Sunday, July 6, 2025 was the final performance of Dance at the Odyssey: Summer Edition curated by Barbara Müeller-Wittmann. The extremely well-rounded program featured the works of Los Angeles based Jordan Saenz and Corina Kinnear. While each work explored deep subjects, the two dance styles and choreographic techniques were at polar opposites. What was consistent in both pieces was the excellent dancing and focus by the performers.
Jordan Saenz – Photo by Stefano Altamura.
Choreographed by Jordan Saenz (they/them), “Shadow Poems” dove into the human psyche and although it was performed by Saenz and Ariana Daub, this viewer saw two sides to the same woman. It was how Saenz built the work that caused me to believe this. One dressed in all black, the other in all beige. Several times, two separate solos merged into one short unison as if two completely different conflicts or emotions were stirring around in a single brain to come to a resolution.
In the program, Saenz writes that “Shadow Poems” is “an open love letter to our deepest vulnerabilities” and through their choreography and movement, they expose the rawness of how those vulnerable moments can be when exposed.
Jordan Saenz and Ariana Daub in Saenz’s “Shadow Poems” – Photo courtesy of Odyssey Theatre Ensemble/Jordan Saenz.
Both women have studied a form of gaga technique and it is evident in how they move but Saenz has created her own choreographic voice in how to utilize what they have learned without losing the way the gaga technique allows one to see inside the dancer’s emotional and physical make up. Every movement of an arm, a hand, a shoulder or a look, says, ‘This is who I am,’ This is what I am feeling,’ and/or ‘These are the effects of those emotions.’
Saenz’s “Shadow Poems” is brilliantly choreographed and laced with subtle moments of one persona influencing the other through a single touch or a brisk but brief walk. How they played with light and shadow was breathtaking and I, for one, felt the internal turmoil as well as the solution. This is a work that must live on after this performance.
The music for “Shadow Poems” was an array of composers intriguingly woven together by Sound Designer Ian Lipson. Costumes were by Mieko Lisbeth and Jordan Saenz and the stunning Lighting Design was by Jordan Saenz.
“Forgotten Time” by Corina Kinner – Screenshot by Josh Rose.
Following intermission, the audience was treated to a totally different style of movement and choreographic vision with “Forgotten Time” choreographed by Corina Kinnear to an original score by M. Bronx that several times referenced music from earlier centuries. Kinnear’s choreographic structure appears influenced by more post modern dance artists and her technique is contemporary, blending modern dance with ballet.
A short duet is interrupted by a group of dancers wearing beige trench coats, clothing that became prominent but sometimes overused props throughout the dance. Solos, duets and larger groups are seen taking off and putting on these coats as well as cleaning the floor with them and creating small sculptures.
Although I truly enjoyed watching the dancers perform this work, I was never entirely convinced of its central theme of ‘exploring the concept of forgotten time.’ The thought crossed my mind that Kinnear could not quite decide whether the work was a pure movement piece or a dance theater work. There were elements of both but the former won and did so magnificently.
“Forgotten Time” by Corina Kinner – Screenshot by Josh Rose.
Two sections stood out in “Forgotten Time.” First was a unison section that Kinnear dissected and rearranged with dancers changing where they were within the original phrases. Kinnear made it work by having the movements and gestures repeated throughout the section, all while almost completely altering how these movements and gestures were first seen. It was like watching a picture jigsaw puzzle slowly disassemble without losing the overall illustration. If seen in reverse, it would have resembled watching someone solving a rubrics cube with all the colors falling into place.
The second highlight was the final solo performed by Lola Arnaud, one of the four dancers who traveled from Paris to join the American performers. Ms. Arnaud’s technique was extraordinarily strong and her performance exquisite.
The full cast of “Forgotten Time” were Lola Arnaud, Steph Baer, Stephanie Dai, Ann Glaviano, Yoko Hasebe, Magnolia Machado, Maido Okajima, Mathew Van Oss, and Sadie Yarrington.
For more information about the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: “Forgotten Time” by Corina Kinner – Screenshot by Josh Rose.
