At first we were treated to a lovely reception on the 14th floor of the Equitable Building on Wilshire Blvd. It was a meet-and-greet for the audience and members of the Board of BODYTRAFFIC to mingle with each other and also with Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett and Creative Partner Trey McIntyre. We were regaled with the story of how they met in 2014, McIntyre choreographing and Berkett playing Cinderella. Currently, McIntyre is working on an evening-length piece for the company having to do with Western Movies involving both song and dance. It will be a good challenge for the dancers and perhaps a step outside of their comfort zones.
The 14th floor is the home of the Ethos Society (info@ethossociety.com) which houses meeting rooms, a screening room, a full kitchen and various offices in a “We Work” space. It is an expansive and clean space with very inviting décor that served beautifully for the reception and a relaxed atmosphere.
BODYTRAFFIC – “Mayday”choreography by Trey McIntyre – Photo by Guzmán Rosado.
Trey McIntyre’s “Mayday” was the first excerpt on the program with three sections shown from the entire piece consisting of ten sections in all. It is in honor of Buddy Holly and his prolific musical career tragically cut short by a fateful plane crash at the age of twenty-two. Earlier McIntyre had explained that around the age of twelve he became preoccupied by the realization that death awaits everyone, and he couldn’t accept the finality of it. Eventually he realized that in order to accept death he had to live and be aware of living each day, each moment. Thus, he was drawn to Buddy Holly’s story who packed so much life into his short years. There were a few different motifs that resonated rhythmically and emotionally. There was a hand-slapping on the ribcage that stood for time passing, and an anxiousness to get something done, soon, somewhere. Much like the decision that led to Holly’s untimely death. There was also the indefatigable Joan Rodriguez running in place for a long section of the piece which, for me, was a metaphor for the “Tour from Hell” that Holly was contracted to do. The 1959 tour was badly planned from the start and had the band and performers on a bus in midwinter crossing back and forth across a few Midwest states. Rodriguez running was a poignant image of constant moving and a wearing down over the course of time passing. It put me in mind of Allen Saunders 1957 Reader’s Digest quote “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.
BODYTRAFFIC – New work by Joan Rodriguez – Photo by Guzmán Rosado.
Joan Rodriguez’s new work for the company was a whirlwind of front-of-curtain performance pizzazz and back-of-curtain relationships. Rodriguez spoke of what goes into making a piece about who he is now as a dancer and performer. How he faces his life here in LA as a performer was a starting point for him. Consequently, the set is a mock-up of a front curtain in red velvet where the performers enter and turn on the juice for the audience to absorb. The set revolves to show the back curtain in black where the performers retire to become themselves, real people, vulnerable. Rodriguez segued into the host of his own show fluidly and kept his microphone as he narrated and sang and introduced each dancer. They all had thousand-watt smiles and movement to match the Cuban music overlay. It was a bright and fantastic set of choreography all hit with remarkable precision. I felt as if I was at the floor show at El Floridita! Behind the scenes and black curtain, we see the many relationships unfold between the performers through an amazing amount of movement. The development of the piece is complex and touches on many doubts that performers have. There is also a great deal of extremely smooth partnering that rises from the floor and returns without notice or the idea of gravity intervening at all. Rodriguez’s voice is entertaining and specific with a great deal of color and nuance throughout his choreography. BODYTRAFFIC does well to foster his growth as a choreographer.
BODYTRAFFIC – New work by Jordyn Santiago – Photo by Guzmán Rosado.
And on that note, Jordyn Santiago has also been commissioned to create a new work for the company. She explained that the piece for her was a journey of feeling self-love. Her movement is fast, gestural and totally committed. She completes each movement within such small increments of music that it is baffling and mesmerizing to watch. She reminded me of a Terpsichorean Puck, messing with our perceptions of time and rhythm all the while laughing at us for not following as fast as she can move. She utilized five other females from the company and they all tore up the space in unison and individually. It was entirely engaging and fabulous fun. She cannot help but laugh and smile and enjoy her dancing and movement to the point where it becomes infectious. Even in the other pieces she has a giddy secret that she can’t wait to share with us and we end up smiling along with her. This was true for the other dancers as well and the piece had a very feminine power to it. There was unbridled joy at being able to move ones’ body.
Finally, dancers who ENJOY dancing! BODYTRAFFIC is one of the few dance companies where the performers smile and laugh and obviously enjoy themselves while performing. They are not under the impression that their work is so serious that they cannot exhibit normal human emotions. They are human. And humans are the audience. It really is that simple. I cannot wait for the new works to be finished and ready to present to the public! The performers: Katie García, Pedro Garcia, Anaya Gonzalez, Sierra Herrera, Alana Jones, Joan Rodriguez, Jordyn Santiago, and Grecia Cruz. BODYTRAFFIC perfectly encapsulates a Los Angeles professional contemporary dance company in their level of commitment, risk, experimentation, training, skills, technique and intelligence. We are lucky to have them.
To learn more about BODYTRAFFIC, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: BODYTRAFFIC – New work by Joan Rodriguez – Photo by Guzmán Rosado.
