Midsummer Roundup
Vertigo Dance Company in “Mana”, photo by Gadi Dagon
This summer has found me in Bushwick, Brooklyn, working for choreographer Jonah Bokaer and his nonprofit organization Chez Bushwick. It’s a return for me in some ways, yet I’m still finding my footing in this city.
I have seen a few performances so far this summer, and while they’re all too far behind me by now to write much of anything about, I thought I would offer a brief recount:
David Gordon’s “The Beginning of the End of the” at Joyce SoHo. Mr. Gordon was a visiting professor at Bennington College last spring, where I had the pleasure of studying and speaking about my work with him. I enjoyed this piece, especially as framed by the principles of composition he discussed in his classes, and drew some inspiration from it for an upcoming project of my own.
Beth Gill’s “Electric Midwife” at Pier 15. Hypnotic, deadly precise, framed perfectly by the harbor and complemented exquisitely by a rapidly traveling moon, but good lord there’s nothing like a screaming toddler to ruin a good performance.
Noa Wertheim’s “Mana” performed by Vertigo Dance Company at Jacob’s Pillow. Devastatingly gorgeous performers fighting their way through occasionally brambly choreography. The ensemble sections were finely honed and the stage design worked wonders.
LeeSaar the Company’s “Fame”, also at Jacob’s Pillow. The performances were so utterly winning and most of the choreography so clear that I longed for a little more structural complexity, but certainly enjoyed everything I saw.
Boom Bat Gesture Performance Group’s “Screen Eyed Baby Ice” at the Center For Performance Research. According to the creators, all of whom graduated from Bennington College in the last couple years, this performance was constructed using a compilation video from several rehearsals which they edited and then learned. I’m completely fascinated by this process but will admit that the product was at times disorientingly disconnected. I look forward to seeing how this (and their other work) develops.
Boom Bat Gesture
