In Genna Moroni’s world, the voices calling from the void are contradictory, omniscient, hilarious and dreadful. You know, the voices we all have: the pressures, the inner critics that hold us hostage. Moroni’s voices are represented by extraordinarily talented dancers and a witty narrator — who, despite facing existential dread, are carrying on in all their complex beauty.
This weekend’s premiere of Moroni’s work Calling from the Void, a presentation from her company GUM (Gorgeous Ugly Movement), gathered an all-star cast of dancers for a full evening at Highways Performance Space, produced by Emma Lawes. And as they made their way into the space, they essentially arranged the palette for the night’s offerings, introducing the range of Moroni’s language in deep lunges, caricatured bourrées, and elongated backbends.
GUM – Marcella Lewis and Marirosa Crawford – Photo by Denise Leitner.
This is a crew of developed movement artists, each of whom I have long admired for their presence and style: Marlie Couto, Marirosa Crawford, Aika Doone, Maija Knapp, Marcella Lewis, Baylie Olsen, Jordan Saenz, and Jordyn Santiago. Every dancer had their own way of accessing Moroni’s oscillating textures, her chaotic quirk, her theatrical depth. All the while they negotiated with their own identities, dancing with extreme power, as if through thick air.
Santiago first illuminated the space with inimitable elasticity, winding her limbs through and around each other in ways that seemed impossible. A duet between Lewis and Crawford began with dancers exploring individually, then breathed a sweet and soft sigh when they came together.
GUM – Maija Knapp – Photo by Denise Leitner.
The looming voice, written by Matt Starr Spicer and mixed into a soundscape by Joe Berry, sent both audience and dancers spiraling with dry and doomy lamentations of the human condition. It streamed over solos by Knapp and Couto, who wrestled with its conundrums expertly. Knapp dragged us into the monologue with her, her focus so laser and her attention to Moroni’s directional changes so sharp. Couto delivered a performance so universally human while simultaneously devouring physical feats that should seem inhuman, never leaving out a gorgeous detail. Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life interrupted the text as Doone barreled onto the stage, with a stunning commitment to speed and force that sent us spiraling the other direction.
GUM – Baylie Olsen – Photo by Denise Leitner.
The vignettes, while not disconnected, could have soaked up a little more weaving and transitioning between — I am guessing scheduling rehearsals for eight freelancers in an ensemble performance is the culprit. Despite that, the work by Moroni and ensemble is impossibly clean and grounded. The dancers hit each punctuation mark, clear not just through their shapes but in their intentions, the powerful qualities of their dynamics. They look like they are dancing Moroni’s unmistakable style, but not so much that they are not themselves.
Lighting (thanks to technical direction by Darren Carter) was maybe the most complex I have seen at Highways, but well-paired with the shifts and styles of both sound and movement. Costumes by Caileigh Knapp were the best kind of funky, drawing us further into the inner workings of the void and painting layers over each dancer’s entrance.
GUM – Jordan Saenz (standing) with Marlie Couto, Marirosa Crawford, Aika Doone, Maija Knapp, Marcella Lewis, Baylie Olsen, and Jordyn Santiago – Photo by Denise Leitner.
Saenz’s intensely gentle command of the stage guided the group into one last unison, with a stacked and snuggled tableau that sent comfort down my spine. And a joyously performative solo from Olsen coaxed the evening’s final applause into bows.
I expected I would enjoy the evening, having seen the caliber of artists on the bill. But the collaborative electricity between Moroni and Spicer pulled a ubiquitous and unruly topic through a lighter lens, making it just a little more transparent and permeable for us all. And to see a powerhouse group of performers tackle the physicality of Moroni’s work made that understanding into a beautiful, triumphant experience.
To learn more about GUM, please visit their website.
To see what else is playing at Highways Performance Space, please visit their website.
Written by Celine Kiner for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: GUM – Marcella Lewis and Marirosa Crawford – Photo by Denise Leitner.
