On March 23 & 24, 2024, the Megill & Company (MeCo) performed ASSEMBLINGS at ARC Pasadena, a wonderful space owned and operated by dancer/choreographer/educator John Pennington. The program consisted of four works by MeCo’s artistic director Beth Megill and two by guest artist Stephanie Liapis. There was excellently crafted choreography, humor, strong performances, spoken word, and internalized exploration that was not totally explained. Overall, it was a very enjoyable dance experience.
Beth Megill is a beautiful mover, actress and comedian who truly understands how to choreograph. Circles upon Circles is built upon exactly what the title states. Two dancers begin circling each other, then two more encircle them, joined by yet two others who orbit the first four. From there the piece quietly explodes into wonderful movement phrases, duets within duets, lines that become waves, and moments of structured improvisation. All this and more before returning to the opening line that does not quite exactly repeat. On the surface, Circles upon Circles comes across as a pure movement piece but there is a definitely an underlining exploration into humanity.
MeCo – Melanie Bizzoco (center) Brooklynn Reeves-Mallett, Morpheus Kostromin, Erin Sofley (left-right) in “Circles upon Circles” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
The very strong cast included Jade Barth, Melanie Bizzoco, Morpheus Kostromin, Beth Megill, Brooklynn Reeves-Mallett, and Erin Sofley. The music was by Danny Green Trio.
In both solos, The Building of a Sphere and Reset, choreographed and performed by Stephanie Liapis, she proves to us that she is a strong and compelling performer. In both, however, what Liapis was trying to convey to her audience did not hit its target.
Stephanie Liapis in “The Building of a Sphere” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
In The Building of a Sphere, performed to music by Paul Matthew Moore, Liapis primarily confined herself to only one side of the stage and really never fully utilized all of the space available to her. From her performance, Liapis appeared to be dealing with an internalized emotion or struggle that never made it to the surface to be understood or to invoke any empathy from the viewer. In Reset, created to music by Liapis, I was at a loss as to whether one was to extract any meaning from the work. Again, it appeared as if Liapis was attempting to speak to us, but her thoughts never materialized into a meaningful movement statement.
Stephanie Liapis in “Reset” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
There were two readings during the evening, one by writer and poet Julius Sokenu and award-winning poet and writer Joelle Hanna. Sokenu read from his heart-felt poem, Untitled, written to his son about becoming a father. Hanna’s story The Handkerchief, was a moving account of how the sweet smell of her late mother’s handkerchief helped her remember the good times with her mom instead of the painful last days before she died.
MeCo – Beth Megill in “Apron Dances” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
Choreographed and performed by Megill, her touching solo Apron Dances took a sometimes-wishful look at the life of a woman and mother. Dressed in layers of tights, pants, a dress, an apron and a house smock, Megill displayed her many talents as a performer to give us the good and the not-so-pretty side of being a maturing woman. She began walking back and forth across the stage, finally ending center stage, and dropping numerous red apples that were nestled inside her apron. She later gathers together the scattered apples like pulling together the multiple duties she so artfully completes every day; woman, wife, mother, cook, lover, etc. While attempting to make a focused center with the apples (life), she sometimes fails.
MeCo – Beth Megill in “Apron Dances” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
Throughout Apron Dances, Megill removes one layer of clothing at a time to reveal each part of herself and at the end lays them on the floor in the same placement that they resided on her body. As she walks out, we understand that this strong woman is proud of what she has accomplished and owns her mistakes.
The music for Apron Dances was by Nick Drake, Radiohead, and Adam Crossman. Costume by Megill.
MeCo – (L-R) Melanie Bizzoco, Brooklynn Reeves-Mallett, Morpheus Kostromin, Erin Souffle, Jade Barth in “Bounce” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
Bounce was a light work by Megill and dancers set to music composed by Paul A Jackson. Costumed in bright primary colors with comical hats that looked like they were made out of celluloid and white bands, resembled head visors gone awry or propellers that were missing a few rotors.
This charming, almost throwaway work brought a smile to my face as I watched five women move through one tongue-in-cheek, stereotypical pose to another giving us a satirical look at today’s social media. The wonderful performers in Bounce were Jade Barth, Melanie Bizzoco, Morpheus Kostromin, Brooklyn Reeves-Mallett, and Erin Sofley.
MeCo – Erin Sofley in “pat-tap pat-tap pat-tap Play” – Photo by Lisa Flory.
The final work on the program was Beth Megill’s delightful romp that was as heavenly silly as its title, pat-tap-pat-tap-pat-tap Play. At first it appears that the dance might not happen as Megill had a panic induced asthma attack while trying to say the word Play that would trigger the other dancers to move. To help ease her agony, Megill divided the audience into three sections and led them through a pat-tap rhythmic hand and foot stomping musical play. Discovering that this also did not work, she invited a volunteer from the audience, dancer Andrew Palomares, to say Play as he touches each dancer.
Finally, the dancers are released from their spell and begin to perform. The work is full of Megill’s incredible comedic timing, beautifully constructed movement phrases and joyful dancing. My one criticism is that a few of MeCo’s members need to learn from Megill about how not to emote or freeze their faces into forced grins.
pat-tap-pat-tap-pat-tap Play is exactly as Megill’s program note states: The place where play, rhythm, and humanity meet.
To learn more about Megill & Company, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Megill & Company – Jade Barth, Morpheus Kostromin, Erin Sofley, Kevin Holland (front), Melanie Bizzoco, Brooklynn Reeves-Mallett, and Beth Megill (back) in pat-tap pat-tap pat-tap Play – Photo by Lisa Flory.
