Shades of Gay Explores Self's Fluid Sexuality

In his dance performance Shades of Gay, senior Jason Miller prances, saunters and pounces across the polished floor of Warner Main Space. Miller's talent lies in his skillful portrayal of the fluid notion of gender; he often dons a tight black dress to portray women in different contexts. From the first piece, "Professional Widow," in which Miller uses richly exaggerated movements to Tori Amos tunes to the final Ricky Martin-esque dance number, Miller takes the audience on a journey designed to break down cultural stereotypes and confining gendered roles. He said, "I wanted to make everything sequential so there would be a continuity into the intermission. This continuity is essential because I evolve from piece to piece." Juxtaposing scenes from his early childhood - such as his Fall Forward piece "Inherit" - with scenes that highlight his ability to mock the traditional societal norms, Shades of Gay is a moving exploration of the self.

The performance begins with an initial energy-rich "Professional Widow," in which Miller bounces his torso, head and arms in perfect syncopation to the rhythm. Miller's movements are generously overstated, as he portrays a woman worried about an unwanted pregnancy. He says, "My friend says not to worry. I just don't need this right now." Miller uses both furious syncopated jabs and graceful hand sweeps to cast a shameful finger at those who interfere with what he terms a woman's "best interest." This piece is one of the most successful because it uses both stark language and simple movements to tell the widow's story. Though the piece involves the emotionally charged issue of unwanted pregnancy, Miller is careful not to remove the mother's agency in her own life. The mother he portrays does not see the use in buckling to societal pressures and refuses to marry her potential suitor. This does not exclude her from the obvious pain of bitter relationships. Stepping into the role of victim as he describes the mother's new boyfriend, Miller said, "He makes me bleed in one place and stop in another." As the piece grinds to an emotional close, the woman's problems are not oversentimentalized and she is forced to crawl to safety.

From diva to divo: Senior Jason Miller prances, struts and pounces across the stage in Shades of Gay. His performance breaks down the barriers of gender norms, with evocative dance, language and carefully chosen music. (photo by Brian Hodgkin)

More than anything else, Shades of Gay defines the complex interworkings behind one individual's development. Though it is apparent that the individual struggle is important, the piece "Family" demonstrates just how important others are in the growth process. For this piece Miller used Sadé's overtly tacky song "No Ordinary Love" in a serious manner. At times dancers sophomore Philip Grasso, first-year Shannon Forney, sophomore Lynn Hickman, first-year Jordan Balagot and junior Jose Melendez appeared perfectly understated as they held elegant poses. At other times their quick steps across the stage conveyed effectively the complex intermingling of familial and non-familial ties. Miller said the idea for this piece came from a documentary called Paris is Burning which depicts the

plight of gay men in New York. Many of these are disowned by their own families and take up residence with surrogate families held together by a matriarch. Miller said, "I answered the question for myself 'What does a son do without a mother?'" Indeed, the closeness that these families offer is depicted by the "Family" dancers as they take turns offering solace to their new ally.

People dancing (photo by Brian Hodgkin)

Coming out of intermission into the piece entitled "Diva -> Divo" Miller uses a dance technique from a turn-of-the-century pioneer named Loie Fuller. Using a Fuller-esque enormous swatch of white fabric, Miller twirls the fabric in circular undulations while the driving beats of the Pet Shop Boys play in the background. The colored lights transform the normal space into something magical and purely remarkable. He said, "I'm trying to channel the diva mode of my performance. It's breathtaking for people to see it and for me to do it. Me as diva, I own the space." The difficulty of breaking out of this mode is one theme carried over into the following two pieces. It is here where the development of Miller's gendered characters finally break free.

Though the final piece is a tongue-in-cheek satire of conventional heterosexual culture, replete with women dancing to Ricky Martin's "Cup of Life," there is more to it. Miller said, "When guys are on stage together, everyone assumes there's sexual tension. The power of touching has always been a male providence and I wanted that power to be delegated to everyone." For Miller, without an equal distribution of power, there will always be someone left out. Shades of Gay however allows for the individual to tell his own story, through tense language, carefully chosen music, and most importantly, vibrant, evocative dance.

Shades of Gay will be performed Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Warner Main Space. Tickets are $3 students with OCID/$5 without and are $2 more at the door.