Perhaps the dance community is historically a queerer space than most. Perhaps as creatives, we exist in a world that understands stretching and expanding concepts, particularly in reference to identity. But the reality is that Western dance practices are often still steeped in misogyny, transphobia, oppressive traditions that enforce the gender binary. So Invertigo Dance Theatre’s latest offering, Walk the Walk, was a welcome focus on trans and gender-non-conforming artists, each performer boldly declaring their identity to be celebrated and centered.
Lead artist K. Bradford (they/them) began this project as the Programs & Partnerships Director at Invertigo, a part-time position that quickly morphed into full-time. A few workshops around art by trans and gender-non-conforming art gave way to grant writing, then an excerpt in the park, and finally a fully-produced performance at LA Dance Project on Friday.
Walk the Walk – (L-R) Cedric Tai, K. Bradford, Cody Brunelle-Potter, Lennon Torres, D. Hill – Photo by Hope Spears – Invertigo Dance Theatre
A durational walk (and in Cody Brunelle-Potter’s case, a durational bike ride) began the evening, a common dance configuration given a meaningful context next to the show’s title. It was an invitation, Bradford wrote in the program, to “walk with us;” a prompt to the audience as allies to see and be with these artists in their entirety, at the center.
Onstage, five movers took the space: Bradford, D. Hill (he/him), Cody Brunelle-Potter (they/them), Lennon Torres (she/her), and Cedric Tai (all pronouns). They found unison in their understanding rather than their movement, responding to prompts each in their curious, activated way. As they convened in connected tableaux, each dancer expanded infinitely, evoking Bradford’s initial inspiration for the piece: the giant rubber band. In this time of increased visibility for trans and gender-non-conforming folks, they explained to me, they saw the community as a giant rubber band, each member stretching the bounds of what gender can be in many dimensions. Text spoken by trancestors (trans ancestors, for those not in the know) and contemporary trans activists filled the room throughout the evening, weaving time and space into the continuum of gender expansion.
Walk the Walk – (L-R) K. Bradford, Lennon Torres, D. Hill (seated), Cedric Tai, Cody Brunelle-Potter – Photo by Hope Spears – Invertigo Dance Theatre
Solo and collaborative meditations on the performers’ renaming rituals shared beautifully vulnerable glimpses into their individual trans experience, and a common thread between. And as the first act culminated in a rave initiated by a single light, the prevailing beauty of trans joy radiated in their freedom. I was captivated by the range of different performative qualities in the ensemble, each bequeathed by their home mediums: dance, drag, poetry, sculpture, speech, text, and more.
Hill, shifting in and out of a wheelchair (he recovered from surgery during the creation process), read a letter to his grandmother, accepting his inheritance with grace — a piece of land on which he could see his vision begin to take shape. At intermission, a line from his text projected on the floor stood out to me: “I believe in honest exchanges with those who have seen or experienced personal emotional growth.”
Walk the Walk – (L-R) Lennon Torres, D. Hill, Cody Brunelle-Potter, Cedric Tai, K. Bradford – Photo by Hope Spears – Invertigo Dance Theatre
Tai presented an experiment in unmasking their self-described neuroqueerness (they experience ADHD and autism), the ensemble responding in real time to their organizational system. Tai’s openness in this exchange with the ensemble and audience was astounding — just a small fraction of understanding what she navigates daily was chaotic, overwhelming even to the ensemble. To see her then navigate many topics, movement, and text gave a new beauty to her process and pathways.
Predictably, I was most taken by a duet between Brunelle-Potter and Torres, the two dancers in the cast, and both humans I know well. This is not to undermine the absolute gut punch that this duet delivered — bias aside, this piece communicated something words could not.
Titled “the labor duet,” the choreography created impossible circumstances for them, and they tackled them, devoured them, and moved onto more impossible circumstances. To see these two artists muscle through the labor with grace and determination was also to see them fall, fail, try again, and defy odds. They were captivating in their complexity, moving with tensile strength and still with softness, especially in contact. I was simply grateful to be in my seat, witnessing the moment.
Walk the Walk – (L-R) Cody Brunelle-Potter, Lennon Torres in “the labor duet” – Photo Hope Spears – Invertigo Dance Theatre
The sound collage, designed by Luka Fisher (she/her) and with vocals by Kyler O’Neal (she/her), led Brunelle-Potter into a solo set to text on serenity. Carving their limbs into the space, they continued to create understanding with movement. There is an innate and sensitive wisdom in Brunelle-Potter’s physicality, empathetic and warm in a way that catches and holds those around them.
For the final vignette, Bradford climbed a ladder to share their love of heights — where at vast altitudes, they could discover the truly internal. In their happy place, their search for identity could root and rise within. As the artists returned to their walking patterns, I felt such hope in our ability to hold and support these brilliant beings. In this time of increased visibility for trans and gender-non-conforming folks, Walk the Walk gave these generous artists a space to share their magic with each other and then us. It only affirmed the impetus to push further for their rights, care, and community.
To learn more about Invertigo Dance Theatre, please visit their website.
Written by Celine Kiner for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Walk the Walk – (L-R) Cedric Tai, D. Hill, Lennon Torres (in pink / facing back), K. Bradford, Cody Brunelle-Potter – Invertigo Dance Theatre – Photo by Hope Spears
