The Kavli Theatre was an excellent venue for the particular talents and tastes of this company of performers. It has a large proscenium with great site lines from the sides and upper balcony. The seats slope at a gradual angle ensuring full views of the works presented. And what works! This was the opening of BODYTRAFFIC’s 2025-2026 Season, and they presented a beautiful program with stunning visuals and formidable choreography.
We were welcomed to the event by Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett. In her curtain speech she committed her thanks and pointed out her Creative Partner, Trey McIntyre whose “Blue Until June” started off the evening. She also gave us a teaser about the next showing of BODYTRAFFIC at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on December 11-13, 2025, and also after that on June 4-6th, featuring new works and live music.
The company consisted of Chandler Davidson, Becky Garcia, Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Anaya Gonzalez, Brenan Gonzalez, Joan Rodriguez and Jordyn Santiago. They are a well-versed group whose work together shows the great trust and comfort that comes from being long-time collaborators. This is made obvious in every partnering lift, every solo backed up by the cast, and in every unison section. I will say here that the unison sections in any of the three works presented were astounding in their uniformity and clarity. They move as one. You can rehearse that by drilling it until people drop – or you can also get it by having your dancers work and live in close proximity with each other for a while. The Spartans used this aspect in their military training, but it works just as well with a dance company, and for the same reasons.
Katie Garcia and Joan Rodriguez of BODYTRAFFIC in “Blue Until June” choreography by Trey McIntyre – Photo by Timothy Norris.
“Blue Until June” by Trey McIntyre was set to music by Etta James. Her voice is evocative of so much emotion and sultry sensibilities that it is difficult to imagine matching it in physical form. This they managed to do. The opening tableaux for this piece is a powerful visual of Katie Garcia standing center stage with her back to the audience and both arms raised and bent at right angles towards the sky. She is half covered in material which billows out from her waist to encompass the space on either side. In this pose she is a Minoan Goddess with light gleaming off of the muscles in her back, about to make the world. The material moves and she is revealed in a simple house dress, more in keeping with the sentiment of the song, as she begins a fantastic solo complete with whip smart turns, fouettés, intricate port-de-bras, and exacting technique. There is a saying, “she can turn on a dime and give you nine-cents change”. K. Garcia did this more than once – truly it was throughout the show. There was plenty of opportunity for the others to shine. Joan Rodriguez and Anaya Gonzalez had a difficult duet as a reluctant couple. They were together but did not like it or were not sure of it. The movement betrayed their reservations in every partnering aspect. This is a difficult sentiment to act out while dancing fully. I appreciated the effort and the subtlety of it. A duet between Jordyn Santiago and Brenan Gonzalez was infectiously happy. Santiago delivers such joy of movement on her face that I think it would be difficult for her to hide that emotion no matter how hard she tried. The two are well matched and their connection throughout the duet was lovely and a joy to watch. There was an interesting duet between two men, Chandler Davidson and Brenan Gonzalez, which was to a love song. We got the idea that these two men were in love, but none of the choreography was overtly romantic or loving. There was an organic sort of intimacy between them. At the end Davidson meets and goes off with a female leaving poor Gonzalez to look after him wistfully. The Lighting here by Clifton Taylor was gorgeous, picking up skin tones and playing them against the color of the costumes by Sandra Woodall. The house dress motif for the women was perfectly suitable and helped realize the ambience of the piece.
Katie Garcia, Guzman Rosado, and Jordyn Santiago of BODYTRAFFIC in “A Million Voices” choreography by Matthew Neenan – Photo by Rob Latour.
Next on the program was “A Million Voices” by Matthew Neenan, set to music by Miss Peggy Lee. This is certainly a piece for our times! It should be performed everywhere in the U.S. (yes, even in Puerto Rico) and has a commentary pertaining to the current political situation here. It is pithy and the dancers deliver it with aplomb. The movement is intricate and the partnering involved but the underlying context is one of sarcasm, irony and satire. I for one am heartily sorry that these three aspects of language and communication have recently gotten such a bad rap. Without the wit to comprehend these three aspects, they have become “mean”, “insulting” and “harsh”. One has only to peruse Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, or Dorothy Parker to realize how well sarcasm, irony, and satire describe our lives in the here and now. Thankfully, this piece is full of all three and I applaud BODYTRAFFIC for doing it. None of the choreography makes fun of anything. It is in earnest and fantastically accomplished. There are visual puns along with the lyrics to the old 40’s songs that put the zinger into it. I love that Santiago carries an ice bucket throughout the piece for no apparent reason. Later, the metaphor of water, or libations becomes clear, and it is very funny. BODYTRAFFIC sees no problem with presenting humor alongside drama or angst. This marks them above the usual fare and sets them apart in terms of displaying humanity in all its glory. The costumes by BODYTRAFFIC are brilliant and works of art in themselves.
Dancers of BODYTRAFFIC in “Snap” Choreography by Micaela Taylor – Photo by Tomasz Rossa,
The last piece on the program was “Snap” by Micaela Taylor with music by James Brown. Program notes state: “Its eccentric intensity/vitality enlivens a sense of individuality, urging audiences to “snap out of” social pressures to conform and to celebrate what it means to find a home within yourself”. Amen. Well, you cannot get more individual than James Brown, The Godfather of Soul! And conformity was never part of his agenda. I grew up listening to James Brown and the man makes you move! So it was in this piece. It begins with a ridiculously funky solo from Chandler Davidson who turns it out! As mentioned in the beginning, this piece also has a tour-de-force of unison choreography. To see the different bodies moving in synch down to the head snaps is electrifying and satisfying. There are moments when Davidson tries to integrate with the group and they are uncomfortable (today’s favorite word) and dismissive of him. He is not welcome. And so he goes his own way. This piece alerts us to the social pressure to conform as humans are a socially centered species. However, it is the individuals who thrust humanity ever forward towards adaptation and modification in order to survive. Think of the philosophers and crazy inventors, scientists and outsiders, and yes, entertainers. And all of this manifest in this dance work called “Snap”.
BODYTRAFFIC wants the audience to enjoy, to experience, to feel, and even to think. They are dedicated to the best in humanity and are optimistic. This is not to say that they ignore the darker, heavier emotions in the human psyche. It is that they balance these with humor and light. And they do it through intensive movement and the commitment of their bodies.
For more information about BODYTRAFFIC, please visit their website.
To learn more about the Kavli Theatre, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Chandler Davidson with dancers of BODYTRAFFIC in “Blue Until June” Choreography by Trey McIntyre – photo by Christopher Duggan, courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow.
