The audience packed into the Kirk Douglas Theatre on Thursday night, August 21, was made up of young and old fans and composers, but mostly young. Violinist and singer Emer Kinsella of Emersion Music brought together a lineup of composers, musicians, singers and dancers that she has worked with throughout her career for a 75-minute journey of transformation, MOSAIC: in the program’s words, “a hero’s story moving from shadow to light, from searching to becoming.”
The program was split into six levels, each one consisting of two parts that paired the music of Emer’s new album, Concurrence, with the work of other Emmy and Grammy-affiliated film and TV composers. The theme for each was belonging and the many ways we search for it.
Emersion Music and Epiic Group in MOSAIC by Emer Kinsella – Photo by Mike Jones.
The handpicked group of composers included Jeff Toyne (Palm Royale), Genevieve Vincent (Fantasy Island), Shirley Song (Exploding Kittens), Tree Adams (NCIS: Hawai’i) and Raashi Kulkarni (Wedding Season). The musicians were part of The Emersion Ensemble: Mehmet Aydin (viola), Mark Bassett (cello) and Julian Lampert (bass), with special guests Enosh Kofler (violin 1), Eleanor Dunbar (violin 2) and Jahan Raymond (piano).
For each level, the composers were invited to come to the stage and talk about their inspiration for their piece. It was illuminating, and in some pieces, the composer joined the ensemble, such as Kulkarni playing piano on Prism in Level 3.
Emersion Music and Epiic Group in MOSAIC by Emer Kinsella – Photo by Nawako Kato.
It is the movement artists of Friidom’s Epiic Group, led by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn, that are the focus of this writing: Malik “Gvmby” Bannister, Allie Costello, Jon “Gifted” Jimenez, Cassandra Tsolis and Dominique Pompa. The six dancers joined the musicians and singers in movement as a group, in duos and trios. At times it seemed as if the collaborations were pure freestyle, and other times the choreography was so tight it had to be rehearsed. Yet in keeping with the ethos of street dance, every move seemed to burst straight from the heart of the individual dancer.
Each dancer brought their own style to the stage. Tsolis used her long arms and slender physique to craft geometrical shapes and alternately reach up to the ceiling and drop down to the floor. Allie Costello playfully grabbed and moved an imaginary ball in Saturn in Level 3 with such conviction that a ball almost materialized.
Emersion Music and Epiic Group in MOSAIC by Emer Kinsella – Photo by Nawako Kato.
Krump, waving and other street styles filled the abbreviated stage, and by this I mean the dancers had to move around musicians sitting in chairs, singers, music stands and a kaleidoscope of wires and cables on the floor. They stuck to the front, back and sides, making their moves even more impressive than if they had the entire stage to use freely.
They were scrunched, so to speak, and that added to the tension and resistance felt in each movement. They expanded and contracted to the classical compositions. It was a bit of a leap for Friidom to accept the assignment of moving to classical music, yet the collaborations worked.
Emer Kinsella – Photo by Whitney Vlasaty
The concert becomes, in the program’s words, “a convergence of journeys, where differences coexist, stories overlap, and the shared thread of belonging binds them together.” The dancers in their own unique ways each expressed their journeys of belonging.
Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
The crowd was lively and animated, which made for a party-like atmosphere. The show started about 30 minutes late, and it felt as if the show could have used a few more rehearsals. But Emer was ambitious with Mosaic, and it paid off. She was able to preview songs from her album Concurrence while collaborating with a handful of composers that have inspired her from her career path.
To learn more about Emersion Music, please visit their website.
To see the Kirk Douglas Theatre’s season lineup, please visit their website.
Written by Jessica Koslow for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Emersion Music and Epiic Group in MOSAIC by Emer Kinsella – Photo by Nawako Kato.
