The program for the evening stated: “… The evening invites audience members on an immersive journey giving them an inside look into a kaleidoscope of intimate stories.”
Further: “…the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance educates the dance artist of the future – agile, intelligent, innovative, and in command of an expanded skill set that can meet the demands of a 21st century professional dance career.”
This showcase of 3 works-in-progress presented by CalArts School of Dance MFA candidates at NAVEL on January 25, 2020, delivered exactly what was promised in the general program notes quoted above. Each of the 3 pieces/excerpts had elements that spoke to tried and true topics of relationship, intimacy, and internal questioning. They were also dazzlingly executed, with unexpected twists (literally), punchy bits of rhythm, wit, and dramatic emotion.
Inside Out – Photo by Josh Rose
The opening work Up Close and Personal was directed by Sofia Klass; choreographed and performed by Lauren Gonzales, Sofia Klass, Jodie Mashburn and Elizabeth Waller. The title is apt for an intimate duet that began with sensual longing, and dodged through many elements of intimate relationship. From embrace and languid rolling to pushing away, with detailed touches like gentle finger movements, we see the joys and anguish of partnership. The details are made more interesting by the fact that a person with a camera is following the dancers around the space, and the details caught and projected on the back of the performance area were otherwise hidden from view. In a way the camera felt invasive, but also illustrative. That close-up eye allowed us to see the hands joining between the bodies that obscure them from view. That tenderness in the dark made the moments of tension and conflict bearable. Some of the partnering during the moments of conflict verged on dangerous – the man’s hand gripped the woman’s throat, and in an explosive moment he forcefully pushed her away with his hand on her face. This was a vivid meditation on some of life’s most universal and compelling urges.
Madison Hicks – Sparkle with a “K” – Photo by Lorrin Brubaker
The second work, Sparkle with a “K” was choreographed by Madison Hicks, with text by Jessica Goldschmidt and Madison Hicks. This was a different animal. To the left of the performance space was an illuminated glass room sprinkled with stuffed toy bears, and they were ceremoniously brought from their cage and laid out in a circle in the middle of the space. As the piece unfolds, our little bears are moved (slid, shoved, perched) to new configurations. They are symbolic, icons of childhood wisdom and truth. This is the rare work where dance and spoken word complement each other with poise and verve – depending on the moment. The monologue is that of the child who informs the woman. The 10-year old proudly announces that she wrote a poem that was published in a journal. She is fascinated with words: “ ‘parently K makes a funny sound. Duck is funny but butt is not.” The language of gesture and motion pair with these words to punctuate and carry forward the ideas. The movement is both elegant and quirky, as befits the inner voice of a young girl. She kneels, crawls, scoots and glides around and through the bears, moving them into a long diagonal across the floor. They are confidantes, pals and philosophers. Perhaps lovers? Some of the questions are simple, but deep: What do you want when no one is looking? This voice is young, but being exposed to the facts of life, and looking at the future, wondering what would make the world better.
The third work of the evening, Kill the Monsters, was choreographed and performed by Jobel Medina, wardrobe and accessories by Cat Lauigan. Medina took the stage with the stealth of a cat, and the presence of a tiger. Outfitted in goggles, we could not see his entire face. The costume of tight grey top and snug black capri pants enhanced his multiple stories. At moments he looked like a statue, the next a robot. Oh, wait now he’s an insect. His movement was inventive and eye-catching, detailed and wide-ranging. The opening said “techno pop” but that is a poor representation of his craft. His art is what we wish we saw in the commercial world of dance. The second portion of this work, accompanied by the song Do You Believe in Love by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News was more sensual, with softer movement. When he removed his goggles, we could finally see his face and connect further. Just when you thought you had gotten to know him, he shifts gears, snapping his arms, kneeling with his fists on the floor, then rising to percussive pauses. He is elastic one moment, mechanical the next. Then the surprise – giant bags of enormous confetti that he heaves into the audience, drawing everyone in further, in spite of the fact that he is throwing something at them. The work closes with a welcome to sing along with him as he rolls, crawls, and somersaults to a 1960’s love song. Everyone sang.
Jobel Medina in “KIll the Monsters” – Photo by Lorrin Brubaker
The dance artists who presented their work on Saturday night shared their technical skills, their wit, their hearts and their ability to work in a fresh way with traditional themes and keep our eyes glued to them.
The full concert, entitled (un)Covered will be presented February 21st and 22nd at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. There you may ponder how these works are “in dialogue with one of the most iconic paintings in the world, The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli…a world where we explore the human form: its beauty and its strangeness…learn how the Venus is in all of us.”
Written by Mary Pat Cooney for LA Dance Chronicle, January 28, 2020.
Featured image: Jobel Medina in “Kill the Monsters” – Photo by Lorrin Brubaker
