The Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa is packed. People of all ages sit with anticipation waiting for MOMIX VIVA MOMIX to begin. Throughout the theater, couples take selfies to commemorate the evening. The couple next to me does the same. I spark a conversation with the man and he shares that he has seen a MOMIX show in every Southern California season since 1988.
MOMIX is an internationally beloved company founded by choreographer extraordinaire Moses Pendleton in 1980. Pendleton formed the company after leaving Pilobolus, another acclaimed project he co-founded with Dartmouth classmates Jonathan Wolken and Steve Johnson in 1971. MOMIX is a “company of dancer-illusionists” who use “light, shadow, fabric, props, and the human body” to create a fantastical feast for the eyes. The goal of the evening, which is the same goal for every MOMIX show, is for audiences to “sit back, enjoy the magic, and take in the optical confusion.”
Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Momix Viva Momix – Photo by Eddy Fernandez
The first piece of the evening is “Solar Flares,” performed by the full company: Jessica Adams, Anthony Bocconi, Alison Coleman, Gregory De Armond, Kelly Trevlyn-Fatscher, Teddy Fatscher, Seah Hagan, Rebecca Rasmussen, and Jason Williams. A horn blows from composer Brent Lewis’ “Mr. Mahalo Head” as the lights come up on a pair of orange pool noodles flailing in the wind in the upstage left wing. Costumed in dark form-fitting jumpsuits, a line of dancers holding orange pool noodles begin a procession onto the stage, their wrists shaking feverishly as they shift through creative formations with huge smiles on their faces. Noodles flail in the air in all directions. I imagine a sea anemone rousing up with the delight and abandon of one whose favorite song is blasting on the radio.
Three standouts of the evening are “Marigolds,” “Man Fan,” and “If You Need Some Body.”
Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Momix Viva Momix – Photo by Max Pucciariello
“Marigolds,” performed by Jess Adams, Alison Coleman, Kelly Trevlyn-Fatscher, Seah Hagan, and Rebecca Rasmussen, is a delight whose intrigue comes from the inventive uses of the costumes, which are giant, pink, stemless marigold flowers conceived by Costume Designers Phoebe Katzin, Moses Pendleton, and Cynthia Quinn. The work opens with five marigolds in a horizontal line on the ground. The marigolds come to life, first with a face emerging through the dense, rippling petals. Next, legs grow and arms. As the work proceeds, the bulbous flowers become a type of petticoat-style skirt. As the dancers continue traveling through the space, the skirt travels further down the body, with the petals ending around their ankles as a mermaid dress with a beautiful tail of petals.
“Man Fan” is stunning in its simplicity and visual impact. Performer Anthony Boccini sits center stage with an enormous ‘fan’ on his back, designed by Michael Curry. The fan fills the space and reaches high to the top of the proscenium. The fabric appears to be some type of silk. It is incredibly responsive to the small movements Boccini is making. I watch it and am so transfixed by this gorgeous dancing fabric that I almost forget there is a person manipulating it. The fabric alone would have kept me under its spell, but it was accompanied by beautiful images projected onto the stage. The piece ends with Boccini descending to the ground in a gorgeously executed hinge with the giant fan on his back expanding farther out into the space, slowly falling to rest behind him.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Momix Viva Momix – Photo by Max Pucciariello2
The evening ends with the raucously hilarious “If You Need Somebody,” performed by the full company. The performers have dummies strapped to their bodies and they engage with one another in ridiculous interactions. It is fantastic! By the end of the work, bodies are flying across the stage as the audience erupts in laughter. “If You Need Somebody,” represents the magic of the MOMIX repertory: you can clearly see there are dummies strapped to people. You can clearly see the people maneuvering the dummies. You clearly recognize the dummies are not real. And yet, because of their inventiveness, you are so willing to give yourself over, to suspend your disbelief, to allow the people to disappear and enjoy the ridiculousness of flailing dummies in cheeky escapades.
To learn more about MOMIX, please visit their website.
To see the full season schedule for The Segerstrom Center for the Arts, please visit their website.
Written by Marlita Hill for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Momix Viva Momix – Photo by John Kane
