The aesthetics of the 15th Annual MixMatch Dance Festival performance on August 10 at Highways took a turn when Santiago Rivera performed “la maldad del ángel.” Their body, fully covered head to toe, tensed over the sound of distorted, overpowered electric guitars. In the auditory fuzz and crackle, Rivera’s arms shook through the rough textures, constantly reaching up only to be torn back down. They finally reached their goal in the form of clasped hands (both covered with socks). The rough, erratic movement softened, and they flowed down to the ground like water. There was a release.
Amanda Hart – Photo courtesy of the artist.
The piece was one of 17 works presented at the festival founded by Amanda Hart in 2007. The dance series included various styles, from experimental to ballet folklorico. Despite the wide variety of styles, the best moments — including “la maldad del ángel” — were when there was more focus on intention than the literal movement. It did not matter what the step was, what it looked like, or how high the leg extension reached. In the flurry of over a dozen words, what these steps had to say mattered more.
This distinction came to fruition with Erick Morales’ solo “Hero” performed by Bella Reveles. The piece began with “23 Wa” by SEATBELTS playing. When it ended, the sound of a baby cooing in the audience filled the silence. Reveles’ movement quality changed. As the baby spoke with a hum or “ah,” you could see Reveles stepping out of the meticulousness of the movement.
The baby shouted. Reveles’ arm swung up at the same time as if it were meant to be in unison.
It no longer felt like a repetition of steps, but an embodiment of them. She smiled as the unplanned baby monologue continued. The movement quality suddenly felt authentic.
MixMatch Festival – Shailee Butalia, Rishika Ravichandran, Anisha Ahuja, Ariane Kaira, Anvita Sharma in “Jhaptaal Tarana” by Anvita Sharma – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
Before this moment in the show, the performances were technically well-executed. Anvita Sharma’s “Jhaptaal Tarana” showcased kathak dance with a unified ensemble, Temper Tantrum’s hip hop routine brought high energy, Chengyao Zhou’s “The First Time Death” highlighted her movement control and incredible articulation. Other pieces by Waeli Wang, Camie Carr and Wendy Ellis included impressive movement and ensemble work as well, but often felt empty.
Sonia Ochoa’s “Libéranos” altered the program’s tone and direction, like Morales, with an emphasis on intention — something that had been lacking prior. Her flamenco fusion style piece depicted how immersive dance can be for the dancer. The piece, which calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, includes Ochoa dancing with a long green scarf-length fabric. As it draped over her arms, she lost herself in the flow. She closed her eyes and spun, stomping the heel of her foot to the rhythm as the scarf took in the reverberation. Her eyes were like daggers, looking into the audience and within herself as she reflected on the choreography in real-time. It was entrancing.
MixMatch Festival – Erin Kracht, Alexa Lopez, and Ranier Martinez in “Molded” by Erin Kracht – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
In the latter half of the program, Brittany Parker’s “Primal Pursuit,” Heather Dale Wentworth’s “The Story of Us,” and Erin Kracht’s “Molded” focused on virtuosity over purpose. The contemporary or ballet works each included tricks and expressive movement but did not have much reasoning behind them. “Molded” was the most promising, incorporating the prop of a chain of plastic bags and a sharp introduction of tableaus. However, after its inventive start, the choreography became stagnant and introduced the trash bags haphazardly. There was no clear reason why the trio — consisting of Kracht, Alexa Lopez, and Rainer Martinez — wove themselves together in the handles of grocery bags. It just happened.
“Kai-Wei” by Spencer John Powell went into uncharted waters, exploring how tempo and textures in a contemporary duet can depict tension and connection. Dancers Trixi Anne Agyao and James LaRose found a flow with each other before diving into their own movement explorations. Agyao’s movement sped up with more contained choices while LaRose moved slower, taking in each reach.
MixMatch Festival – AlignDance Theatre in “Harmonic Unity” by Wendy Ellis – Dancers Victoria Alesi, Megan Ayers, Caroline Biondo, Maria Biondo, Bridgette Borzillo, Brittany Corrigan – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
Between contemporary and ballet works, there were ballet folklorico pieces by Pacifíco Dance Company and Martha L. Zepeda Pamintuan. Each had their own unique approach that revealed their individualized relationship to the dance style. Zepeda Pamintuan infused the style with contemporary dance. The ensemble flowed into each other, connecting beautifully to the intention of the infusion. Among the flutters of the standard dress were balletic turns that caught the eye. Meanwhile, Pacifíco Dance Company took a more traditional approach with precise steps leading the ensemble into typical courtships. The group brought a particular sense of joy and fun to the stage, upholding the historical energy of the dance style.
MixMatch Festival – Mar Lopez Tovar in her solo “Guernica” – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
The evening program ended with two incredible works that summed up the importance of intention.
Maya Kell-Abram’s “A Meditation on Sparring” meshed TaeKwonDo with house dance. Her sharp punches and kicks melted into footwork. She effortlessly flowed from one genre to the other. The literal mediation was hyper-specific. You could see her focus on the feelings and connections between each step. The two seemingly opposing movement vocabularies suddenly felt like twin flames. As she kicked her foot towards the audience, the glitter of costumes from previous performances flung off her shoe into a cloud of gold. It felt like she gathered the energy of the pieces before her — honing the joy and the struggle — and tossed it into a groove. It was the best of the night.
MixMatch Festival – Megill & Company in “Odd Birds” by Beth Megill – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
The program concluded with “Odd Birds” by Beth Megill. It operated as an epilogue to the program. Karissa Jones, Megill, Brooklynn Reeves, and Erin Sofley entered struggling to whistle, chatting and joking as friends do until “Came out of a Lady” by Rubblebucket played. The choreography was not intense, but the energy they put behind a simple jump or step made it impressive — even when one of the dancers admittedly could not snap. It was the attempt and honest defeat that brought the comedic enthrallment to the forefront.
The Annual MixMatch Dance Festival presented a diverse and impressive program of movers, but the ones that stood out were the ones that knew a raised hand could mean the world — as in Morales’ work — or a simple exercise in human connection between odd birds.
To learn more about MixMatch Dance Festival, please visit their Instagram page or contact Amanda Hart via her website.
Written by Steven Vargas for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: MixMatch Festival – Santiago Rivera in his solo la maldad del ángel – Photo by Skye Schmidt Varga.
