Home, they say, is where the heart is.
However, home… is also where a lot of heartache is. There are struggles, and triumphs. There are conflicts that naturally come with cohabitation and bonds that are sometimes created and even broken. Boroka Nagy, Artistic Director of Re:borN Dance Interactive, invited us into a space (Sugar Bank Studio) where all of these types of relationships (or lack thereof) could be seen and connected and explored.
Walking into the space, of course, you know it’s just a building. Concrete floors and plastered over concrete walls… but there was a warmth, it was inviting, it was minimal but it felt lived in.
It felt danced in.
I’ve struggled to find the right words to “review” this… experience.
I can’t over analyze it. In fact, I was asked not to, in their program. I can’t say anything was wrong with it, artistically.
There aren’t any stencils for any alphabet that can be arranged to explain or articulate how it felt to be in that space, with those dancers, with that movement, and with her purpose.
But I’ll give it a go…
Re:borN Dance Interactive in HOME – Photo by Jazley Faith
“Mom” welcomed us in. I’ve known Kayla Emerson for a significant time, we have a long history of performing together. Easily, one of the most talented actresses and kindest humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her role was fitting. My only criticism, I wish her part were more directed and scripted. This actress, performer, dancer, all the things, trust me… has a command over her audiences. I do feel she works better under less pressure and more preparation. Without a clear script, there was a slight disconnect to the actual evening of work, but only at first. Having said that, she really didn’t falter and in fact, found ways to connect herself to the movement and became sort of a live program – even taking direct quotes from the printed one and turning it into the narration for the show. Eventually, she was not only needed, but necessary. Every time she walked into the room, the den, the empty home… it was comforting. I felt taken care of, guided, directed into what emotional room I needed to make for myself to properly experience the next scene.
Re:borN Dance Interactive in HOME – Photo by Jazley Faith
I don’t like that word, “show.”
When Simon Harrison and Kaitlin Wright entered the Living Room, they needed the couch that some audience members were sitting on. In a “show” you don’t move your audience members out of the way. At home, in your space, you have a spot. Those patrons were in their spots. They politely invited them to move out of the way very pleasantly and gracefully.
“Thanks for being here but can you be here… over there?”
Growing up, it was instilled in me that when you, or anyone, enters a home… you greet the people you see. You say hello, you ask about their day, you offer a seat or a drink. Or you simply accept their energy and leave them be. It is required for those of us who are nurturing souls to create a safe place to land. These dancers did that and then shared with us a very intimate and playful relationship. I stood directly behind the couch they were dancing on. Every time they passed me I was met with direct eye contact and a smile but they never removed themselves from what they were doing. It almost felt like I wasn’t allowed to see it but they left their curtains open and gave us an inside look into their marriage. I was grateful for that.
I can’t touch on every piece, but you definitely had to be there to fully immerse yourself in the aspects of this evening that touched every heart string, and sense. Even walking into the Dining Room, the smell of dinner being prepared brought back so many nostalgic emotions.
Generally, I will say, Boroka selected a family of dancers who come from every direction of the art form. Artists who bring in new abilities and avenues for her to explore the expanse of her capabilities as a choreographer. Every one of these dancers had moments, for me, that made me feel like I knew them; some of them I do know. Some of them, I feel I know now.
Re:borN Dance Interactive in HOME – Photo by Jazley Faith
Katie Marshall… damn. I’ve worked with her in the past, and I’m looking forward to when we can work together again. She performed a solo entitled “There is a Ghost.”
Now I hate the word “performed.”
Right after intermission, the guests started to file in to the “Empty Home,” and upon their arrival found Katie, looking out of the projected window. She barely moved. She just stared. Now, I don’t know what the context of the piece was when it was created but I can speak to what it meant to me to see it executed. She just opened herself to everything. To be loved, to be hurt, to be held, to be ignored and to be seen or neglected. All at once, she was this whole entire person… I would call it brave but she wasn’t a hero, she was… a human.
Her style, technique, strength… all sound. But they took a back seat and she just let us in.
It was the second time I cried that evening.
Re:borN Dance Interactive in HOME – Photo by Jazley Faith
I lost my dad a few years back. “Home” became a drastically different concept, when that happened. “Father – Son,” which, to me, sounds like “Father to Son,” was the toughest piece of the evening to get through. Jestoni Dagdag and Jonathan Banh are two of the most stunning dancers I’ve ever seen.
Everything about being a man is incredibly terrifying. We are constantly trying to be enough of something that doesn’t exist and not too much of something that won’t let us exist. Add any aspect of the queer spectrum to that and it’s a recipe for constant self-destruction. But then… we have our dads.
The relationship between these two “characters” was the absolute personified depiction of my relationship with mine. Jet displayed this vulnerable strength and durability. Not like a battery but kind of like a battery. A vessel for power.
Jonathan is a gift. His ability to encapsulate purity, innocence, fear, and optimism is unmatched and his technique is… there aren’t words for that one.
Choreographically, this piece spoke to everything it means to be someone’s son…
And all of the things it means to be someone’s dad and do it right… even when it’s wrong.
I can talk for days about what Re:borN Dance created… in fact, I have.
But for you, the reader, I’ll leave you with this…
Every now and then, a bubble of creation slowly descends from whatever heavens you believe in, and pops, right above the head of the absolute right person to manifest it.
I’m constantly searching for my own purpose, waiting for my own bubbles… I’ll sit at home awhile longer and contemplate that. But what Boroka did, and what these artists did, was open a new conversation in a new way. This nontraditional structure of a “dance concert” doesn’t exist much on this coast. But now we know, it’s possible, its purposeful, and it is incredibly impactful.
At eye level, they let us in to who they are.
It’s not art, after that… It’s Life.
Re:borN Dance Interactive in HOME – Photo by Jazley Faith
Boroka,
Please don’t stop doing this. Do more, expand, adjust, improve, grow.
I see you a little more now. I feel a little more seen.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for inviting me in to your idea… of Home.
I think I’ll take that drink now.
I want to congratulate the artists of Re:borN Dance and of “Home” – an immersive dance experience.
Boroka Nagy, Director, Dancer
Simon Harrison, Dancer/Manager
Jonathan Bahn, Dancer
Jestoni Dagdag, Dancer
Krissy Gullen, Dancer
Hyoin Jun, Dancer
Katie Marshall, Dancer
Kaitlin Wright, Dancer
Kayla Emerson, Actress
Skye Schmidt, Photographer
Martha Carter, Lighting Designer
And a special note to the inaugural Board Members of Reborn Arts Christe Bruderlin and Mary Tarpley… Everything you do matters. You are the creators of a necessary beauty. Be proud, be prominent, and most importantly – be persistent.
Looking forward to more work from this inspiring dance company.
No… from this dance family.
For more information about Re:borN Dance Interactive, please visit their website.
Written by Melesio Anthony Aceves for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Re:borN Dance Interactive in HOME – Photo by Jazley Faith
