did I get that?” He cautioned them to start planning, to be accountable. “This is what I am — put it out to the universe and see what comes back to you.”

But he also warned the artists to “try to keep focused on what’s helpful.” And “try to be comfortable” with your options, even if you’re working in a church basement. He makes a dance “because this is the way it needs to be expressed. The more I focus on my need to do that, people’s reactions could shift.”

Reggie warned about “being really honest with yourself. If a door closes, don’t let that distract you.”

Build relationships. “If somebody is compelled by your work, it’s worth your energy to empower that.” But there are people who have hated his work. “When conversing, they still don’t like it, but they might have a friend who has an extensive program about weeds infecting grass.” In other words, they might acknowledge your differences, but recognize the fact that others might like your work.

And about the process: “There are two basic theses I’ve been continuing to be fascinated by — post-modernism and its relationship to the African diaspora culture and Protestant Christianity and church traditions. I like  to put things together in a ‘quilty’ kind of way. Then I go back and see what’s interesting. It’s kind of like making a cloth, then making a suit, then trimming it.”

The Collaborator: Sustainable Models for Dance Companies with Jaamil Kosoko (PHILA/NYC choreographer), Kate Watson-Wallace (PHILA choreographer), BLOOM (HUNGARY).

Kate ran her own company by herself for a long time, which became “rather lonely.” Then she and Jaamil had a “deep artistic conversation.” He had a “clear artistic idea of Kate.” She was “searching for more rigor, someone…constantly questioning.” Friends urged them to get together.

With funding structures changing and fewer artists receiving grants, the partnership made a lot of sense. So they maintain their identity as independent artists, doing “their own thing,” and call their “company” anonymous bodies.

But now there is a pliable support system. One may want to do a piece and the other will do marketing or dramaturge. They strategize funding, which is not a conflict because it’s a project-based company and they know their funders. However, it will soon become a long distance relationship when Jaamil moves to New York to work.

BLOOM members come from several European countries. They wanted to see how far they could push this collaboration. The impact of language and culture both helps and clashes. It help to have differences when proposing ideas and expands their way of doing things. They have developed their “own English” in the studio.

But to come up with a common point, they multiply the usual amount of time for one director by the number of dancers in the company. Patience is key.

Saturday

Where Do We Go From Here? Making and Creating Tours for New Works with Sara Nash (National Dance Project production manager at New England Foundation for the Arts), Sidra Bell (NYC choreographer) and Reggie Wilson (NYC choreographer).

Sara explained the National Dance Project, which funds 20-22 production grants yearly through production grants, production residencies, touring awards and international partnerships. Other organizations to consider: Production Residencies for Dance (PRD), National Performance Network (NPN; network of presenters) whose npnlab.org can find presenters that are a good match for your work) and Alliance for Artist Communities  (residences for early or mid-stages of the creative process). Sara says that it’s a good thing to research presenters and their programming.

Reggie cautioned to know your work, know what it is that you are doing, how you are using words to articulate what you do. He says that touring may not be viable for most artists. Some will do 20-40 weeks, others only “a couple of gigs.” If you do apply, know how to generate a contract, know about housing (i.e., who can stay together, laundry facilities), know the people you are working with in a really practical way. He went on to urge the artists to cultivate and maintain relationships, because “individual dancers may move to administration or marry someone rich.”

Sidra says that she is in “that in-between space” in creating relationships with presenters. “It’s about knowing exactly what I’m doing with my work.” Next year she’s
building “a baby tour.” That means having work that is appropriate for a tour and not to “get ahead of yourself.” But Sidra herself has created ten works this year.

As Sara put it, non-profits must meet their mission — they are there to serve.

The Kelly-Strayhorn has a list of available funding organizations. As artistic director, janera feels that the organization is ready to expand, have a national focus. The newMoves Festival and the connecting tissue of the symposium will go a long way to helping her reach that goal. But it’s important that local artists take advantage of KST and its motivated staff as an important resource.

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On Stage: Musing on the Dance Council’s Dance Muses

May 22, 2012

Photo: Tom Caravaglia

When I first received the Pittsburgh Dance Council’s latest season announcement, my first reaction responded to the personality-plus to be seen on the roster. After all, we were getting companies from British Bangladesh and New Zealand, the mosh pit known as Elizabeth Streb, street dance, men in tights and the indescribable Mark Morris, who is simply his own man.

You can’t get much more different than that.

Photo: Laurent Zieglert

Yet executive director Paul Organisak saw nothing but connections. “These are artists who use real fundamentals of different dance forms in their work,” he said. And with that he proceeded to tick off the reasons why:

Elizabeth Streb (Sept. 28-29): “She strips down dance to energy movement through time and space.”

Akram Khan Company (Oct. 20): “His foundation is traditional ethnic dance.”

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion (Feb. 16): “Kyle is informed by club dance/street dance. He takes that as motivation and superimposes contemporary choreography.”

Black Grace (Mar. 2): “They show traditional Maori [a native New Zealand culture], then add contemporary dance.”

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Apr. 5): “Classical ballet!”

Mark Morris Dance Group (May 4): “He takes musicality to new levels.”

(All performances at the Byham Theater.)

Photo: Ian Douglas

But I see a season that will continue the adventurous path that PDC returned to this past season. And for the very reasons they are connected, these companies will still demonstrate the enormous diversity of dance.

I suppose that I am most excited by Akram Khan, a British-born Bangladeshi choreographer, not only because his name is currently on everyone’s lips, but because the brief clip I saw during the PDC announcement was an ever-changing cloud of dance. Pittsburgh will be able to see what all the talk is about.

Phoro: Duncan Cole

But then, the remarkable individuality of the rest of the season will come into heavy play. Kyle Abraham is a darling of the New York City dance scene.. He heads for the American Dance Festival this year, but still maintains his Pittsburgh roots and was just in town for the Kelly-Strayhorn’s newMoves Festival. Paul will bring in a new work sight-unseen, “Boyz n the Hood: Pavement,” that won’t have its premiere until just before the Pittsburgh appearance. That’s trust.

Mark Morris hasn’t been seen here in over a decade. One of the world’s most prominent choreographers, that is far too long. Although he once was called “the bad boy of modern dance,” he was always an artist who had principles. This performance will have live(!) music, always a great support system for his singularly musical approach.

Photo: Sascha Vaughn

Streb will bring another brand of excitement as her dancer/gymnasts/athletes flaunt their control in seemingly dangerous situations. Although they have thrown themselves against walls and taken large leaps of faith here in the past (1994-95 and 2003), Forces will present a new environment on steroids. But Elizabeth, who won the MacArthur “Genius” Award would explain it all in quantum mechanics terminology. You’ll have to see for yourself.

Lastly we’ll get two all-male, decidedly different groups — a rare treat. Black Grace brings the Maori culture of New Zealand and has inspired enthusiastic notices around the world for its unique blend of masculinity and spirituality.

And the Trocks? Evidently they have stepped up their game since their last visit to Pittsburgh, with upgraded technique and artistry that lends more comic nuance to the balletic repertoire. Bring on your Dying Swan, Larissa Dumbchenko!

Photo: Brian Snyder

 

 

 

 

 

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On Stage: A Crazy Shade of Blue

May 18, 2012

Photos: ©Paul Kolnik

It’s been about 15 years since I ventured to the postage-stamp sized Astor Place Theatre in New York’s NoHo district to see the Blue Man Group in Tubes.

Well, they’re still there. Only now it’s called Tubes/Rewired/NowMoreWow. But on the basis of the Group’s current show at the Benedum Center, that’s an understatement.

In the years since, BMG has played Las Vegas and various arenas, including Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena in 2007. So what was a clever and intimate audience-interaction show, with video clips that were able to merge the theater with the street outside, has been amped up for the Group’s current megawatt version.

The basic premise is still there. Audience interaction. Liberal doses of pop culture. And, oh yeah, the funny little skit on art that was part of the original production. In fact, that was the starting point for the Benedum version.

It was always a great little commentary on the art world, all about prices and perception, but using spin art, like the kind you find at amusement parks and paint balls that they cram into their mouths. And they still use ponchos for people in the front rows to protect their clothing from flying paint et al.

I was surprised to find that BMG was still a trio, although they stayed up on the front apron of the stage to be nearer and dearer to the audience. That’s because of the show’s focus on audience connectivity, much like mime artists have done for such a long time and heightened by those beautiful blue faces.

You could swear they were looking right at you.

BMG was one of the first to champion everyday objects (i.e. plastic plumbing pipes) as rhythm-inducing entertainment. (Yes, it was an official precursor to Stomp, which combined rhythm with more body movement, although there were British street musicals that led up to that show’s own phenomenal success).

But BMG had its own movement — seven moves to master for a rock concert, including “raise the roof” and “thrust.” That’s really the Group’s category nowadays, rather than an edgy little performance art show.

The crew delivered instructions to the audience via running message boards above the stage to get them collectively in a rock ‘n roll mindset (mainly to scream louder — the Blue Men themselves still do not talk).

And they headed deeply into the Benedum audience several times to link with them in this 2,000-plus hall and find their next “victims” to participate on stage, in this case a banquet of goop.

This is all surrounded by a rock band and dazzling video displays, including giant cellphones, abstract designs and my favorite, screens where the Blue Men interact with their own screen images.

To its credit, BMG has remained essential true to its original spirit while capitalizing on it commercial success. But then, it’s not the only one. Pilobolus (Academy Awards, Bidauto) and Momix (Target) have been at the forefront of dance companies. And STOMP, still on tour, will be back here in October.

One could quibble about art versus entertainment, but, pound for pound, Blue Man Group has developed a massive cult following. And they have kept to their core spirit, like the encore, where they returned to play kettle drums laced with paint. Yes, that splashing effect generated by the sticks was like a joyous dance on its own.

Blue Man Group runs through Sunday at the Benedum Center.

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On Stage: Point Park Plunges into Two Contemporary Dance Classics

May 12, 2012

Photos: Drew Yenchak

The Conservatory Dance Company at the Byham Theater is always the highlight of the Point Park University dance year, for it’s a time that the students can measure themselves against the international standards of dance.

This season’s program presented audiences with some new options. All used larger group ensembles to demonstrate that Point Park had more sustained depth of talent and the student casts, with anywhere from 12 to 18 dancers in each of the four pieces, could fill the choreographic bill.

That being said, technical facility was not all that obvious — no classical fouettes here. This program was all about shaping the movements within the choreography. And the dancers most often equally shared that choreographic burden.

That mean that most of them were only a face in a wonderfully moving crowd. But the two most renowned choreographers on the program rendered not only the most visual impact, but also had room for some impressive solo work.

It might have been surprising to some that the oldest piece on the program, Martha Graham’s 1929 Heretic, was not only historic, but still uncommonly relevant amid the other more contemporary choreographies.

With Mikelle Rindflish leading a group of 11 women in the original Graham role (so fresh to Alexandra Ball’s live piano accompaniment), the cast urgently conveyed the clean architectural feel of the dance.

Staged by former Graham company member Diane Gray with the aid of rehearsal director and Point Park staff member Judith Leifer, the work had already been performed at the Joyce Theater in New York as part of a Martha Graham company’s Inner Landscape event with university dancers last March. So there was a sense of comfort in reliving a time when modern dance was just beginning to create inroads into the performing arts.

Mesmerizing to watch, this piece, so beautifully and lovingly performed, showed that great art can be timeless.

The Graham connection continued with the performance of Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16.  Although the Israeli choreographer has since moved onto his own movement language called Gaga, he has long acknowledged his debt to the modern dance icon both as a company member and as an artist.

It was good to see his work again. Mr. Naharin has performed here (Pittsburgh Dance Council) and was commissioned by Patricia Wilde and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, which resulted in the highly successful Tabula Rasa, a piece that has since been performed all over the world.

Actually, though, Minus 16 is a composite of segments from Mr. Naharin’s various dances, so you might call it formulaic. We saw a one-hour version, Deca Dance, by Les Grand Ballets Canadiens at Pittsburgh Dance Council and subsequently I saw his own company, Batsheva, performed the work at Kennedy Center with a whole new sense of gritty reality. Minus 2- 7-1

There are other Naharin blends, including Minus 7, Minus 2 and Minus 1. Minus 16 was created, however, for Nederlans Dans Theater 2. While they all vary somewhat in dance material and length, there are certain elements that appear more frequently.

One is the “intermission dance,” here performed by Taylor Knight. A loosey-goosey, seemingly improvisatory solo actually performed during intermission, it gave Mr. Knight the opportunity to show his clever understanding of the movement.

No one else had that same ease of weight, that same organic fluidity, a style that Mr. Naharin has labeled Gaga. So the cast was zealous in the semi-circle of chairs, where each appears to get “shot” in a series of  waves. But it didn’t have the explosive impact of the other versions.

The audience participation section worked well, though it never has failed to connect when the performers bring audience members up on the stage and try different moves with them. Chosen properly, the effect is hilarious. Then they all leave, except for one, in this case, a stage-aware older woman, to vociferous applause.

Those two works, however, overshadowed the other pieces on the program. They were both skillfully constructed, but didn’t have the same depth.

Val Caniparoli’s Bow Out generated a mild interest when the women escalated en pointe in black suits. It seemed to be a battle of the sexes, although it wasn’t clear, aside from the exchange of various articles of clothing. Full of energy, it just didn’t live up to its percolating jazz potential.

Likewise with Kevin Iega Jeff’s Sky, an expansive work (Montana?) that matched Sigur Ros’ relentless score, an offshoot of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. He kept things moving in dense patterns that matched the students’ artistic temperament. And there was a silky, almost spiritual overlay that added to the overall effect.

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On Stage: Attack, PBT, Pillow, Dancing Classrooms

May 11, 2012

Photo: ©Martha Rial

FOR ARTS’ SAKE. At last Attack Theatre was acknowledged by the National Endowment for the Arts with a $15,000 Art Works grant, a result of some heavy-duty planning by the small dance company. Inspired by Some Assembly Required, the company will transfer its popular museum/art gallery interactive program outdoors. Working with the Pittsburgh Office of Public Art, the Attackers will identify five works of public art in various Pittsburgh neighborhoods and perform SAR:Public over a month-long period, engaging “community members in a creative response to public works of art and transform that response into a public performance.”

Photo: Rich Sofranko

PBT PROMOTIONS AND ACQUISITIONS. Yes, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has announced promotions for the 2012-2013 season. Coming on the heels of Erin Halloran’s retirement,  soloist Christine Schwaner, known for her sweet technique in classical works, will become a principal dancer and Amanda Cochrane, who made her mark as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan, will move up to soloist. Aygul Abougalieva , Ashley Wegman and Ted Henderson will be leaving the company. They will be replaced by Casey Taylor (who actually filled in during the second part of the past season and performed in Streetcar Named Desire) and Joanna Schmidt and Corey Bourbonniere from the PBT grad school. We’ll hear more from them later in the summer.

JAZZING IT UP. The Pillow Project is planning some more spontaneity in Europe this summer, following in their successful footsteps last year. Renowned poet and East Liberty native Moe Seager invited them back to his old haunting grounds in Paris. They will move on to London, Brighton, Dublin and Amsterdam, where they hope to connect with master improvisor Michael Schumacher, recently seen in Last Touch First here. Pittsburghers can see the fruits of their labors when Moe returns to Pittsburgh June 8 at The Space Upstairs. The next night, June 9 or SECOND SATURDAY,  will feature several short films and photography studies created during that tour.

Photo: Archie Carpenter

OUI, OUI PIERRE. Experience the dazzling French charm of Pierre Dulaine once more at Mad Hot Ballroom on Sunday, June 10 from 5 to 9 p.m. at The Westin Convention Center Downtown. Enjoy a buffet dinner, cocktails, a ballroom competition, dancing, a silent auction and an informal group dance lesson with Pierre, master of ceremonies and guest emcee. For more information visit Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.

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On Film: A Bright, Bright Stream

May 10, 2012

There is no doubt that The Bright Stream is a ballet filled with bounty. It happens in a literal sense, taking place as it does in the agricultural countryside and including a parade of giant fruits and vegetables.

But more importantly, The Bright Stream is the imaginative comedic concoction of prolific choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who can design his own veritable cornucopia of steps, seemingly at the drop of a hat.

Mr. Ratmansky discovered the work while at the Bolshoi Ballet. It has a vivid history, created by Fyodor Lopukhov for its premiere in 1935. The production was an instant hit, but was immediately banned from the stage by a Soviet regime who thought it too light-hearted in portraying life in the Kolkhozy countryside.

So it languished in obscurity until 2003 when Mr. Ratmansky unveiled his own version, this time, too, a great success.

Now it has been filmed for Emerging Pictures’ Ballet in Cinema series. So if you can’t see it at the Bolshoi or at American Ballet Theatre, where Mr. Ratmansky currently resides, this is the next best thing.

The Bolshoi production, though, features an impressive scenic design by Boris Messerer, decidedly Russian in scale with a hammer and sickle on the front drop that opens to reveal a robust backdrop with stylized fields.

The original Shostakovich score is surprisingly tuneful and carries the ballet with a buoyancy that is absolutely delightful.

But now for the dance.

There is no one currently choreographing in a traditional manner that can muster the talent, intelligence and panache of Mr. Ratmansky in telling a story with such a masterful command of the ballet vocabulary.

The story itself is simple. A troupe of artists (how convenient!) arrives at a farm called The Bright Stream for a holiday.

It’s a great set-up for Zina, who used to study ballet, and her flirtatious husband Pyotr, who becomes dazzled by the company Ballerina, who, in turn, studied with Zina at ballet school.

The Ballerina, however, has no interest in Pyotr, so she and Zina devise a plan to trick him. But the spirited performer and her dancing partner also decide to tease an Old Dacha Dweller and his wife by cross-dressing and doing a little flirting of their own.

Just don’t think too hard and enjoy the choreographic sophistication that abounds. So there is a bouquet of duets for Zina and the ballerina, the ballerina (as a young man) and the old lady, the male dancer (a muscular Sylph worthy of the Trocks) and Old Dacha Dweller and more.

Actually it is a very democratic ballet, with terrific solo roles for an Accordion Player, a village woman in a white head scarf and a bastion of men. And, of course, there is cause for scads of celebration dances among the ensemble.

It amounts to merrymaking for all, including the viewer. And the Bolshoi makes the most of it.

The first act virtually flies by with good nature and good humor and what amounts to its own “bright stream” of dances. The second act is at first

Photos: Damir Yusupov

dominated by Ruslan Skortsov as the Ballet Dancer, using plenty of tongue-in-cheek with some very skillful pointe work in his segments. In the end, though, The Bright Stream rightly belongs to the women, who, dressed identically, pull off a masked duet to teach Pyotr a lesson and make him appreciate his wife.

Svetlana Lunkina, as Zina, has a refreshing delicacy, but it is Maria Alexandrova’s Ballerina who steals the show, ever exuberant throughout, but particularly in her signature grand jetes.

The Bright Stream is, in the end, a show, sort of like the high entertainment of one of those first-rate 40‘s MGM film musicals, but without the conversation or the lyrics. You just come away from it with a song in your heart and a lilt in your step.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Bright Stream still runs through May 15. Check Listings. (And note that the Bolshoi’s Raymonda hits town this summer.)

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On Stage: A (glowing) Dance

May 2, 2012

A woman slowly tiptoes into view, arms akimbo. A man crouches behind her, looking for something — we know not what. We hear the sound of a bell and the sound that a bubble might make. There’s a squeak.

The initial sensory deprivation of Kota Yamazaki’s new work, (glowing), seemed to soften the focus. But he would gradually expand his world at the New Hazlett Theater, part of the Andy Warhol Museum’s Off the Wall series.

Mr. Yamazaki opted to embrace a style of movement from half way around the globe. Certainly this writer never imagined that she would view a performance that paired Japanese butoh with African dance.

Butoh conveys the nature of its subject matter, becomes its essence. African dance, on the other hand, is historically performed in exotic natural surroundings, but is centered around celebration and rituals.

Where African dance begins with the beat and weaves intricate rhythms, butoh simply exists and is performed with a musical cyclorama that surrounds it.

Oh, what connections to be made!

The starting point was Junichiro Tanizaki’s essay, In Praise of Shadows.  In it, Mr. Tanizaki praises elements of traditional beauty to be found in architecture and all that it encompasses such as fittings, jade, food and other subjects. But these were seen in a half-light before the invention of modern lighting systems.

Mr. Tanizaki kept that probing idea and transported it to a contemporary stage with a nuanced lighting design by Kathy Kaufmann. The company, called Fluid Hug-hug, was composed of six dancers moving in Mr. Tanizaki’s own style, which he named Fluid Technique.

For the most part, this meant slowing the movement to a flicker or a ripple through the body and most eloquently through the fingertips. But there were off-kilter walks and lurching in a circle and a jiggling foot.

The interaction of subtle phrases created quite lovely landscapes with an improvisatory feel, although one woman erupted into her own African dance, leaping to her own internal rhythms. It was mesmerizing at its best, although (glowing) was content for a time to simply glow instead of grow.

At the end the performers took hanging beams that served as mobile set pieces, designed by American architect Robert Kocik, and dismantled them. The dancers placed them like pylons around the space, hinting at a building and with the movement still creating a sustainable connection in our memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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