New Shoes, curated by Patrick Kennelly, Artistic Director of Highways Performance Space, has continuously drawn a large audience and my interest. New Shoes is an opportunity for inspiring choreographers to present their work in a safe and welcoming environment. When attending this long running dance series, one can expect almost anything. Some of it works and others do not, but what is important is that these artists have an affordable venue to present their work.
One Week 1 of New Shoes included works by choreographers Casey Shea and Gia Bella, Melissa Younker, and Caitlin Javech. We witnessed two women simulating self-pleasure while thinking about one another, a woman dancing inside and with a synthetic exoskeleton, and a theatrical dance work taut with intensity.
New Shoes 2025 – L-R Max Martin and Mandolin Burns in “Cabin of Pleasure” by Casey Shea and Gia Bella – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
“Cabin of Pleasure” by Casey Shea and Gia Bella, featured the very talented dance artists Max Martin and Mandolin Burns. Martin, dressed in a deep red slip, sat in a large wooden chair with a floor lamp near enough to read by. Burns, dressed in a thin white bathrobe over white sleeping clothes, walks in and spreads out a large Persian rug. She then walks over to another table, turns on a record player and returns to the rug to lie down.
The moment for both women was different but similar in that each appeared sexually aroused, longing for the other, and needing the relief of sexual tension. Both solos included moments of unison, but each appeared very different because Martin was performing in a chair while Burns was lying flat on top of the Persian rug. The choreography brought the two together to show us that they were thinking of each other. They soon parted, however, each lying on the floor to experience quite an intense orgasm that literally shook their entire bodies. This was a perfect ending for this work, but Shea and Bella’s choreography went on with Martin and Burns literally wrestling for what felt like forever.
New Shoes 2025 – L-R Max Martin and Mandolin Burns in “Cabin of Pleasure” by Casey Shea and Gia Bella – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
“Cabin of Pleasure” is a work that could and should succeed. Perhaps if parts of the wrestling had occurred prior to the orgasms, it would have done so. For me where the tumbling was placed, greatly weakened a potentially powerful work.
The very interesting music for “Cabin of Pleasure” was by Pyritt and the lighting design by Darren Carter truly helped to create the separation of environments for the two characters.
New Shoes 2025 – Melissa Younker in her solo “Elytra” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Melissa Younker choreographed and performed in “Elytra” to an original score by Insurgent Beat Machine. Wearing an elaborate “exoskeleton” made of multiple identically shaped plastic pieces, Younker appears attracted to a bright spot light on upstage left. The image brought to mind a moth being drawn to a flame. She proceeds to shed her outer skin and metamorph into a large butterfly-like creator. The metamorphosis continues into a couple of other shapes before Younker swung it while spinning around; sometimes coming dangerously close to the audience.
New Shoes 2025 – Melissa Younker in her solo “Elytra” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
While Younker definitely included every possible use of the “sculpture”, the most exciting part was her final action of causing the entire apparatus to collapse with an audible slap. Also, the film that ran in the lobby before the performance was by Bree Robles and Shelby Taylor.
Darren Carter’s lighting for “Elytra” was subtle but very effective.
New Shoes 2025 – (L-R) Jane Zogbi, Chloe Madding, and Rebecca Lee in “Drive” by Caitlin Javech – Photo by Adie San Diego )ASD Photography).
“Drive” by Caitlin Javech, director of the LA based dance company TORRENT, was definitely the highlight of the evening due to the strong choreography and performances. The music by Tyler Sanders and the lighting design by Claire Chrzan were exciting; each urging the highly talented performers Chloe Madding, Jane Zogbi, and Rebecca Lee toward their destinies. The title, “Drive” wonderfully describes the choreography, the movement and the intensity behind the work’s meaning.
Javech brought the three women together one at a time before developing the tension between them. They worked separately, together in intricate unison phrases, and one very complex cannon section that led each dancer in totally different, winding directions. All this aided to convey the independence of each character even though they greatly depended on each other for survival.
New Shoes 2025 – (L-R) Jane Zogbi, Chloe Madding, Jane Zogbi and Rebecca Lee in “Drive” by Caitlin Javech – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Javech clearly creates the physical and emotional costs of the tension between these three characters. I look forward to seeing more of this company, TORRENT, in the future.
Week 2 of New Shoes runs March 7 – 8, 2025 at 8:00 pm featuring Beth Huelsenbeck’s WYRD, portal by josie j & Wendy Zhuo, Lindsay Lykins’ “Infinite Circuit,” and North Star Dance Company’s “Polaris”.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Highways Performance Space website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: New Shoes 2025 – Chloe Madding, Jane Zogbi and Rebecca Lee in “Drive” by Caitlin Javech – Photo by Adie San Diego (ASD Photography).
