A "beautiful piece of work", but not thought-provoking, "highly accessible and for everyone"... Not certain its worth seeing. Because work that is too accessible and generalized does not equal great work.
Here in LA, some presenters routinely present what many would say is "great dance." Companies come in with Grand scale sets and Oscar award-like costumes. The pieces are very accessible and pretty to look at but too accessible and generalized work doesn't equal great dance. Like life, accessibility in the dance world, and everything else for that matter, isn't for everyone. Just because we have easy access to something doesn't mean we should always be prone to it.
In contrast, last month, I attended Laurel Jenkins' performance of Wind Hill and Image Action Text at Highways Performance Space & Gallery and this artist's work is extremely thought provoking. Laurel describes her work "as centering on the multiple languages of the body" and by disrupting categorizations of concert dance and theater, she aims to open up a kinesthetic space for movement imagery to become valid text. Laurel uses dance, theater, narration and abstraction in a very creative way. It was my second time seeing Image Action Text and my first time seeing Wind Hill. (Scroll down to my June 28th post to read about the awesomeness of Image Action Text). While watching Wind Hill that night, I was reminded of different aspects of nature and our global environment. Laurel's intricate and delicate use of wood within Wind Hill kept me on the edge of my seat and her work is always so polished. Live music was performed by Miguel Frasconi who specializes in the relationship between acoustic objects and musical form.
Often times, the less accessible packs a better punch and that's a disruptingly good thing to seek out in life.
Laurel Jenkins Tentindo. Photo Credit Taso Papadakis