ARTS

Fall Forward takes small step

by Raphael Martin

The annual Fall Forward contemporary dance show opens this weekend, and from the looks of it should be retitled Fall Halfway-Forward. Nothing in the show is particularly awful, yet very little takes hold of the spectators and shakes them up. There is interesting movement here and there within the seven pieces, but the evening as a whole fails to catch fire. This year's production consists of seven pieces with only one having greater than two people in it. This lack of larger group pieces is a problem, as the successive series of solos and duos has a tendency to run together blurringly.

The evening opened with junior Elizabeth Heard's "Edge." Standing in a pin-point spotlight, Heard's movement was marionette-like with appendages splayed outwards, as if on strings. Heard uses interesting hand motions and gestures, as well as some interesting floor work such as rolls and tumbles, but things did not gel.

Juniors Galen Treuer and Ann Willemssen used spaced strikingly to create a strong piece in "Against Two Walls." "Walls" had a particularly clever use of Warner Main's space as they localized their dance to what is suggested in the title - an intimate corner of the converted gymnasium. As the lights come up the two are standing, languidly draped over each other, in a pose reminiscent of the fetal position. The two complement each other nicely, as they dance with straightened backs, arm in arm. This mood is broken every so often with larger pieces of movements such as synchronized leaps and flips. At one point, Treuer flips off the wall, all within the context of the stately and elegant sound of the classical guitar. Photo of Elizabeth Heard dancing.

Another duo choreographed by junior Gamaliel Lodge and sophomore Erin Jacklin was entitled "From Two." This piece included the evening's most striking visual. Slowly the lights came up and Jacklin was poised center stage, on her back, with her legs pulled in to her chest. Balanced on her moving shins was Lodge, quietly looking out at the audience. It was a breathtaking moment, as it looked as if Lodge was on a raft, peaceably stranded out in the middle of a vast ocean, perfectly content. The piece contained a fluidity and good humor that none of the other pieces could touch. Jacklin and Lodge were enjoying themselves and this was evident. Literally wrapping themselves around each other, the duo was reminiscent of an old-time barbershop pole, with the two colors spiraling infinitely around each other. This arm-in-arm tenderness that Jacklin and Lodge's intimate piece conveyed was a nice juxtaposition to the rough-hewed edge of Tom Waits' voice.

Senior Jason Miller presented a solo work, "Inherit." A dance/monologue piece explored Miller's sexuality as a gay man, and more specifically the relationship he has with his mother. Anyone who saw last year's Fall Forward will be reminded of Jeremy Kucholtz's similarly inspired work. This type of intensely personal performance is almost critic proof. This performance-therapy structure is perfectly valid (Bill T. Jones did it with his "Still/Here" piece in New York) but it becomes hard when one tries to navigate between the personal and the performative.

Much of the time it felt as if Miller was wandering around the stage, punctuating his wandering with sharp physical moments. He needed more punctuation to his long piece. The moments that did hit were effective ones nonetheless. Miller, clad in a form-fitting black silk dress assumed a very good maternal presence within the piece. The best visual element came when Miller, educated at a Catholic school as the audience finds out, strikes a cross position while his body shakes, seemingly wracked with spasms. 'Now what is a good Catholic boy doing with a black dress and heels," Miller intones in his mother's voice, when he stops shaking.

Next on the program was sophomore Loren Groendahl's "Taut," choreographed to the eponymously named song by PJ Harvey. The piece had some energy to it, but this energy was mostly due to the thumping beat of Harvey's music. There was a nice moment when Groendahl wrapped her hand around her neck, creating an image of constrictiveness and tension that began to do justice to the piece's title. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough edginess or punch for the piece to live up to the arresting soundtrack. Photo of two dancers

The final piece, a group collaboration, was the most fully formed of the evening. Senior Abigail Resminsky's untitled work was a fluid and propulsive piece for five women. Scored to the jazz standard "Blue Moon," Resminsky used a version by The Cowboy Junkies. Looking like floating buoys, her dancers stood in a diagonal pattern slowly undulating back and forth. It reminded one of the opening image in Jacklin and Lodge's piece. The propulsive running of the dancers created a steady flow of movement with just enough divertive movement to enliven it.

Also on the program was a sweet tongue-in-cheek solo by professor of Dance Nusha Martynuk.

Fall Forward runs tonight and Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Warner Main Space. Tickets are $3 in advance and $2 at the door.


First Photo:
Solo space: Junior Elizabeth Heard takes a thoughtful step forward. Her work "Edge," is on the program. (photo by Andrea Kamins)

 


Second Photo:
Human sculpture: Dancers perform the piece"Against Two Walls" in this year's Fall Forward. (photo by Andrea Kamins)

 

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Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, Number 8, November 5, 1999

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