Entering the space at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA for Hi, Solo #11 was like exhaling for the first time in a long time. Finally! We are able to come together and enjoy the experimentation, the creative voices, the works in progress, and the conversations around dance again. A long standing bi-annual performance series, conceived in 2015 by Alexx Shilling and Devika Wickremesinghe, was hosted by Alexsa Durrans and Miles Brenninkmeijer for last Saturday’s performance. The ten performers were challenged to adapt varying choreographic and improvisational strategies to respond to the call: perform a new solo work in three-minutes time. The Wonmi WAREHOUSE, with its large, vaulted ceilings and open floor plan, oozes with a blankness just waiting to be dressed up. It seems to whisper, “you’re safe here” as it accepts all concepts large and small throughout the duration of the evening.
Hi, Solo #11 at MOCA Geffen – Ana Maria Alvarez – Photo by Rafael Hernandez
We first saw a three minute movement exploration from Ana Maria Alvarez, who has achieved many accolades for her dynamic works of dance education, and social choreography. While the movement itself was basic in approach, Alvarez evoked a sense of togetherness. No matter your background, no matter your experience, you could relate to her moving body on stage. And without any previous knowledge of who she was, or where she came from, I got the sense that…this is always her mission in choreographic strategy. This same feeling was also true from Jackie Lopez, aka Miss Funk, who started with a powerful spoken word about her mother crossing the border three times with her in the womb. You could feel the sense of pride and strength not only in her words, but in her hip-hop and freestyle. She gave us popping and locking, she gave us funk, she gave us jerks and spins and it made us want to fight for something deeper. She gave us the warm, the fuzzy, but also the bloody, and battle born and this three minute solo could have been three hours and still not enough.
Hi, Solo #11 at MOCA Geffen – Jackie Lopez aka Miss Funk – Photo by Rafael Hernandez
When Michelle Sui unloaded a bag of russet potatoes on the stage, as performer Cristine Tatomer took her place by laying down in a 1930’s soft pink negligee, I knew I was ready for the Pina Bausch meets Marina Abramović performance of my dreams to unfold before me. Other props used included a teacup, record player, chair, and soft cloth straddling the stage like a volleyball net from one corner diagonally to another. Knowing the solo was only three minutes long, I felt the added items could become possible accessories without purpose on the main stage, and unfortunately I was right. It was more interesting watching the stage being set by Sui, Shilling and Wickremesinghe than it was watching Tatomer perform. Occasionally Sui would enter the scene to remove props no longer being used to create more space, which was also an incredible piece of choreography; however, without intentional thought or follow through I felt Sui and Tatomer’s collaboration missed an opportunity for either comedic humor or re-processed objective.
Hi, Solo #11 at MOCA Geffen – Michelle Sui with Cristine Tatomer – Photo by Rafael Hernandez
Another prop heavy performance by Estrellx, brought us not only a chair midstage, but two disco balls, a purse, and the voice of Estrellx themself. While other artists spoke during the three minutes of fame, they gave us an original voice of loneliness, boredom, and the universal feelings of heartbreak in song. There was something both millennial and gen Z about the work that hit teenage bedroom vibes and elevated them to an entirely new level. The simple movement and styling played on a futurism in stillness, as the disco balls gave us the sense that we were sitting within an observatory, watching it all flicker above us.
Hi, Solo #11 at MOCA Geffen – Estellx – Photo by Rafael Hernandez
We closed the night with an incredible movement heavy performance by Jobel Medina who came out in an all-black skin tight outfit, platform sneaker heels, and 90’s snap hair clips and barrettes adorning his scalp. To Proud Mary by Tina Turner, Medina turned out exquisite and impressive floor work, swan-like arms with intricate weaves and upper body isolation, and eye contact stopping everyone in their tracks. Medina’s movement had a sense of freedom and playful technique you’d expect from both someone at the start of their life, but also at the end. There is something full circle and consistent in his improv that sucks you in and makes you feel like all your hard work has paid off somehow.
Hi, Solo #11 at MOCA Geffen – Jobel Medina – Photo by Rafael Hernandez
Hi, Solo #11 was a conglomeration of oddity and familiarity that embody dancers and moving artists and seeing these three minute extravaganzas was the sermon I needed. Representing BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+ and many other races, religions, spiritualties, and backgrounds, #11 remains the most inclusive production series I’ve been to date. Three minutes is all you need to form a different opinion, to change your mind, to let something click that might’ve not clicked before. #11 reminds us of all that we are unique in the bonding form of creativity no matter our differences.
To find out more about The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, please visit their website.
Written by Grace Courvoisier for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Hi, Solo #11 at MOCA Geffen – Cristine Tatomer – Photo by Rafael Hernandez
