The Rite of Spring and Common ground[s] - A Reflection by M. Crawford

Every person in Los Angeles, dancers and non-dancers alike, has rushed to The Music Center to witness the moving bill split between “The Rite of Spring” and “common ground[s]”. Pina Bausch has a legacy throughout the dance world and beyond, and it was clear that this performance drew the best of all the people, in all walks of life, that admire her work.

The split bill began with a co-choreographed duet and performance by Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo, both dancers with established careers, Acogny being known as the mother of African contemporary dance and Airaudo having worked closely and extensively with Bausch herself. Their performance was profound; it was simple, yet charged with a depth that made me treasure the relationship that was unfolding before me. Objects were laid purposefully throughout the stage before the women began - two wooden seats, two buckets of water, wooden sticks, and rocks - each with its own spotlight. The piece begins with Acogny and Airaudo sitting on their respective wooden seats sharing a wooden stick; as the piece goes on, they find their way to each other and back away. The pair navigated themselves through the stage in a way that felt as if they were gliding; it was a journey of play and of friendship between women who continue to find humanity. They share weight in embraces but, more importantly, they share sensitivity through a relationship that sees multiple versions of each other. With care, Airaudo traces Acogny’s body with the stone and proceeds to wash her back with it as well; it was a breathtaking moment of simplicity that absorbed the entire theater. It was deeply touching to witness dance artists Germaine Acogny, at 70, and Malou Airaudo, at 74, present this piece on stage, not only because they were inspired by Bausch’s legacy but also due to the age and grace with which they held the proscenium stage. We are often told that dance careers are short due to the demands made on our bodies but clearly “common ground[s]” has demonstrated that movement belongs to no particular age, and virtuosity may not be as important as we think it is or a piece of art to be felt profoundly.

Photo Credit Maarten Vanden-Abeele

Photo Credit Maarten Vanden-Abeele

The final piece of the night was Pina Bausch’s “The Rite of Spring” performed by 38 dancers from countries across Africa, with a large majority hailing from Senegal. This performance was transformative to say the least. It was communal; even though the group of women and men separated themselves respectively, they shared a collective body, mind, and soul.

These dancers added a layer to the iconic repertory that brought it to another level. The dancers, all hailing from different regions across Africa, brought together a melting pot of cultures and movements from their particular regions reflected through the dancers’ bodies - we are all a product of our environment, both in the movement of life and in our bodies. So much of traditional African dance is deeply grounded and communal; as is so much of the idea behind “The Rite of Spring”. It culminated in a performance that showcases the intensity of humanity, the longing, the chaos, the community - all embedded into the human experience.

This evening of dance, inspired by the legacy of Pina Bausch’s work, was unforgettable. I am appreciative of their choice to bring these pieces to Los Angeles; all those who witnessed it will be inspired for weeks and years to come. And hopefully, we will be committed to living our lives with the same attention to sensitivity and humanity that the performers shared with us.

SHOCK. BEWILDERMENT OR IMPACT. - BETROFFENHEIT

Photo Credit Wendy D. Photography.  Tiffany Tregarthen and Jonathon Young

Sheesh.  Twas a busy holiday season.  Some may ask, "where ya been"?  Well, to answer that question; we've been at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica most recently and we saw Kidd Pivot and Electric Company Theatre's presentation of BETROFFENHEIT AKA "Shock, Bewilderment or Impact".  The work presented Feb 14 -16 was dark and humorous and classic Crystal Pike - creative sets, puppetry paired with screeching sharp music, dark lighting and dazzling dance.  The piece incorporated tap and it was quite refreshing to see tap dance done in a work these days.  The feeling of the set was similar to Crystal's Spooky 2009 work - Dark Matters. CHECK THE LINK!!

BETROFFENHEIT focuses on an individual experiencing or suffering from addiction and/or mental health issues. Early in the work the audience gets to see the main performer coping with health problems in a state of paranoia.   Then in several scenes later, or in essentially Act II; the audience gets to see how certain life events have caused the performer to respond in a certain way. As noted in the program relating to mental health conditions "What a daunting task transforming a troubled mind is, when what you're looking for is what you're looking with." - From "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts - Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Mate.

Photo Credit Wendy D. Photography.  

Jonathon Young, Cindy Salgado, Jermaine Spivey, David Raymond, Tiffany Tregarthen,

Bryan Arias

Artistically, the work was executed extremely well and the dancers were AMAZING.  The only criticism we could offer is that Crystal could have done some editing of the movement phrases between Act II and Act III.  The clown-like dancer (or Pixie?)  performed by Tiffany Tregarthen was definitely our favorite part of the work as she portrayed that annoying dark little voice that everyone hears in the back of their mind at some point in life. 

We hope you get a chance to see this thought-proving work!  Its DEF worth the time.

-Spot LA

THE CHRISTMAS SHOW YOU WON'T HATE

Put The Nutcracker, SNL, The Ed Sullivan Show, and your favorite (& least favorite) Christmas tunes in a mixer. Whip that mess up, and you’ve got yourself a janky cake.

With John C. Reilly on the top.

Photographer: George Ngo; Image provided by Creative Director Kristin Campbell-Taylor

Its satire, yet thoughtful. You won’t cry for Tiny Tim, but there’s a high possibility you will have
(drunken?) tears of hilarity streaming down your face. It is the Christmas show you’ve always
wanted. You no longer have to see your sister’s kids’ tap performance and think that is the best
this capitalistic season has to offer. It is for holiday lovers and haters alike.

It is The Janky Christmas Show.

And you’ve missed it for the PAST SIX YEARS.

You’ve missed the Shitty Nativity. You know the Nativity story, but told shitily.

Photographer: George Ngo; Image provided by Creative Director Kristin Campbell-Taylor

You've missed Pink Santa

Photographer: George Ngo; Image provided by Creative Director Kristin Campbell-Taylor

Commercials you actually want to watch.

Photographer: George Ngo; Image provided by Creative Director Kristin Campbell-Taylor

And the Ho Ho Ho Dancers.

Photographer: George Ngo; Image provided by Creative Director Kristin Campbell-Taylor

Not to mention Monologue Man, The 12 Days of Christmas, “snow,” and gentle sprinklings of classic Hanukkah and Kwanzaa traditions.

Perhaps you’re like Pinkie Clause and not really feeling the holiday spirit the year? — With wildfires raging in Southern California, sexual abuse scandals in DC, Hollywood, and NYC, death and violence in the news everyday, Pinkie isn’t going to “DO” Christmas anymore. The world doesn’t deserve Christmas according to him.

But can we have The JANKY without Pink Santa?

John C. Reilly as Janky Marley tries to (re)warm Pinkie - and you up to the idea of Christmas with visits from Janky Past, Present, & Future + some Jewish Jello Shots!? The Positivity Cheerleaders will show you how to work through your anxiety in just one evening & for the very reasonable ticket price of $25! What if all you ever needed to get in the Christmas spirit was a good ol fashioned sing along?

THE JANKY is the perfect way to get you and your loved ones in the holiday spirit. Both heartfelt and irreverent with more singing, dancing, and real time shenanigans than our President’s twitter account!

Designer: Tommy Sugimoto; Image Provided by Creative Director Kristin Campbell-Taylor.

Tickets available www.bootlegtheater.org

TESSERACT AT REDCAT - A GUEST POST BY FILMMAKER JUSTINE RACZKIEWICZ

Photo Credit: Mick Bello

Merce Cunningham was one of the greatest choreographers of the 21 st century, and I was fortunate to intern at his company over a decade ago during my college years in New York. I vividly remember browsing through various archives in the west village basement office and coming across Charles Atlas and his dance videos with Merce for the first time. They had been collaborators since the 1970’s and both were pioneers and equally interested in exploring the boundaries between technology and the body, and developed new ways of seeing.

I was fortunate to experience Charles Atlas’ work again in person at REDCAT this past week. “Tesseract”was created along with two dancers from the Cunningham troupe, Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener, and it not only lived on in Merce’s spirit, but broke exciting new ground.

For a Greek etymology refresher, “Tesseract” means four rays of light, and is essentially a four-
dimensional shape made up of two combined parallel cubes. The performance itself, just like the title was also a combination of two parts: a 3D film of a dance performance, followed by a 3D dance performance which was filmed. 

The 45-minute dance film was further broken down into six parts, with geometric squares represented through costumes, set pieces and movement. The play with dimensionality was inherent throughout as the performers were at moments trapped within the canvas, like particles or pixels confined to a matrix inside a frame, but at times they were liberated and operated outside as though in parallel universes. The science-fiction worlds evolved both in shape and color, beginning with simple lines in black and white, moving towards more multifaceted perspectives and angles painted in a rich kaleidoscopic spectrum. The electronic ambient soundscapes and minimal melodies were transporting. I was so fully immersed in the 3D film that I had forgotten about the plastic glasses which separated me from this new universe. One of my favorite scenes was a surreal Martian-like landscape where the dancers donned bright-orange leotards with protruding geometric growths, while also carrying large Platonic solids around. I could not help but wonder about the mathematical elegance that underlies our metaphysical
reality.

Photo Credit: Mick Bello

Atlas’ camerawork pulled us into absorbing journey. He began with more static and fixed shots in the opening of the film which framed the dancers’ movements, but then progressed to longer, fluid and continuous steadicam shots which encircled the dancers in unison. 

Photo Credit: Mick Bello

In the live performance part of the piece the camera became a full-on participant rather than just a witness. The cameraman, Ryan Thomas Jenkins, set his rig up center stage, exposing the technical process and elevating its purpose. Outfitted in a bright pink pantsuit with bedazzled silver shoes, he too became a dancer or even a ringmaster of sorts. The six dancers wore transparent conical costumes, which interacted beautifully with the light as they moved, creating optical tricks with delay. As the cameraman followed them around the stage, the dancers were projected onto a scrim in front of the audience, creating a stunning superimposition of bodies skewed in both space and time. Atlas mixed this steadicam footage live, and altered the frame rates creating a truly hypnotic experience, which played with Gestalt principles and depth perception. Tesseract took me to the inner and outer reaches of space, from the umbilical to the interstellar. Dance always reminds me that we are multi-dimensional to
the core.

Photo Credit: Mick Bello

DIAVOLO- The Veteran's Project

A PERSONAL JOURNEY

Submitted by David Mann

I was pleased when asked to blog for Diavolo’s 25th anniversary event in part when I learned that this 11am to 11pm program was to be held at my alma mater, California State University,  Northridge. And the 3pm performance “The Veterans Project 2017” was to be held in the most exquisite and perfectly scaled Soraya/Valley Performance Art Center, designed by the architect Kara Hill, then with HGA.

I came with my friend CiCi and her son. They are new to this country and recently left China to start a new life here.  So it seemed appropriate to introduce them to America on this Veteran’s Day tribute to the men and women who protect this country.  During the day there were activities for kids to play on Diavolo’s equipment, albeit scaled down.

The other reason I was eager to attend of course was to see this new work by Jacques Heim, Founder and Artistic Director for Diavolo. I’ve know Jacques for years, and was curious to see how this brilliant “architect of motion” as he refers to himself, would create a performance that would translate this nation’s Veteran’s Day celebration into a high art experience.  In my mind I wondered if the path less traveled would transcend the expected patriotic and sentimental tribute.  And for those of us who recoil at the current political climate, there is little if anything to celebrate.

I was not disappointed, nor were the other 1,700 audience members in this filled to capacity theatre. Dressed in black Japanese warrior inspired costumes, each of the 16 performers stepped forward into the light to introduce themselves. To my surprise, it was “name, rank and serial number.” These were not Diavolo company members, but men and women who had served in the army, navy, marines, air force and coast guard, sharing where they served, when they served, and included the injuries they had sustained, both mental and physical. This performance event suddenly became very personal.

After these introductions, the lights dimmed and opened to reveal the stage with a large circular movable platform with round openings for long aluminum and acrylic poles. This platform served as an arena for action, acting as either a home base or memorial, the poles were used as structural elements. Then at other times the performers moved the platform as if it were a battlewagon with the poles held by each performer and used as long weapons fending off intruders.  This was architecture in motion as a visual metaphor for a homeland under attack played out. Dusty Alvarado, Institute Director, describes the set piece design as IBUKI, a Japanese word which means inner-strength, renewal, resilient enough to endure and emerge beautiful.

Quoting from the program notes: “Conceived by DIAVOLO’s Executive Director Jennifer Cheng, The Veterans Project is a pure and profound reflection of the values and purpose that drive DIAVOLO: trust, teamwork and perseverance. Inspired by Sebastian Junger’s novel Tribe and the vital stories of the veterans in our own community, this four-month workshop uses movement as medicine to help heal and connect our American heros.  The program culminates in a presentation that reflects on themes such as inner strength, renewal, resilience and the meaning of Home.”

So these vets endured a four month intensive workshop. These 16 people, none of whom had ever danced before, let alone performed on a stage, did indeed rise to the occasion. One veteran was later to say when asked during the O&A “how was it being up there” said, “it has its own kind of anxiety.”  As a non-dancer taking dance classes since the 1970’s, I can relate!

These are tough people, and they entered with bravery to encounter, share and reveal the best of who they are on the Diavolo stage. It was a tribute to the healing power of performance and the power of collective movement in a choreographic context. Perhaps a way to rewrite their own  inner narratives.  Indeed, several members said that this 16 week workshop was a major healing experience for them, with a few individuals reporting that it literally saved their lives.

There was a second performance called D2R. From the program notes, “Inspired by military culture and combat landscapes, D2R is an abstract representation of the determined yet agonized warrior in us all..” This second performance however, was performed by Diavolo’s company members.  I honestly can say I didn’t know which group of people I was watching. The lines became blurred between the veterans and the company members. This was especially played out in the first piece in which 7 Diavolo performers joined the 16 veteran performers. And it didn’t seem to matter who was who. The level of performance was professional, robust and emotional.

During the Q&A another remarkable thing happened.  The veterans took questions, and to my surprise audience members stood up to say they were in the military also and shared their experiences. The gravity expressed from the stage found it’s way to audience as well.  This experience unified the entire theatre that day.

So this was not just my personal journey, but a collective performer to audience shared experience. It was elevating, uncomfortable and inspiring. A personal journey for all of us.

Australia’s leading choreographers and dance companies, Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek from Dancenorth bring a great work to UCLA - A guest post by Filmmaker Justine Raczkiewicz

On November 3rd , two of Australia’s leading choreographers and dance companies, Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarazenk from Dancenorth joined forces with Indonesian music duo Senyawa to bring “Attractor” to UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA).

Upon entering the venue, my eyes were immediately drawn to a vertical mast of equipment
cables on stage, which extended up high as though drawing on an energetic source beyond our
perceptible senses. The musicians Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi sat at the base. Dressed in
black, they were encircled by plain-clothed dancers on chairs who resembled nomads or hippies
gathered for a drum circle, or some kind of primordial gathering – with sound at the center of
their universe.

Senyawa’s sound was unlike anything I have ever heard, it was both primal and elevated,
rhythmic and chaotic, foreign and familiar. The Javanese duo comprises Suryadi’s electrified,
self-made string instruments punctuated by Shabara’s guttural singing. Together they meld
traditional Indonesian folk influences with bold experimental tactics to create high-velocity
sound.

Shabara’s homemade bamboo instrument is unusual given that it serves multiple functions: as
a percussive element it sets a rhythm and beat; when its strings are plucked and layered, the
amplified melody is similar to that of a distorted guitar. Senyawa also draws on heavy-metal
influences from their youth: bands such as Black Sabbath, Metallica and Iron Maiden. The
sound is at once neo-tribal and avant-garde.

On stage, there was a true interplay of music and dance, a symbiotic relationship. In certain
pieces, the music would begin and lead the movement, with the dancers animating at the
periphery and radiating out. At other moments, the musicians were literally transported and
carried away by the dancers themselves—sound trailed after and followed dance. According to
the program notes, the choreographer, Lucy Guerin, wanted to create a piece that moved
beyond narrative representation, and to play with an evolution of forms. This was visible when
the troupe oscillated between moving as one large holistic organism, and then broke into
individual expressions.

One of the most riveting solos was Samantha Hine’s piece, which began like a street style robot
dance, but morphed into a haunting demonic possession no "Exorcist" film could possibly top.
She moved as though controlled by an outside force, and Shabara’s voice accentuated her
convulsions and broken joints. Sound manifested itself physically - when he growled, gurgled
and thrashed around on stage his body eerily mirrored her movements. The verisimilitude was
uncanny, and the audience responded with laughter, which made me wonder if it was a result
of horror tropes in the popular consciousness. Or maybe laughter masked the unease? Either
way, loud applause at the end highlighted this as a favorite.

In another scene, the dancers picked up the two musicians whilst they were playing and began
to carry them around the stage, like jesters – they tried with all their might to distract them,
rolling them on the ground, pressing their hands into their chests as if they could distort or affect the sound. One of the musicians was even dragged around by his feet – which at first
seemed comical, but then morphed into a fierce act of independence. The music played on
steadily, as the musicians crawled away on the floor, in a last ditch refusal or protest to express
their art. The piece ended when new percussive instruments suddenly joined in from the
middle of the audience, as though the sound moved beyond its physical boundaries and spread.
The climactic scene of the evening involved the entire troupe, shaking in unison in a trance-like,
ritualistic state. At one point twenty or so participants of all ages emerged from the audience,
also clothed in similar neutral hues and street-wear, joining the dancers on stage. The division
between professional and amateur became blurred once the mob moved in a mass, and
became something larger than life - more than the sum of its parts.

Shafts of blue light pierced through the smoky air, and the dancers moved in a frenetic manner,
reminiscent of a nightclub. They eventually formed two lines, and bodies ran from one side to
the next, as through entrapped in a diminishing space, with the moving walls closing in. Once
the gap diminished, there was nothing more than a pile of writhing bodies left on the floor.
In the program notes, choreographer Gideon Obarzenek mentions his kibbutz experience in
Israel as an inspiration for the show, where communal participation is privileged over
performance. With “Attractor” he wanted to create a ritual for non-believers, to create a space
where people could experience an ecstatic and transcendental state.

My mind could not help but think of the recent concert shooting in Las Vegas, and then recall
Orlando, and the Bataclan attack in Paris. With images of bodies mobilized at their fullest
extent in joy, ecstasy and union one moment only to have the life taken away from them in the
next. I could not help but wonder if an innocent communal gathering in a public setting was
becoming increasingly put into question and less possible without an inch of paranoia.
In a powerful last image of the night, the dancers’ bodies froze motionless on stage, but the
singer’s voice continued to scream on in pain, as lights flashed on and off in a strobe-like
manner, exorcising the spirits of the deceased. In order to fully achieve an ecstatic state, must
we not first collectively grieve and release the pain?

LA Dance Project in Residence at Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts

The L.A Dance Project was founded by director Benjamin Millepied in 2012, and it “seeks to foster dance-centered artistic collaborations across all disciplines, cultures, and communities in Los Angels and around the globe.” Millepied’s company performed at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, November 2-3, 2017. As the first Company-In-Residence, LADP will be presenting their work this fall as well as in the spring of 2018. 

“CLOSER,” a 2006 Benjamin Millepied duet was the opening piece set to Philip Glass’s “Mad Rush.” A piano sat up stage accompanied by the talented Richard Valitutto, with Costume Design by Lydia Harmon, which beautifully added to the piece. The wonderful lighting design by Roderick Murray helped move the storyline forward. The piece, danced by David Adrian Freeland Jr and Janie Taylor, depicts the life of a relationship: falling in love, fighting, growing apart and then back together. It exemplifies appreciation of one another and the lasting relationship and the closeness you can only find over time. Both Freeland and Taylor are strong dancers and were exquisite in execution of the choreography. Freeland felt a bit stronger to me, though, as he brought more to his character until the end moments. He manipulated Taylor and made her feel as though she was weightless and seemingly powerless. I’ve actually seen this piece before at the same location. In 2015, Les ballet Jazz de Montreal performed this same piece, with both dancers executing at the highest level. They were able to maintain a powerful stage presence without losing the masculine and feminine qualities that this piece requires. I would have liked to have seen these dancers a bit more as equals—with a more intense connection—showing the rise and fall of the emotions of their relationship, and not just through the choreography. Also, let me first say that I’m a huge fan of long hair being down while dancing. With that, Taylor’s hair was a huge distraction. It was just too all over the place, including the faces of both dancers. “Closer” was very enjoyable, but I found myself needing more in all aspects. 

“SECOND QUARTET” is choreographed by Noé Solier, Music by Tom De Cock (Ictus Ensemble), and Noe Soulier, Recorded and mixed by Alexandre Fostier and the Lighting Design was by Victo Burel. In the company program, this piece is described with a quote by Solier, which states “ The movements presented are not immediately recognizable. Rather, they are motivated by concrete goals—-such as avoiding, striking, throwing, pushing, and resisting—-but impeded through the use of specific strategies.” Reading this was immensely helpful, as I would have thought the dancers were just hitting an imaginary ball with different parts of their body around the stage for 28 minutes. There were some interesting initiations of movement during the piece, but in the end it became very repetitive and lasted too long. The audience did think some of the movements were laugh out loud funny, since it was a little slapstick-ish with prat falls, kicks, rolls, twists and turns. This piece was not really my cup of tea, but the audience seemed to really enjoy it. And that’s what really matters, right? The middle of this piece featured a duet with dancers Nathan Makolandra and Rachelle Rafailedes. They are both powerhouse dancers, and they showed the necessary connection and emotion to the movement, each other, and the audience. They really allowed you into their world. This piece would have been more interesting if we’d been able to see how it was conceived in rehearsals. 

Photo Credit Lawrence K. Ho

“IN SILENCE WE SPEAK,” choreographed by Benjamin Milliped, began with the lights dimly lit in the house. Lighting designer, Jim French, helped Millipied turn the audience into a unique character. The audience felt different during this piece. It was palpable. The closely moving dancers delved into their own little world, but we were all there looking at them and we both knew it. The lights eventually went down and everyone in the audience seemed to settle and shift. The two dancers’ world finally shrunk to just the two of them. This duet was danced by Rachelle Rafailedes and Janie Taylor. After a little research, this piece was originally made for Ms Taylor and Carla Körbes, both retired ballerinas who were close friends. Unfortunately, this piece was just a little blah for me. The dancers were gorgeous, but the choreography and costumes did nothing for me, including the distracting squeaks of tennis shoes on the floor. This choreography didn’t tell me a story about friendship or what each friend brought to the table. I was left wondering what this relationship was all about with awkward elementary duet movements. These strong women dancers should’ve been pushed so much more. Everything was there to show us a strong friendship where women support women, especially during life’s ups and the downs. Millipied needs to dig much deeper into women and friendships because there so much more to give. 

“ORPHEUS HIGHWAYS” is choreographed by Benjamin Milliepied. It is a multi-media piece featuring a film of dancers projected onto a screen behind actual dancers performing on stage. The dancers were occasionally in lock step with movements projected behind them, sometimes not. This piece instantly made me think of Westside Story meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre, before the kids discover Leather Face(filmed in Marfa, Texas). This piece was fun, exhilarating, and a great way to end the evening on a high note. The music was composed by Steve Reich and had a very rhythmic quality, which the choreography tried to mimic, almost like a tap dance. Sadly, the dancers failed to stay with the rhythm with their tapping tennis shoes. Besides that, this piece was one of the two pieces I really enjoyed in the evening. It left me wanting to see what more Milliepied might do with this multimedia aspect, especially since his company is housed in the middle of the entertainment capital. 

It is exciting that Millipied has chosen to bring his company to Los Angeles, and that he now has two apprentices that are actually from Los Angeles—and not New York. But, there are many amazing companies, choreographers, and dancers in the city of Los Angeles (and surrounding areas) that have made world-class work that don’t have the celebrity name or backing. It would be extraordinary for both Millipied and the Los Angeles dance community to actually join forces and bring the Los Angeles dance world where it belongs, on top. 

Photo Credit Lawrence K. Ho

A Multi-Sensory Mythical World in Culver City - Akram Kahn’s Until the Lions - Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center — On Location

We quickly power walked from downtown Culver City, where we had lost track of time in conversation, turned onto Washington Boulevard, and joined a group of at least twenty people (also power walking) from various parking locations. A man, who looked like he had left his real estate job about ten minutes ago, gently shouted into the night, “is this how we get to the dance performance?” To which about two guides and five audience members responded, “yes sir!” “We think so!” “God, I hope so.” — We had joined the parade to see Akram Kahn’s Until the Lions at Culver Studios.

Akram Kahn is an English dancer of Bangladeshi descent. At the age of seven, he began training in the classical South Asian dance form of Kathak. Over the years, he honed his craft by working with Sri Pratap Pawar and Peter Brook, as well as training at the Academy of Indian Dance (Akademi South Asian Dance), De Montfort University, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s X-Group project. In the 1990s, he began presenting solo performances, then launched Akram Khan Company in August 2000. Seventeen years later, the company remains “inspired by Akram Khan’s early training in the Indian classical dance form Kathak, and the hybrid language that organically emerged when Akram’s kathak training encountered contemporary dance in his teens, a vision began to form, fuelled by a desire to learn and create through collaboration with the very best people across all the disciplines in the arts.” (source: Akram Kahn Company Website)

We rushed through the ticket line, had our bags searched, entered a warehouse-like structure, then were directed to the “west” section to find our seats. We made our way past an enormous round stage that as our eyes adjusted, we realized was a cracked cross section of a tree trunk. We sat, and Khan’s retelling of an excerpt from the ancient Sanskrit epic “The Mahabharata” began to unfold before us.

Opening with Amba exploring the stump, she discovered a skull and placed it on top of a long rigid pole. The circular set has similar poles both laying on the ground, standing upright around the edges, and collected on the floor next to the oversized tree stump. Our curiosity peaked as the performance swirled deeper into the story. We felt ourselves becoming engulfed in this mythical world, a true testament to Michael Hulls’ thoughtful lighting design. Countless light beams descended from the ceiling; the light dimmed and focused, guiding the story in many ways as much as the music and movement itself.

Kahn performed as Bheeshma, and while it is always interesting to see a choreographer within their own work – especially one as celebrated as he is, the two women constantly stole our focus. Ching-Ying Chien and Christine Joy Ritter fully transformed into their characters. Their specificity, athleticism, and performance quality fed the clear themes of gender identity, spirituality, and passion.

Amba is abducted on her wedding day, stripped of her honor, and rejected by her family. As she invokes the gods to seek revenge, the universe becomes unbalanced, and the tree trunk, undoubtedly a reference to the passing of time, cracks open. Light (again, thank you Michael Hulls!) seeps out from underneath with smoke swirling around the – at this point – near creature-like choreography. It became clear we had left the human world, and Kahn had guided us into a universe that challenged gender identity, revenge, and the afterlife. The musicians moved around the set in an aggressive call-and-response pattern, both with drum beats and vocal arrangements. As the piece concluded, each production element wove together in a captivating climax and closing of the story.

While Until the Lions was a multi-sensory experience that I would highly recommend to both dance/theatre lovers and not alike, I struggle with separating the work, which intends to demonstrate the endurance of the female spirit, with Kahn’s recent comment “Don’t have more female choreographers for the sake of it.” Because, like Luke Jennings, the Observer’s dance critic said, we do need more female choreographers for the sake of it.

But I suppose that opens another question — how do we make sense of the relationship choreographers’ work and their personal bias or beliefs?

Variance 2017 - A Guest Post by Ashlee Blosser

Entering a theatre to witness just the heads of people popping out from behind a massive velvet
curtain is not what one would expect right away when attending a dance concert. After some
storytelling, jokes, and even a puppet show, it was clear that the mysterious, floating heads in
the curtains are the start of the concert. California State University, Long Beach’s annual BFA
concert, Variance, took a turn towards experimental, bold, and whimsical this year, filling myself
and the audience with curiosity and anticipation.

Variance was the third annual presentation of BFA and guest artist work featuring the 1936
classic Lynchtown, by Charles Weidman, and premiered by BFA candidates Alice Amano,
Tanner Miranda, Justin Morris, Haley Richartz, Katelyn Sanchez, and Maili Schlosser in
collaboration with BFA and MFA composers from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music.
Justin Morris’ piece, Iamnot|utterances\habitus, opened the show with the floating heads that
challenged preconceptions of performance, authenticity, and identity by way of storytelling and
lip syncing. Throughout the storytelling, the performers switched up whose story they were
telling, and told them as if it was their own story. Through ingenious switch up of identity
throughout a diverse cast, constant disappearing and reappearing heads, interaction with the
audience, a sock puppet show, and a lip-sync over the pre-show courtesy message caused
uproars of laughter and immediate engagement. Iamnot|utterances\habitus provided a few
surprises throughout the afternoon, where Morris continued to warp our conception of
performance while also lifting up those we have lost to hate and violence.
In Finding Syzygy, Haley Richartz had taken the show into a different world by presenting an
abstract work that explored the choreographic device and cosmic phenomenon of retrograde.
Richartz’ created an optical illusion for me with her use of formations, space, and a projection
created by Gregory R.R. Crosby. “Syzygy” is the alignment of three celestial bodies, which was
translated well with the performer’s moving like an organism rolling, morphing, and retrograding
themselves in and out of the floor. With a sound score created by Richartz herself, in addition, to
the beautiful imagery her movement created, she evoked a world that transcended physical and
emotional reality.

With a beautiful first image of a performer being retained by red fabric that stretched from one
side of the stage to the other, Alice Amano’s Day 1 explored the multifaceted emotional
landscape of romantic love through dynamically charged movement. Amano’s choreography for
an all-male cast displayed a powerful physicality of resistance, vulnerability, passion, and
internal conflict. Utilizing an amazing use of weight and inertia, the dancer’s moved in and out of
manipulating and paralleling each other with literal and figurative restraint of the red fabric. With
a score by Daniel Kim, Amano’s choreography looked deeply into paradoxical aspects of
intimacy, emotional distance, and human longing for companionship countered with a need for
independence.

Scopophilia, created by Tanner Miranda and Maili Schlosser, pulled me in immediately as they
explored the idea of “the male gaze” and its physical and psychological effect on women in
society. Their all-female cast was dressed in nude leotards with mesh cutouts that highlighted areas men find attractive on women. With all the theatre’s soft goods having disappeared, the
women were on stage vulnerable and on display with nowhere to hide. On the theatre wall, a
projection, created by Gregory R.R. Crosby, played a layered reel of the performers dancing
with one woman staring at the audience throughout the whole piece. Scopophilia was
structurally based upon the four stages of sexual stimulus and response. Moving in and out of
being still and using gestures, the performer’s had clearly broken the fourth wall as they stared
at the audience with a look that read, “I know you’re looking at me.” Miranda and Schlosser’s
use of movement, stillness, and focus in their choreography successfully emphasized a
sexualized view that served to unnerve and even disgust those watching.

Variance’s intermission was not like any other intermission I have experienced before. Morris’
cast of floating heads reappeared welcoming the audience to do what they needed to do during
intermission, but also announcing that Iamnot|utterances\habitus will continue. Identity and race
were addressed in this section with the use of a soloist wearing a cutout mask of Morris’ face
while he told a story, a lip-syncing trio in the lobby dressed in whimsical clothes and drag, and
two faceless performers skillfully and fearlessly performing up high in one of the theatre’s
lighting wall pockets. This intermission confused me on where to be physically, but was highly
engaging to the point where I was rushing between the lobby and theatre to see what was
happening.

For this year’s, Variance, The Department of Dance was honored to have presented,
Lynchtown, by Charles Weidman. Created in 1936, and inspired by his own experience
witnessing the heinous killing of a young man, Weidman’s piece tackles racism and mob
mentality in a work that is all too timely nearly 100 years later. Lynchtown was staged by George
Willis, a Weidman dancer who performed the work in 1950s-70s Los Angeles and has staged
the classic throughout the country. In this expressive work, the performer’s danced fully together
in movement and character creating a wonderful re-staging of Weidman’s work. In this day and
age there are numerous modern dance techniques, and to witness a traditional piece where all
these techniques stemmed from was a truly a treat. With original costumes and lighting design,
this performance gave a glimpse back in time into a seminal work of one of the fathers of
American modern dance.

In the premiere of As She Speaks or So You Said, Katelyn Sanchez portrays the personal, yet
universal process of transformation through three female dancers. Choreographically, working in
trios is difficult; however, Sanchez was successful with her trio of women and keeping them all
connected yet separate every second. Either the performer’s pathways paralleled, interacted, or
crossed, clearly relating this trio represented one person. Heavily inspired by literature, As She
Speaks or So You Said transports you into a poem figuratively and literally. Performer Elenna
Derkach beautifully performed her solo while speaking a poem about self-acceptance. Sanchez’
work was a tasteful, sophisticated reveal of the different stages in a woman's transformation.
After a show when walking out into the lobby you expect there to be performer’s waiting for their
friends and family; however, Variance continued the show after the curtain went down. The final
section of Morris’ Iamnot|utterances\habitus traveled through, around, and out of the lobby with
Morris was dressed in a red skirt, black boot heels, and a green wig telling stories about
discrimination, sexuality, and objectification. Being a performer myself, I was absorbed by the
change of structure that Iamnot|utterances\habitus gave Variance. Morris and his cast were
successful in disrupting and shattering the perception of concert dance, as it takes a brave
group of people like them to put forth a bold, eccentric message about performance,
authenticity, and identity.

CSULB Department of Dance’s annual BFA concert, Variance, was experimental, provocative,
and all six different concepts in the concert tied together in a bow. All the choreographer’s had
unique voices that spoke volumes to the many topics that were addressed. Breaking
boundaries, ideas, and conceptions, Variance, truly entertained the afternoon with different
ways of looking at humanity, the cosmos, identity, race, and gender.

A Guest Post by Filmmaker Justine Raczkiewicz - AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY BALLET'S INFERNO

No doubt many are familiar with Dante’s epic poem “The Divine Comedy”, and especially the juiciest canto “Inferno”, which follows his journey though hell guided by the Roman poet Virgil. Upon reading about a ballet interpretation of the piece, I jumped at the occasion to witness it in person. Expectations were high to see some sinful activity. The American Contemporary Ballet (ACB) feeds some of these desires, and provides an intimate set-up in a raw space, ironically from one of the highest points of downtown Los Angeles looking down into the darkest depths of man’s descent into the underworld.

On Friday the 13th, ACB, a relatively young dance company founded by LA native Lincoln Jones and Associate Director Theresa Farrell, showcased “Inferno” in their seventh season premiere. A perfect piece to kick off the Halloween spirit, it plays through October 28, 2017 on the 32nd floor of the Bloc Tower. Opening night also served as a costumed fundraiser, so while our palettes were treated to colorful cocktails named “Love” and “Bliss”, red and black suits, horns and tails roamed through the exposed fluorescent lit, cement columned space with a 360-degree view of the downtown skyline. An organist set a pensive and melancholic tone while the audience seated themselves.

ACB Dancers Rochelle Chang and Ian Schwaner.  Photo Credit Art Lessman

What lay ahead though was a more discordant experience. “Inferno” was scored to Charles Wuorinen’s “The Mission of Virgil” a ballet in seven parts, inspired by scenes from Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer’s piano was highly erratic, and with the meter changing at every bar, it was so complex it neither emoted nor evoked. With it’s lack of narrative or progression, after a while, it simply tired.

The opening dance piece catered to expectations, as a stunningly exposed Beatrice walked in front of the audience it reminded of the power of physicality and presence in live staging. When she gracefully hid her body in another dancer’s embrace, voyeuristic tendencies could not be appeased, and eyes drifted to the window reflections for alternate perspectives. 

The close quarters and proximity to the dancers, allowed us to fully appreciate the handiwork and materiality of the elegant costumes, which never failed to please. Beginning with elegant nudes, and delicate, transparent beige threads they highlighted the body’s contours and emphasized its fragility. As we descended further into the monster’s lairs, skin-tight one-piece leather suits, and elongated spiked nails emerged to visually demonstrate more horrific states.

And while the nudity, live piano music and stunning costumes played into the sensuality of the night, “Inferno” originally was meant to be a moral warning cry. I could not help but think somehow, that it felt almost mainstream. When horned headgear becomes appropriated, and festival masquerades become humdrum and ubiquitous, what imagery can possibly shock today? With the proliferation of provocative imagery and salacious headlines in the media, I hoped the movement of bodies would explore age-old thematics in a new manner. The dance however, was like the music, not daring or expressionist but formal. Or as Wuorinen described, there was a “certain mocking quality…more like ridicule than horror.” Perhaps the elevated ballet form is too limited a language of gestures to capture the full range of sin. Dante’s “Inferno” was also a highly political poem at his time, and my attention shifted to the elite funders in the audience who sipped their champagne and watched the dancers like Degas’ ballerinas. My mind could not help but drift to power structures and imagine young women who dreamed big in this town.

The placement of the piano was partially to blame for the distracted mind, as the sound was not tailored to the rectangular space, and amplification could have helped provide a more guttural impact. Although the Artistic Director visually described the space as “wide screen”, sound could have played in stereo rather than mono.

The dance choreography overall felt frenetic, and the most evocative moments were not the horrific, lustful and despicable as expected, but rather the moments of respite, of silence and pause. The opening and the ending, the embarkation and the arrival, were most humbling, poetic and human. Everything in between, should we call it the foreplay? Was more like purgatory – stuck in limbo without release. The overall piece was just under a half hour, and left some audience members unsatiated and longing for more. One critic wished he had seen “more junk” and was perplexed by the short-lived experience. But then again, this was a comedy after all.

The final scene between Dante and Virgil, beautifully embodied by Rochelle Chang and Ian Schwaner, was the most tangible, relatable and emotional piece in the evening. A powerful spotlight flooded the stage with a beam of light and partially illuminated the poet and his guide, as they slowly emerged from the cavernous shadows. With palms outstretched, they carefully shielded themselves as they approached the source, searching for meaning in their existence. As the piece moved from a state of confusion to one of clarity and resolution through ascension, we were left with an image of newfound hope.

PORT: LA/SF

Hello there.  Did you see LA Contemporary Dance Company Presents PORT: LA/SF last week at the Los Angeles Theater Center in Downtown LA?  If not, it was a wonderful evening of mixed work from San Francisco-based company FACT/SF and Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company. 

Artists of FACT/SF.  Photo Credit Gema Galina

If you haven’t heard of FACT/SF, it’s a contemporary dance company founded by Charles Slender-White in 2008.  Keep this company on your radar, folks.  His work is very unique and its not like anything out there on the dance circuit now.  Slender-White’s work is very unique, experimental and well thought-out.  As seen in his Los Angeles premiere of Remains, his use of props, puppets and creative ways of using  lighting design on each individual dancer fit so well with the thought provoking content of the dark yet beautiful work.  What I especially liked about Slender-White’s choreography is his simple use of movement gestures and his intentional choreography of the dancer/performers head. Its such a small detail to place an emphasis on movement of the head and Slender-White did it so effectively in both Remains and in excerpts from Platform; the third performance on the bill for the evening.  Speaking of Platform, the excerpt truly showcased his artistic talent and I DEFINITELY wanted to see the entire piece!  Charles himself along with Liane Burns proved their technical capabilities with synchronization.  Both music choices in Charles’ work kept me fully engaged too.  The only question I had after seeing Platform was about the choreography of the work.  Did he do the sole choreography or was it a collaborative effort with additional dancers?  The Program Notes weren’t clear. 

Artists of LACDC.  Photo Credit Gema Galina

LACDC both opened and closed PORT: LA/SF.  With the opening excerpts from Stimulaze and the closing Nomad.Lore World Premiere, we got to see the range of work this company has in its repertoire. In one evening LACDC gave us Melancholy and Ultra Pop Contemporary dance work.  Costuming was very basic in Stimulaze and flashy in the second piece. LACDC is a staple in the SoCal Dance community because the artists can execute a wide array of work.  I believe LA dance patrons appreciate LADCs work in that it is both rarefied and accessible.    

Artists of LACDC.  Photo Credit Gema Galina

Kudos to PORT for exposing LA dance audiences to Bay area artists.  When do we get to see more again?   

PORT (Peer Organized Regional Touring) was born out of 2 years of discussion between the two companies (Fact/SF and LACDC), seeking to remove the economic and logistical obstacles that prohibit cross-regional collaboration. PORT better connects our regions, exposes audiences to an expanded palate of contemporary dance, and creates opportunities for the artists of San Francisco and Los Angeles to learn from and exchange with each other.

L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC) is a non-profit repertory dance company that offers Los Angeles professional and innovative dance experiences throughout the year. LACDC performs a diverse repertoire of contemporary and cutting edge work representative of L.A.’s vibrant culture. By affording choreographers and dancers the opportunity to create concert length work in an experimental and collaborative environment, LACDC strives to foster the development of new forms in the contemporary dance genre relevant to today’s audiences. www.lacontemporarydance.org

FACT/SF is a San Francisco-based contemporary dance company, founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Charles Slender-White as a platform for organizing collaborators, building community, and creating choreography. FACT/SF regularly performs in the San Francisco Bay Area, maintains a core group of local collaborators, and has developed an extensive international network of colleagues and partners. In addition to presenting the works of Slender-White, FACT/SF supports and engages with the field through three programs: JuMP, PORT, and the annual FACT/SF Summer Dance Lab.

Martha Graham at CSUN - A guest post by Filmmaker J. Raczkiewicz

On Saturday, May 13th the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge had their season’s grand finale performance, “Martha Graham and American Music” a selection of pieces from the iconic choreographer’s repertoire set to music performed by Christopher Rountree’s orchestra “Wild Up”. The evening began with opening remarks from Thor Steingraber, the Executive Director of VPAC, who described the dire status of national arts funding under the current administration. The message underscored how drastically the climate had changed since my last visit to VPAC six months prior—a stark reminder of the political climate artists now face and must strive to survive in.

The Martha Graham company, a 91-year-old company which was founded in 1926, has had much of its work funded by grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, a long-standing organization founded by the Kennedy administration, and threatened with closure. Graham revolutionized and redefined contemporary dance as an American art form, and was not only the first dancer to perform at the White House, but was also granted the United States’ highest civilian honor: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1998, TIME Magazine named her the “Dancer of the Century.

“A dance reveals the spirit of the country in which it takes root. No sooner does it fail to do this than it loses its integrity and significance,” Martha Graham wrote in the 1937 essay A Platform for the American Dance. On this note, Steingraber left us with an affirming thought, either we could watch TV and stay at home and see how we’re different, or we could come here and see how we’re the same. The audience responded with thunderous applause.

PANORAMA

The first piece of the night had its premiere in 1935 at the Vermont State Armory, and was set to an avant-garde score by Norman Lloyd. Graham was a visionary and forever altered the future of dance, impacting generations ahead of her. “No artist is ahead of his time” she said “he is his time, it is just that the others are behind the time.”  I could not help but think about the opening remarks again, and imagine how this piece was perceived by audiences in the 1930s, and yet remain as pertinent today.

This dance was a reconstruction of the original, and featured 28 student dancers from Northridge, Granada Hills and LA County arts high schools. The youthful energy and excitement was palpable in the air. The bright blue monochromatic backdrop and blue lit floor, set the dancers apart in their electric red colored costumes, which were designed by Graham herself. These patriotic colors echoed the opening sentiments once more, but red had its own loaded political Soviet connotations at the time. Graham was a master not only of movement, but moreover movement in color and this imbued her dance with a symbolic activism. Only youth could fully capture and represent that dynamism on stage.

As the mass moved in unison to the militaristic music, in and out of repetitive formations, they became a chorus of scurrying electrons at one moment, melancholic statues rising from what could be the depths of a lake the next. The dancers jumped with articulated appendages like puppets whose spines remained mostly erect, and could only find expression through their extremities. Their hands and feet had a language of their own, flat palms, closed fists, and flexed feet symbolically represented open and closed systems, freedom and constraint.

Graham’s style broke with convention in how she electrified the body, and played with contraction and release. These students were forced into geometric synchronized shapes in shifting space, but then also broke out in demonstration.

Conductor, Christopher Roundtree’s orchestra “Wild Up” energized the audience with a searing sound, and left our hearts palpitating. He spoke about his orchestra like a circuit that connects the audience, musicians and music in a feedback loop.

DARK MEADOW SUITE

After “Panorama,” the Company’s Artistic Director, Janet Eilber, came out and briefly introduced the next few pieces starting with “Suite”, made up of excerpts from a longer work, “Dark Meadow” which originally premiered in 1946 in New York City. She spoke about “Suite” as a reenactment of ritual, an abstract search for connection with another, within oneself, and with the larger community. The ritualistic piece was inspired by Graham’s love of the American Southwest and Mexican natives and was accompanied by Mexican composer, Carlos Chavez’ score, which the dancers used as counterpoint to their percussive bodies and stomping feet.

There was an autumnal feel in colors and tones, the dancers wore orange and black costumes set against a burnt orange backdrop, reminiscent of a setting sun. The women’s costumes were modern and empowering, with exposed abs, like the center of the earth, a core of strength, restrained but grounded. They danced in rhythmic patterns, gathered in circles and communed with nature.

In the second half of the piece, four couples danced in unison balancing off of each other. The men held the women at their hip and steered them to the light like captains of a ship. They leaned out like plants towards the sun, shifting their positions to soak up more rays. Martha Graham’s original program note explained “Dark Meadow is a re-enactment of the mysteries which attend the eternal adventure of seeking.” The audience seemed enthralled by the mystery, murmuring vocal approvals at the end of the piece.

DIVERSION OF ANGELS

With “Diversion of Angeles,” which was first shown in Connecticut in 1948, the focus began to move from the collective to the individual, set to Norman Dello Joio’s romantic score. Graham was deeply influenced by Kandinsky’s paintings, which she said nearly caused her to faint when she first saw them. She was startled by his modernity, but also saw a kindred spirit, and vowed to translate that feeling she had into movement. Graham’s costumes in this piece recall his art, and highlight three different aspects of love represented by the colors, yellow, red and white through three different female dancers.

The yellow dancer, Laurel Dalley Smith, wore a ponytail and ribbon in her hair, an exuberant smile and lifted and twirled through the air with a youthfulness and untainted joy, head over heels in happiness. This first love is adolescent and carefree. The red, embodied by Anne O’Donnell, was a more sensual but also mercurial love. The couple struggled to maintain composure in a world without gravity, and without balance. The final incarnation or stage of love was more restrained, formal and stoic both in movement, costume and expression. Leslie Andrea Williams, represented a more mature, spiritual love dressed in white. This performance was perhaps the most relatable and intimate of them all, and the audience erupted in a loud applause filled with cheers. Two older women beside me exclaimed, “We’re getting our money’s worth!” To which the other replied, “the real McCoy, what a treat!” “That’s Martha Graham.”

CAVE OF THE HEART

If the previous piece represented the exalted height of humanity, the heart, and its affinity to love, then this piece was its antithesis and dove into its deep, dark twisted chambers and its destruction. “Cave of the Heart,” from 1946, is based on Euripides’ tragedy “Medea,” and warns of the horrors betrayal can breed. Medea sacrificed her life for her love, which left her exiled from home, but once her husband left her for another woman, she plotted to murder his new wife.

The set was one of many designed by Martha Graham’s long-time collaborator, the Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi. His landscape work was visible on stage through his meticulous placement and arrangement of the space divided into three areas. To one side there were rocks lined up in an equidistant formation on the ground, in the middle there was an amorphous organic sculptural element, and on the other side a rectilinear wireframe of metallic branches rose up to the sky.

The couple of lovers, Charlotte Landreau and Ben Schultz balanced on the rocks, while Medea, played by Xin Ying, observed from the perimeter, hidden behind the metallic tree. If her venomous green dress decorated with snakelike patterns wasn’t telling enough, her asymmetrical and off-kilter ponytail displayed a more visible derangement. Samuel Barber’s sinister piano and shivering horns further accentuated her spasmic dancing. At the height of the scene, Medea transformed the metallic tree from sculpture to costume, and wore the caged corset of wobbling wires, using it like a tentacled torture device. She approached the couple with this destructive wireframe pushed by vengeance to end her rival’s life. The women behind me were transfixed and tried to decode the actions on stage. “That was weird” they whispered, “evil,” “something else.”

MAPLE LEAF RAG

The last performance of the evening ended on a more redemptive note, with some meta-humor on the artistic process. “Maple Leaf Rag” from 1990, was Martha Graham’s last ballet and a “play within the play.” The multi-colored leotards designed by Calvin Klein provide a classical context for some comical fare, as the dancers pranced around in a pensive and parodic manner – an ode to a self-aware and light-hearted mocking of Graham’s own work and persona. She overtly played against the serious and codified conventions in dance, and rather than “setting the bar high,” Graham’s main set piece here was an unnaturally low ballet barre which dominated the stage. It winkingly failed to serve its purpose as a static pillar, and undulated with the dancers who misused it to their amusement. The climbed on the bar like tight-rope walkers, and rested on it for extended breaks. The dancers had fun in dethroning and humanizing the body through their vaudevillian-like gestures, with slaps on the arse, pirouettes and more. Richard Valututto played the piano on stage with the performers, as much a part of the story and punctuating the humor. Scott Joplin’s score accentuated the dancers as a merry band of pranksters. One dancer wore a long white dress, which she playfully transformed, lifting her skirt over her head and crossing the stage multiple times in a repetitive fashion as a transition element for comic relief. The entire piece elicited continuous laughter from the audience, as consistent as a laugh track. It was an uplifting ending to the night. “The body says what words cannot” according to Graham. In an environment oversaturated with misappropriated and misunderstood words, dance may be the most universal and unifying language of them all.

Innovation at the Music Center - By Ashlee Blosser

Sculptures. Video Projection. Gowns. Time.

Jessica Lang Dance performed five works from their repertoire that monopolized my attention of the whole two hours at The Music Center on Feb. 18. Jessica Lang has such an innovative approach to choreography with set designs, video projections, and costumes that the theatre was full awaiting the start of the show when I got to my seat. The whole evening I was consistently engaged oo-ing and aw-ing at the surprises Lang’s choreography gave us. 

Photo Credit Todd Rosenberg

Opening the show was Tesseracts of Time with its daring partnering and many dimensions of space. Lang’s use of floor work as an instrument in conjunction with John Cage’s composition and the performer’s impeccable timing had me leaning forward in my seat. After a video projection, the choreography was playful and I could see the dancers smile as they worked through the obstacles of the white sculptures on stage. The last section felt sacred as Lang’s movement mirrored images of what seemed to me as time-turners, clocks, and hour glasses. One moment that stood out was a group partnering moment where they were laying flat on the floor; and slowly in a continuous canon, rolled backwards into handstands or supported positions. This gave me the image of the number panels on an old school alarm clock flipping when the hour or minute changed. Performers Patrick Coker, Eve Jacobs, and Kana Kimura stood out to me in Tesseracts of Time and its abstract approach to an already abstract concept. 

Photo Credit Takao Komaru

The Calling in a couple words was just perfect. Just the right length with a beautiful performance by Kana Kimura. It is always intriguing to see what choreographer’s will do when they work with extravagant gowns that drape across almost the whole stage floor. Lang’s choreography was fulfilling as Kimura purely moved through the choreography. I felt like she was almost trying to communicate with the audience as her performance seemed for us only. 

With a new more open change in set design, Thousand Yard Stare, had a bare stage with all the curtains and scrims up. The group partnering in this thoughtful tribute to american soldiers was innovative. One moment that stood out was when they all formed a line where they did sequential and simultaneous movements down the line. At one point a performer was separated from the group, and the group worked as a team to pull her back in over their bodies placing her in a spot that appeared at the perfect time. John Harnage and Jammie Walker had a seamless male duet has they moved with control and strength. The use of lighting to imitate explosions was radical in its own way and kept me on my toes. 

Lang’s dance video, White, kept my attention as it juxtaposed slow motion, “normal speed,” and fast forward. The editing in the video to superimpose two different filmings so that one duet was going at a “normal speed” and another in slow motion was astounding. 

Photo Credit Takao Komaru

Ending the performance was, i.n.k., with its complementing video projection that kept the audience in awe. Clifton Brown’s solo was utterly satiating to watch as he beautifully suspended within the physicality of Lang’s choreography. Correlation of the video projection with the quartet was fun and explicit as the ink drops on the screen danced with the performers. The duet’s were captivating as the movement joined with the sloshing of the music or slow motion of the projection. 

Overall throughout the performance, the company members had an incredible range of dynamics but also a consistent lightness in weight too. Their technique was incredible and performances inviting. One thing I found different from Lang’s work than most of the performances I attend was the slight break of the fourth wall with the audience. The dancers acknowledged us through their smiles and projection of energy, whereas a lot of works today are in their own world on stage and we are merely the observers. Jessica Lang Dance gave a captivating performance that kept me on my toes and leaning forward in my seat, and I cannot wait to see them again when they come back to LA. 

Imagined Elasticities, an evening of experimental music, avant-garde cabaret and performance art at Automata Gallery Curated by Sara Debevec

On Tuesday evening, January 31st Automata Gallery in Chinatown hosted Imagined Elasticities, a mash up of performance art and cabaret punk rock, curated by internationally acclaimed, LA based performance artist and writer, Sara Debevec, best known for her animal inspired multimedia solo performance art work through Europe, Asia and United States. In the role of a curator this time, Debevec celebrated original music and performance by artists from LA, Miami and New York.  

“I wanted to create a space where artists could converse with one another through their work and though the elasticities of their mediums. It was crucial that this experience would take place in a gallery with no seating and the audience immersed among the artists, blurring the boundaries between the observer and the observed, between the back stage and the front stage. I wanted it all to turn into one collateral performance piece everyone could be a part of” says artist and curator Sara Debevec.

Imagined Elasticities brought together musicians Valerie Kuehne and the Wasps Nests, Copán and Rachel Mason as well as performance artists Tora Kim and Nathan Bockelman for one night only at an intimate, alternative art and performance space Automata Gallery. With it’s storefront windows and a peephole cinema at the back, where the audience can actually look through a hole out the back alleyway and watch puppet films,  Automata is both enchanting and welcoming, making you feel like you have stumbled upon a secret living room in the heart of LA.

Rachel Mason
Photo Credit: Brandon Lake

Rachel Mason opened the evening with songs from her new album Das Ram by Cleopatra Records. Touted as "one of the most creative forces in the world" by Impose Magazine, Mason is best known in music circles for delivering fantastical narratives which interweave musical, theatrical and narrative elements into unexpected operatic journeys. Through her wide-ranging portfolio of mixed media work, she instigates fantasy and harsh realities through scripts, sculpture, rock operas, live performances and compositions that span over a decade. At Imagined Elasticities, surrounded by a red glow and using various clown inspired masks and props, Rachel’s mesmerizing voice walked hand in hand with her eerie choreography.

Tora Kim
Photo Credit Brandon Lake

An emotionally charged performance “Home Invasion” by artist Tora Kim followed. This was a multimedia exploration of politics, trauma and the immigrant experience couched in a visceral homecoming. Wrapped up in a white sheet with a mask on her face, Kim shouts at a projected video of a dog panting, “Shut up! Shut up!” after which she turns around, and words appear on screen “You are Disposable.” Powerful words meet intimate family footage in this heartfelt performance piece exploring themes of trauma and dislocation;  “I told stories of my family when we moved to NYC, and my own racial confrontation in LA. It was important to me to access the personal as well as the political, with humor and archetypal imagery.” As Tora Kim reached for a takeout box, started eating the contents and sat in the storefront window of the gallery, “Home Invasion” rolled into the third act of the evening Valerie Kuehne and the Wasps Nests.

Valerie Kuehne and the Wasps Nests
Photo Credit Brandon Lake

Valerie Kuehne and the Wasps Nests is a NYC/PGH based trio composed of cello/vocals (Valerie Kuehne), violin (Jeffrey Young), and drums (Alex Cohen).  The trio performs frenetic and visceral material in the form of songs that have been described as a collision of disparate genres (art-rock, cabaret, metal, grindcore, classical, experimental, punk, rock).  The band members have a wide range of musical backgrounds and interests: Valerie Kuehne studied classical music when she was young, got a college degree in philosophy, and now works mostly as a songwriter and in the performance art scene. Jeffrey Young got a degree in classical violin and composition, and now plays a mix of rock, experimental, and classical music. Alex Cohen got a degree in jazz drumming, and now plays most frequently with death metal bands.  Their performance was intense, beautiful and thought provoking.

“I saw Valerie Kuehne and the Wasps Nests, for the first time in New York and immediately fell in love with their raw aesthetic and vivacious energy. Not only are they incredibly talented musicians but they are also gifted performers and storytellers. I was blown away watching them perform this evening!” says curator of Imagined Elasticities, Sara Debevec; “They are on tour at the moment and were in town for one night only. I am incredibly happy they were able to share their work with LA audience!”

Artist Nathan Bockelman
Photo Credit Brandon Lake

Nathan Bockelman performed in darkness, with solely street light entering the space through storefront windows; “I don't always deal with charged topics, but that’s the direction this work went as I was making it.” Nathan Bockelman is a writer, actor, performer, and sculptor based in LA. While often showing work in a solo context his performative works are often times collaborative working with artist, writers, and dancers such as Julie Mayo, Eric Svedas, Brian Getnick, HK Zamani, Kimberly Zumpfe and Elliot Reed. Taking out a torchlight that was hanging off some sort of a thread, Nathan Bockelman, created an atmosphere of suspense and explored the space from a completely different angle, to mesh up of Queen and police news reports. A viewer was given the torch light along with the power to decide what was seen by others – an interesting touch to the immersive aspect of the show.

The finale of the evening was Copán (Jordan Chymczuk-Sol and Yoán Moreno) an instrumental two-piece that aggressively performs ‘Latin’ music, as filtered through progressive and noise rock. The group is known for its lengthy, trance-inducing compositions and for its frenetic live performances that entail improvisation and looping. Copán released "The Outskirts" in 2015 and is also featured on "no//thing but noise" (2016). Originally formed in Miami in 2011, the group is now based in Los Angeles. Keeping in line with the immersive aspect of the show and exploring the limitations of an art space, the band pumped up the volume and literally ended the performance by “forcing” audience members out of the gallery with their heightened volume. The audience moved outdoors and enjoyed the music from a different space, making it almost site specific.

Copán performing at Imagined Elasticities
Photo Credit Brandon Lake

Imagined Elasticities challenged the boundaries of performance art and music creating an immersive space of collateral reflection. As artist Tora Kim summarized it; “I felt the entire evening of performers was elevated as a political act from the sheer context of our current social climate. Whether or not each movement or song or word uttered was meant to be political, I felt every moment was activated in a new way, perhaps indicating a new realm of possibilities to empower and be empowered.”

Debevec plans to curate similar shows this year in alternative art spaces in LA and New York. Her geopolitical video performance My Family Before Me, will be shown between May 1st and 26th at 18th Street Arts Gallery in Santa Monica. Also, look out for her solo show at PAM Residencies in October this year.

It is always a unique experience to see an artist curate a show, taking their work and creativity to the next level and Debevec seems to be taking the Los Angeles arts scene by the sorm.

Acts of Matter's "rep•er•toire" gives a willing, selfless display of humanity - A guest post by Ashlee Blosser

In my last review I had said that there is no art without humanity and those who live for it. LA based company, Acts of Matter, artistically directed by Rebecca Lemme, proved that they live for a raw, visceral interpretation of humanity in their first stand alone show, rep•er•toire, that took place this past weekend at Highway’s Performance Space. 

Photo Credit Jamie Carr

Acts of Matter is a project-based performance group whose mission is “revealing and reveling in our greater humanity through investment in process and collaboration.” Grounded with “unfitted willingness” and “acceptance of possible failure,” Acts of Matter works have a “physical exertion—an act of trying”—that shows their belief that “as a society we are defined by what unites us.”

Ringing true to their mission, Acts of Matter gave the audience an evening of unapologetic emotion and human connection. The company comprised of performers—Laura Berg, Katie Istvan, Charissa Kroeger, Megan McCarthy, Jobel Medina, Joey Navarrete, Joan Holly Padeo, Montay Romero, Gracie Whyte, and Taylor Worden—was accompanied with original scores by River Song Quartet and a live performance by ISTANBUL.  

Lemme commented on the process of Acts of Matter’s first stand alone performance, “It’s a much larger beast to bring together a number of pieces even if they already exist, however, it’s really beautiful to look at the evolution of my own work together while seeing new bodies and new artists interpreting roles that were originally created with other artists.”

After this seemingly tumultuous (political) week, rep•er•toire, was the exact dose of compassion, community, and acceptance that I needed. Lemme’s work,Retrouvaille, The Fragments, as may be felt, and Love Letter reaffirmed that empathy and human connection—something I feel is slowly being lost in our country—still exists.

Beginning the show was Retrouvaille with a bare and vulnerable performance. Retrouvaille, a word meaning “coming together again,” had an abstract evolution to it as the performers weaved in and out of duets and solos. The lighting in the beginning felt like a sunrise on a new day as the dancers walked backwards with one hand holding the other wrist symbolizing some type of conflict or restraint. There was never an empty spot on stage as the performer’s created a community together out of their own personal tragedies. From having seen Lemme’s work in the past, I can tell that what was performed was an excerpt of a much longer piece.

The Fragments blessed me with a beautiful sense of warmth, safety, and simplicity. Inspired from the Shaker saying, “Gather up the fragments, let nothing be lost,” derived from John 6:12, the dancers were truly absorbent and gratified by each other’s presence. Joey Navarrete's solo in the beginning was grounded and humble while he and the singing ensemble welcomed the audience into a safe space. Simplicity shines through Lemme’s choreography in The Fragments with a through line of humble virtuosities. The performers never disposed of the movement by quickly moving on, but continued the energy all the way. A work like The Fragments in times like this is very poignant and exposed. At one point in the piece, performer Jobel Medina joined the audience to witness the compassion that filled the room. It brought a sense of community, acceptance, and never taking anything or anyone for granted.

Photo Credit Phillip Knowlton

This particular piece of Lemme’s resonates strongly with her and her company members.

“From this show, The Fragments is important to me because with the current political climate it’s a piece that honors diversity amongst a community with people who are willing to accept each other no matter what,” said Lemme.

Becca has been talking about our connections as humans and being there for one another,” comments company member Charissa Kroeger. “The togetherness really comes alive during the performance and the connection between us is palpable.”

Lemme added, “The song that the company sings that leads us into that piece is a song that I first heard right after my father passed away… The song is about knowing what’s important in life and making sure that you use your time wisely.”

as may be felt had a similar feel in the beginning as Retrouvaille, however, it shaped itself into something much more relentless and internal.  The dancer's all nude colored costumes erased their genders making them being's composed from emotions and reactions.  The pulsating, haunted music complemented the performer’s expression of uncertainty and unpredictability. Lemme’s trademark partnerwork shined in as may be felt with intertwining in an out of unnatural, yet seamless positions. Performers Katie Istvan and Jobel Medina’s reactive duet was risky, dynamic, and intense. I found myself breathing with them as they relentlessly moved through redirection and were taken over by momentum. At first Lemme’s use of the buildings wall confused me, but as the piece evolved it became a symbol for me of the inability to escape human emotions and the need of other’s to move up and past our involuntary reactions. 

“I felt like the duet in the third piece was very powerfully performed with a pounding energy.” said audience member Molly Wolfe. “In a way it almost felt like [Medina] had disappeared in it, and even though he was extremely essential to that choreography, it was like [Itsvan] was putting herself through all it. It was showcased in a really beautiful way.”

Ending rep•er•toire was Love Letter a new work in progress for Acts of Matter that is an homage to the lovelorn, the misfits, and the hopeless romantics. Taylor Worden and Istvan’s duet was quirky, fun and thoroughly enjoyable. Their performance was mystifying as they told the audience their love story through strong, dexterous partnering. Jobel Medina’s solo was heartrending as his movement told me a story about violation and the paralyzed hysteria of being in love with someone wrong for you. Ending the piece was a compelling performance by Joan Holly Padeo singing “Love Me Tender,” with a solo by Montay Romero. Padeo’s singing performance sunk deep as it made me relive the distraught involved with heartbreak. I could feel the pain and the almost hopeful defeat as she brought tears to my eyes and surrounding audience members. Romero’s solo was sustained yet collapsing as his movement complemented Padeo’s voice. When he fell to the floor it made me flinch, however, it just reiterated the pain you feel when heartbroken, physically and emotionally. 

“[Lemme’s] really good at group choreography with shared weight in floorwork, partnering, and extending movement that gets tied into knots and then slips right through because of the virtuosity of the dancers,” comments audience member Charlie Dando.

Innovative and beautiful, Lemme’s work and her company member’s vivacious performances impressed the whole audience. Other audience members had commented on Acts of Matter’s “athleticism,” “connection and contact” with each other, and “seeing these large group pieces in an intimate space where you’re in the same world as the performers.”

Acts of Matter will be performing again April 21-23rd in their third annual collaborative performance, T3THERING, with colleague Andrea Gise’s company, Dance Aegis. A full version of Love Letter will premiere along with a new work Lemme is setting on the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company. Dance Aegis will be premiering a new work on the company and another work on The Assembly from Orange County. 

Location of T3THERING will be announced soon. To keep up to date on Acts of Matter and what they are doing or for open company class information go to their company page https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalemmeartist/. 

Especially in times like these the arts are needed… The willing, selfless display of humanity from the company dancers in rep•er•toire gave me hope for what artists will be creating in the future.

Photo Credit Jamie Carr 

LA Dance Project on the Red Carpet - Benjamin Millepied gives insight on the red carpet. By Ashlee Blosser

LA Dance Project’s “Homecoming” Premiere red carpet lived up to the glamour at the Ace Hotel as artist Benjamin Millepied shared what to expect, what the night meant to him, advise for young artists, and more.

On Dec. 10, 2016, LA Dance Project hosted their annual gala at The Theatre at Ace Hotel before their performance and world premiere of “Homecoming.” The program consisted of four pieces, two choreographed by company founder, Benjamin Millepied, with composition and live performance by composer Rufus Wainwright, and two original works choreographed by guest artists Christopher Wheeldon and Roy Assaf.

Those set to join Benjamin Millepied on the red carpet was wife Natalie Portman, along with other well-known guests: Rufus Wainwright and husband Jörn Weisbrodt, Darren Aronofsky, Robert Pattison , FKA Twigs, Janie Taylor, Carla Körbes, Frank Gehry, Eli Broad, Edythe Broad, Barbara Kruger, Maja Hoffman, Nicholas Brittle, André Saraiva, Willo Perron, and Alex Israel.

Of those who walked on the red carpet Millepied and Wainwright were the only ones I was able to get comments from. They shared laughs and insight as they graciously walked up the carpet taking photos and interviews from us reporters.

“It’s the most successful gala we've ever had. Its nice to feel the support from [everyone],” shares Millepied on what this night means to him. “It’s sort of a new beginning for the company. We will be announcing some very exciting steps for next year. New projects, new partners. It’s homecoming,” smiles Millepied.

“Yesterday was the first time we performed live together and it was fantastic. Piece of cake,” shares Wainwright. “I sensed a higher level of intensity with these incredible dancers, Benjamin being one of them. It’s a bit unnerving, but exciting.”

Here is a video of Millepied giving insight on the performance.

https://youtu.be/5L0Ti2t9FWI

“He said it made him feel like dancing, which isn't often what I hear. People usually feel like crying when they listen to my material,” laughs Wainwright on why Millepied chose his music. “But he felt like dancing. I feel like a lot of people are going to be dancing and crying in the near future.”

When asked on what he would like the audience to take away from the performance, Millepied responded, “Whatever they take away is up to them. The whole point of dance is that I express it, and then it’s important for people to walk away from it with their own ideas and reactions.”

One reporter asked Millepied about if his and wife, Natalie Portman’s, five-year-old son had any interest in the arts yet and he responded with a chuckled, “He’s very young.”

The ending note of the night was the chance to ask Millepied a question about any advice he has for graduating dance majors coming into the professional world. As a dance major graduating in May, I soaked in every word as he answered my question.

“It’s a very different time than it was. First of all there are not a lot of companies around in America that can provide work,” stated Millepied. “It’s important as a young artist and dancer to really broaden and expose the landscape of arts and culture to have bigger, better understanding of the arts in general,” he advised, “[Don’t] just be focused on dance, but be entrepreneurial and think about what [you] are trying to say today.”

For information about the performance, scroll down for a review written by fellow Spot LA blogger, Sara Debevec!

LA CONTEMPORARY DANCE PROJECT - FORCE MAJEURE A Guest Post by Ashlee Blosser

Photo Credit Ruben Contreras

Atwater Village Theatre's small, intimate black box theatre, overfilled with audience members Nov. 11 for LA contemporary Dance Company's world premiere of their fall repertory concert, "FORCE MAJEURE."  The room was foggy with mysterious down pools of light illuminating the stage.  With a sold out show audience members had to resort to sitting on the stairs, standing, or crouching by the seats.  Out of courtesy to older audience members, I gave my seat away and joined those crouching by seats.

As time went on the theatre became more crammed with excitement bubbling to the ceiling.  Announcers took the floor to welcome the guest and and asked everyone to squeeze in tight na get cozy.  This allowed for an opening on the stairs, which I was grateful for because my legs were falling asleep.

LACDC's Fall Repertory Concert, "FORCE MAJEURE," featured new works by LA choreographers Christian Denice, Micaela Taylor, and Artistic Director Genevieve Carson.  The company also welcomed NY choreographer Gregory Dolbashian, along with LA composer Robert Amjarv whose original music was featured in this premiere.  

"EBBA" choreographed by Genevieve Carson opened the concert with a driving beat originally composed by Robert Amjarv.  Immediately the audience was immersed into a world of stron, dynamic women whose physicality was almost primal.. Carson's choreography was powerfully unstable as the performers were united but individual.

"EBBA" was an intimate, bold, and unapologetic investigation of hte many layers that exist in the psyche of girls and women, and how they can ultimately find strength and ownership in that.  The performers took the audience on a journey through feeling alone, criticized, violated, and vulnerable.

During the final atmosphere change the women guided each other through parterning and unison of sustained, gestural movement, released spirals and sporadic breakouts.  "EBBA," a work in progress, did feel unfinished, but left me eater to see the full product in the future.

Choreographer Gregory Dolbashian debuted a quartet in "Beautyfear," who set an enviornment with pulsing music and an essence of struggle.  Focusing on four character in the didst of discover, Beautyfear" explores the moment of realization in a person's life where they come face to face with the habits and behaviors that stand in the way of their progress.

The quartet flowed through manipulated, arching movement, and moved in and out of static and momentous moments.  Dolbashian's use of mirroring, progression, and regression was successful as the performers were hypnotized and burdened by one another.  "Beautyfear" ended like a gust of wind without any resolution, which speaks to the truth of how old habits die hard.

When asking fellow audience members katelyn Black and Ana Cardenas about the concert, they had a difficult time finding words to describe their admiration for LACDC's performance.

"If you could get our [opinion] physically it would be great," laughs Cardenas as her and Black squirmed and fidgeted from excitement and astoundment.

"It was beautiful.  I loved it," continues Black.  "Even during the five-minute break I couldn't talk because I was so taken aback at how beautiful it was."

Staticky, buzzing music revealed another quartet in "Sporty" choreographed by Micaela Taylor.  Decked out in all white attire the performers had dynamic timing with pulsing, staccato movement.  Their determined focus was constant throughout the sudden environment changes.

"Sporty," was a loot at a group of hip, young millennials fighting to stay relevant in a society defined by quickly changing trends.  Through back and core initiation the dancers executed chunky, sequential movement.  Never breaking character the performers ended on a strong, dramatic note.

Closing the show Christian Denice's "Delicate Skins" captivated the audience with the performer's tactility and full embodiment.  The performers explored the sensations of touch, intimacy, and sensitivity within the physical and emotional realms.  Witnessing each other as they itched with sensory overload, the performers seamlessly transitioned from individual moments to momentous, trusting partner work.

"Touch and connectivity were very important [themes] and the driving force to f the piece," says Denice.  "I wanted to remain authentic from the beginning with natural responses to touch and connectivity and speaking to the vulnerability of connecting to someone.  [the piece] also speaks to the painful process of bringing yourself back to that point after you've closed yourself off again."

Each dancer had a purpose with each partner interchange and every unpredictable redirection.  The performers were breathtaking with their expressive limbs and expanding spance throughout their bodies.

Denice's use of repetition was successful as the dancers molded, felt, and manipulated a male soloist.  With his heart on his sleeve, the male soloist ended "Delicate Skins" by removing his shirt and baring himself physically and emotionally to the ensemble and audience.

Concluding the show Carson, the performers and Denice gave their gratitude to the audience with a humbling bow and introduction of names.  Carson thanked the audience and the art donors for all they do for LACDC.

Photo Credit Ruben Contreras

"FORCE MAJEURE" won the admiration for the Friday night audience as they stormed the performance space to engage with Carson, Denice, and the performers.  As I walked around Atwater Village Theatre's courtyard, I observed applause, engrossing conversations and congratulatory embraces.    

"The fluidity of the dancers was encapsulating." says audience member Megan Seagren.  "The way that [the performers] moved and their transition were enthralling to me."

After this past week of the aftermath of the presidential election results, it was refreshing to witness the unity, happiness, and acceptance that the LA dance community has to offer.  A striking comment of Carson's left me feeling inspired and hopeful, "We create in these empty spaces to share with you.  This is what we live for."  There is no art without humanity and those who live for it.

Lucinda Childs A Portrait (1963-2016) - A Guest Post by Sara Debevec

On Saturday November 5th, I went to see Lucinda Childs’ A Portrait (1963-2016) at UCLA Royce Hall. The twin towered brick and tile building in a Lombard Romanesque style, gracefully welcomed me as I made my way to the outdoor Royce Hall balcony, where I joined the early crowd for a glass of wine overlooking Sunset Boulevard. Anticipation was in the air. I was thrilled to see the work of a remarkable artist and choreographer, who altered the way we perceive performance and generated material that continues to influence artists to this day.

Lucinda Childs’s is a unique choreographer whose early start came from the now legendary art Judson Church movement. This was an avant-garde artistic collective who experimented with basic movement, found objects and non-theatre spaces. Together with Deborah Hay and and Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs founded the Judson Dance Theater in New York in the late 1960s.  This was a space where they all forged their early explorations, developed their practices an performed in front of their artist peers in the hotbed of the downtown New York art scene.  These three women were at the center of the emerging post modern dance movement.  

Inspired by John Cage and Marcel Duchamp, Lucinda Child’s compositions are often described as conceptual and minimalist. She has collaborated with musicians, artists and architects to create luminous, intricate and endlessly fascinating work. She is widely known for her groundbreaking works both in the US and abroad; notably the Robert Wilson/Philip Glass opera Einstein on the Beach(1976, co-choreographed with Andy DeGroat), and Dance (1979, with Glass and Sol LeWitt).

Lucinda Childs: A Portrait (1963-2016) was a diverse retrospective arc across her evolving sensibilities and explorations through a selection of choreographies in a chronological order. Starting with Pastime (1963) through Radial Courses (1976) through Lollapalooza (2010) to her world premiere of Into View (2016).

The show opened with Pastime (1963), set in what seemed to be a factory or an old warehouse. The music of Philip Corner, with its induced sounds of dribbling water and old pipes, added to the industrial feel and the haunting, post apocalyptic atmosphere of the set. I recall an image of a woman on the floor, enveloped by a light stretchy material, with only her head sticking out, as if in a cocoon, slowly moving but not trying to get out.  The dances that followed involved groups of men or women mechanically walking through space, dressed in white simple attire; a shimmering play of geometrical explorations. The movement and sound were elegantly stripped to the basics. The dancers were moving to the sound of their feet and although they were not touching, they were precisely and intricately connected.

The silence in the pieces Katema (1978), Radical Courses (1976) and Interior Drama (1977) turns the works into masterpieces of vibration and rhythm carefully and beautifully executed by all the dancers alike. It feels like we are seeing the inside of an antique mechanical clock with dancers turning into different compositional parts. These early silent pieces were originally performed in alternative spaces such as old factories, old churches and basements and I think that the set really brought this experience closer to us. I can only imagine what it was really like to experience such choreographic mastery in abandoned and derelict spaces.

What came after the intermission, starting with Lucinda Childs’s work in the 90s, was a clear and unique development and breakthrough. Perfection of the form exemplified by her work in the 70s and 80s, reached its heights, diversified and merged with vivid colours and music by the likes of Henryk Gorecki, John Adams, Simeon ten Holt and Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld. Seeing her earlier pieces without sound, made me appreciate the beauty of collaboration and how abstract music and abstract dance can come together and form perfect pairings and a unique style.

There is something to be said about watching dance in silence, appreciating the form and then bringing back music and colour. I felt that the earlier silent pieces, prepared me for the wave of what came next. Starved for music, my experience reached its height through a form of meditation.

All the pieces after the intermission were exceptional and I could spend all day writing about how they made me feel, but let me just give you a little glimpse.

Canto Ostinato (2015), “Obstinate Song" (as ostinato) is a wonderful minimal  and repetitive musical composition written by the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt. Lucinda Child’s choreography that focuses on patterns rather than on pairings beautifully merges with the sound. All throughout the piece, we see a turquoise strip moving and replicating from one part of stage to the other. It has its own life and moves in the rhythm of Canto Ostinato. The music and choreography walk hand in hand with the video décor by Dominique Drillot and the mind simply levitates. The piece feels very intergalactic and contemporary at the same time.

The retrospective comes to an end with the premiere of Lucinda Child’s “Into View (2016)” featuring music by two Arcade Fire collaborators, violinist Sarah Neufeld and saxophonist Colin Stetson.  The piece is danced by an ensemble of 10, paired into five couples and as we saw with her earlier work, Lucinda Childs is challenging herself further by bring physical contact into her work, something her audience had not witnessed before.  As with physical touch, sun comes into view and new forms arise with beautiful play on light, bringing out silhuettes dancing in what feels to be a red sunset. A heart felt ending to a strong retrospective and a beginning to new collaborations of a timeless choreographer.

Lucinda Childs has the ability to turn experimentation and collaboration into a meditative and coherent process.  Lucinda Childs’ A Portrait (1963-2016) at UCLA Royce Hall is a brilliant timeline and celebration of her work at the very peak of her creative power. I was honoured to be part of the history of the work as it moves to BAM in New York and on to many of the world’s most revered stages in Europe and beyond. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Lights, Camera, Action! CSULB Dance in Concert 2016 - A PREVIEW BY ASHLEE BLOSSER

Animation. Relationships. Social Media. Lanterns. Melodrama. Disco Ball.

Photo courtesy of Gregory R.R. Crosby | Lost Heart Productions

These are some of the surprises that Cal State Long Beach’s College of the Arts and Department of Dance's, “CSULB Dance in Concert presents” on Nov. 16-19. The concert offers a diverse and exciting evening with six original compositions by CSULB faculty members.

Among faculty choreographers, Rebecca Bryant, Sophie Monat, Lorin Johnson, and Rebecca Lemme, the CSULB Department of Dance welcomes guest artists Laurel Jenkins and Summer Brown.

Bryant opens the concert with the next installment in her critically acclaimed “Suite Female” series. Collaborating with artists from CSULB's animation program, Bryant creates a unique landscape involving animal imagery with dancers bounding and spiraling across the stage as different situations, steeped in wit and irony, transform.

“Overlook,” choreographed by Concert Director Sophie Monat, is an intimate contemporary duet that explores the shifting nature of a relationship over time. Set to the lush music of cellist composer Julia Kent, the dancers extend, sustain, and manipulate throughout the space. Monat’s work juxtaposes delicacy with strength, as the dancer’s defy gravity in their partnering.

“I think what’s wonderful about the concert is that the six dances being presented draw upon a wide range of dance styles, themes, musical inspirations, and artistic collaborations," says Concert Director Monat, "For myself, it has been such a pleasure working with dancers who contribute so much to the creative process, and in talking with the other choreographers, I know they feel the same way."

Photo courtesy of Gregory R.R. Crosby | Lost Heart Productions

Jenkins debuts “OPERA”, set to Handel's 1709 Agrippina: Aria Voi, a work with relentlessly physical dance that reveals a mass of dramatic gestures and emotional relationships. With her fourteen person cast, Jenkins creates a period piece with arching movement and disruption of time giving an inside look to a community and the individuals involved.

“Her vision was for us to have a vision, she wanted us to take artistic license,” says senior transfer student Elana Goodman, “So the process was super collaborative, because she genuinely wanted to hear our input and ideas.”

Brown's “Mainland” offers a poignant ensemble dance work inspired by the life, journey, and passing of the choreographer’s late grandparents. Moments of release shimmer throughout the piece with a motif of deep breaths as the ensemble deals with their emotions together, but separately, resembling the truth of how everyone deals with loss in different ways.

“My process always heavily relies on why we do things, the performance of it and clarity of intention,” says Brown, “Each of them have their own intention map, and it can change, there can be a lot of in-the-moment choices and spontaneity... So they can make it not just about what I think it’s about, but that it means something to them personally [and as a group].”

Photo courtesy of Gregory R.R. Crosby | Lost Heart Productions

Lorin Johnson’s “Social Domain,” explores aspects of contemporary identity through representations in social media, investigating truth, lies, and the boundaries between public and private discourse. Created collaboratively with video animator, Gregory R.R. Crosby, Johnson’s work involves projections, and an intertwining of solos and duets as the dancers go through distressed, confused, and unsure situations.

“I really like working with Lorin because he's very understanding and wants to you find your connection with the piece,” shares transfer student Morgan Loomis, “For me, I’m really trying to channel inner emotions of how other people felt in that position. I want to be the part and be the character.”

Closing the show on a high-spirited note is “Love Letter,” choreographed by Lemme. Set to classic songs from the 1950s and 60s, “Love Letter,” is an homage to the lovelorn, the misfits, and the hopeless romantics.

“It will make everyone want to go home and dance with their partner!” says Jenkins with a smile.

Lemme’s colleague, Bryant, commented that the dancers are an “army of lovelorn” creating a collage of different fractions of what its like to be in love in this concerts big brass band finish.

“It’s interesting because five of the six choreographers' are female. So there's a lot of specifically female perspectives that will be seen in the show," says Lemme, "In ‘Love Letter’ it’s certainly from my perspective but I'm also hoping that its something that a lot of people in the audience men and women alike can relate too."

CSULB Dance in Concert will take place Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 16-19 at 8pm, with an additional matinée Saturday, November 19 at 2pm and 8pm. A reception will follow the Friday performance at 8pm in the theatre Green Room.

Audience members are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy a lobby exhibit of costume designs by Liz Carpenter and photographs by Gregory R.R. Crosby of the choreographers with dancers during the process.

Performances are located in the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater on the CSULB Campus (located near the Pyramid on Atherton Street). Tickets are $20 for general admission and $16 for seniors, students (with valid ID) and Dance Resource Center Members. For tickets and information please call (562) 985-7000 or visit www.csulb.edu/dance

Sankai Juku: Umusuna-Memories by Saxon Cote

Last weekend, The Center for Art and Performance at UCLA hosted Sankai Juku (a Japanese company rooted in Butoh) in their touring performance Umusuna, a word meaning ‘memories’, or more deeply ‘one's place of birth’. For those of you who don’t know, Butoh is a kind of improvisation, a form of dance theater that practices movement from an internal initiation rather than consciously moving.

In the program for the show, or even the website page on UCLA Royce Hall, the presenting organization did not emphasize or advertise the performance as Butoh, which may not have been the smartest move. It’s difficult to be thrown into Butoh as a spectator if you have no idea what you’re getting, especially when the preview looks more exciting than the show actually is. The style of dance would be better advertised as a form of meditation or hypnosis, which would bring in a more loving audience. If you go into this performance expecting something crazy or just a ‘normal’ dance performance, you will most likely find yourself bored. Especially if the other audience members around you are less interested than you.

The theme of the work was about time; the set included balance scales holding hour glasses with sand that continuously poured out as the show progressed. The humorous irony of this set design is that watching hour glasses is painfully slow, creating a sense of uncomfortable angst. As humans, time is something we fear for it is ultimately our impending doom, and therefore we don’t like to be faced with watching time unless we have to. On top of watching time slowly go by, you can’t help but think maybe you’re wasting 90 minutes of your life with no intermission. The dancers embodied this story of fear and imbalance through energetic turmoil and anguish, but they also told the benefits of what time can bring such as growth and evolutionary advances, along with how peaceful and happy life can be within balance.

In a way the piece was a test of patience and inner tranquility and provided a spark of motivation to go live life fully. If you’re a dancer, you’re probably going to be set free, like a racehorse from the starting gate; suddenly you need to dance like a maniac to make up for how minimal and controlled the performance was. If it weren’t for the set, lighting, costume, and makeup, it would be hard to understand the story or the theme of the choreography since the intrinsic aspects were repetitive. The performance was like being trapped in the movie The Cell: everything was eerie, uncomfortable, confusing, deceiving and slightly frightening. The esthetics were mostly dark and creepy, you couldn’t really tell who was male or female, or if they were even supposed to be human.

This company is brave to bring themselves to LA, a city where everyone is impatient and dying to be unleashed, a place of relentless technology and multitasking, a place built on its production of over-stimulating entertainment, a place that never stops except in the torment of traffic to breed agitation and aggression. While Japan’s culture has these things in common with LA, we make our entertainment reflect our lives in all of it’s chaos and exaggeration, while Japanese culture has always created time and space for tranquil artistic expression; their audiences have been trained to switch gears and process. Japanese culture values the art of subdulty, something western culture has become numb to.

If you surrender to the performance and let yourself become hypnotized you will love it, but if you allow yourself to be distracted by your neighbor who either fell asleep, constantly looks at their phone, shifts, taps, or keeps trying to read the program, you won’t make it through easily. This is the type of performance you should see by yourself, or with someone you know will appreciate the slow beauty in life, for the key to this performance is lack of distraction and silencing your own inner voice to simply absorb.