Curated by Barbara Müller-Wittmann, the Summer Edition of Dance at the Odyssey 2025 opened on Saturday, June 21st featuring the works of choreographers Kaley Logan’s “an ode to bug” and Ann Kahane’s “The Four Seasons of Hamadan.” What was good was that Muller-Wittman had selected two groups whose work had not been seen in this area or at least I was unfamiliar with either of these choreographers or the companies they represented, KAIROS Movement Collective and Alive + Well Productions. While both pieces were well constructed and wonderfully performed, each suffered from very similar weaknesses.
Dance at the Odyssey – “An Ode To Bug” by Kaley Logan – Photo by Kaley Logan.
The program notes for “an ode to bug” reads “This piece follows the journey of processing one’s trauma, making the decision to heal and keep moving forward with new knowledge.” Right or wrong, I make a habit of reading program notes after I see a work. That way I can gauge whether or not the end results match the choreographer’s vision. In this case, Kaley Logan (they/Them) missed their mark. Each performer who was remembering their trauma or emotional stress was quite evident, but the sense of them healing and moving forward at the time was not. I found it impossible to figure out the relationship of any of the characters in this work; were they friends or fellow victims? Quite frankly, in a couple of sections the all-women cast appeared to be at a slumber party playfully frolicking around with the furniture.
Dance at the Odyssey – “An Ode To Bug” by Kaley Logan – Photo by Kaley Logan.
Logan blended so many dance styles into this piece that their own choreographic voice was lost in the mix. They had very strong and eager dancers to work with and I encourage them to continue working as their clearly understands how to structure a dance. Having all the basic tools, however, does not assure the building of a long lasting product.
The dancers who gave their all to “an ode to bug” were Emily Fabretti, Emily O’Rourke, Grace Davis, Jennifer Vieweg, Kiara Cieslinski, May Lim, Sadie Guthrie, Sofia JoAnna, and Sydney Tanji.
The Set Design was by Kaley Logan; Wardrobe Design by KAIROS Movement Collective; Film Interlude was filmed, edited, produced, and performed by Kaley Logan; and Music was by SYML, Keaton Henson, flipturn, Oh Wonder, Covey, Michl, The Man The Myth The Meatslab, Leith Ross, and Emily Fabretti.
Dance at the Odyssey – L-R Kate Myers, Dr. Xenia Deviatkina-Loh in “The Four Seasons of Hamadan” by Annie Kahane – Screenshot by Jesse Camp.
What grabbed and held this viewer’s attention during Annie Kahane’s “The Four Seasons of Hamadan” was the beautiful performances by the very talented dancer Kate Myers and Violinist Dr. Xenia Deviatkina-Loh performing the beautiful music of Kian Ravaei.
Dance at the Odyssey – Kate Myers in “The Four Seasons of Hamadan” by Annie Kahane – Screenshot by Jesse Camp.
What worked extremely well was how Kahane integrated the dancer and the musician so seamlessly between musical movements; they came across as two charismatic artists performing a duet rather than just the two sharing the same space. I truly enjoyed and appreciated that Deviatkina-Loh was not onstage simply to accompany Kahane’s dancing. That did not disguise, however, the lack of movement vocabulary especially when working with a dancer of Myers’s talent and technical abilities. Kahane did manage to reimagine folkloric forms through her contemporary lens, but I felt that more exploration into this part of her work was needed. Repetition does not replace investigation and experimentation.
SDance at the Odyssey – L-R Dr. Xenia Deviatkina-Loh, Kate Myers in “The Four Seasons of Hamadan” by Annie Kahane – Screenshot by Jesse Camp.
For the audience, this was a very strong beginning to the Summer Edition of Dance at the Odyssey 2025 and I applaud Müller-Wittmann for giving these artists a venue for their work to be seen. There was a lot of potential there.
The Lighting Designer for both works on the program was Katelan Braymer.
Dance at the Odyssey continues with TRIN Dance Theatre’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” (Thursday, June 26, 2025 at 8 pm); Nastia Yavorski and ABSOLEM Dance Theatre’s “Bang! The most patriotic Show in the History of the United States of America” (Friday, June 27, 2025 at 8 pm); and Victoria Marks’ “A Dear Walks into a Dance” (Sunday, June 29, 2025 at 5 pm).
For more information about the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Dance at the Odyssey – “an ode to bug” by Kaley Logan – Photo by Kaley Logan.
