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| Stories Gathered postcard |
Stories Gathered
Moving Collective Dance
Company
By
Kathi E. B. Ellis
Entire
contents are copyright © 2013 Kathi E. B. Ellis. All rights reserved.
Moving
Collective’s winter concert was at the Clifton Center on Saturday, February
23. The theme was Stories
Collected, and the concert featured two Moving Collective premieres, as
well as the premiere of their first commissioned piece. In addition the program
featured two guest groups, collectivo caliban and Alternative Movement Project,
reflecting that the evening was about gathering together and sharing stories.
The
strongest pieces of the evening were the commissioned Potters (seeds then wheats), choreographed by Rodney A. Brown; and Layers, choreographed by Moving
Collective founder Teresa Bautista. Layers
is a charming and quirky triptych of sketches about what happens when we cover
ourselves in layers and/or strip ourselves of those layers – literal or
metaphorical. It was clear that the Moving Collective dancers enjoyed this
piece. Bundled in multiple layers of clothing, the dancers began the first
section with elaborate mime of putting on clothes, and throughout this part the
real clothes were swept off, ending with a human huddle at the top of which was
a dancer leaning over the group with arched back – at which point a delighted
chuckle went round the auditorium as it was revealed that her final layer was a
pregnant belly. The second two movements explored the liberation that comes
with no restraints. Potters (seeds then wheats) brought together Ms.
Bautista with current Moving Collective co-producer Amanda Johnson and Nicole
André, dancing together with an assuredness and connectedness that made this
piece the core of the evening. Mr. Brown’s choreography combines a strong
lyricism with angular accents that accentuated the physical contrasts of the
three dancers.
The
other Moving Collective piece, Rise,
for which both music and choreography is somewhat coyly attributed to The Album
Leaf, was an appropriate curtain-riser as all the dancers began lying on the
floor. If this piece was collectively choreographed or improvised from the
inspiration of the music, let the audience know! If the musician contributed to
the movement, again, be transparent; such cross-discipline collaborations are
of interest to those who support arts organizations. This slender two-part
piece gives the Moving Collective an opportunity to showcase its dancers both
as an ensemble and in multiple combinations of duets, trios and other smaller
ensembles. In both this piece and
in Layers, the company should seek a
different convention than just a blackout between movements. Audience members
were unsure of whether or not these pieces were finished or not, as there were
multiple blackouts and "pauses" between each complete dance piece.
Alternative
Movement Project, out of Minneapolis, contributed Darker Stage of Daylight and Lol-la-pa-LOO-za
to the evening. Now in its third
year, AMP is clearly a company that is very comfortable performing together,
and it was refreshing to see more sophisticated production values for these
pieces, a cohesive costume design, and lighting design to support the stories
told. The trio of Megan Halsey,
Jennifer Mack and Choulette Navarro in Daylight
dances together with an ease borne of long-term colleagues. The larger AMP ensemble, in the second
piece, also fills the stage with confidence. However, the choreography of both
Ms. Howe and Ms. Lees is less than dynamic, and somewhat repetitive; and
despite the extensive program notes I found little in the movement on stage to
support the articulated themes.
Also
joining Moving Collective is collective caliban. Placed in the program
immediately following the short Rise,
the performers took almost as long to set up the instruments and floor
covering, and to carry on a chair, as their piece was to last; all of this was
done in full view of an increasingly restive and somewhat amused audience. If
the audience is to be privy to setting up a piece, then provide a change in
lighting that makes this intentional; if not, closing the curtain signifies the
need for a long set up period. In the Memory of Hope is listed in the
program as having "improvography." The piece is comprised of a dancer, musician and poet. It is not
entirely clear if all elements are improvised or if there is any set
element. Setting dance to spoken
word can be compelling – in part because we are acculturated to expect music. However, here it almost felt redundant; it was difficult to hear Ms. Canfield,
and her circumlocutions of the dance space neither connected nor distanced her
from danah bella (dancer and improvographer). Live music is always an advantage
in dance performances, and John Priestley bowed metal bowls to create iterated
and layered reverberations throughout the piece. danah bella has a compelling
stage presence, which became the heart of a piece that is clearly of more
significance to the performers than it is accessible to an audience.
In
her program note, Ms. Johnson writes of Moving Collective’s goal to keep
contemporary dance alive in Louisville. It is unfortunate that this intention is an ongoing struggle – as
evidenced by the diminishment of The Kentucky Center’s modern dance programming
over the years and by the number of local modern dance groups that have come
and gone. Offering only one or two concerts a year (their next concert is in
Lexington as part of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts programming)
makes it an additional challenge to garner followers who are not connected to
the company through the dancers—which appeared to be the majority of Saturday’s
audience. With choreographers like
Ms. Bautista and Mr. Brown, Moving Collective offers Louisville audiences a
modern dance experience that is both accessible and thought provoking. Their commitment to working with other
modern dance organizations brings additional perspectives to Louisville
audiences, and I look forward to seeing new and different collaborators at
future concerts.
Stories
Gathered
February
23, 2013
Moving
Collective at
The
Clifton Center
2117
Payne Street
Louisville,
KY 40206
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