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| | Photo by Quinn Batson | | | Jenni Hong, Kristi Kuhn, Hannah Seidel
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The Distance Between Us Is Small
Gina Gibney mines the ebbs and flows of emotional connection
By QUINN BATSON
Offoffoff.com
The distances in Gina Gibney's hour-long "The Distance Between Us" are usually quite small, though measured in the nuanced micrometers of women's relationships, they probably span a large emotional range. The entire piece stays on one note, but varied partnerings and synergetic set, lighting, costumes and hypnotic music give that note beauty.
This really is an easy piece to watch, with a gentle, lulling quality. Nothing jars, even when the music gets very dissonant or the lights are in full-power white. At the same time, Courtney Drasner's vividly fluid movement is always a pleasure to watch and the choreographic vocabulary is interesting, but very few moments grab attention. Smooth lifts and plenty of floorwork give vertical dynamics, and continually turning gentle contact work is often pretty and intricate; jumps don't exist.
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| GINA GIBNEY DANCE | Choreography by: Gina Gibney.
Dancers: Janess Clark, Courtney Drasner, Jill Frere, Jenni Hong, Kristy Kuhn, Hannah Seidel.
Music by: Ryan Lott.
Production design by: Naoko Nagata.
Art direction by: Naoko Nagata.
Set design by: Lex Liang.
Costumes by: Naoko Nagata.
Lighting design by: Kathy Kaufmann.
| | SCHEDULE | Ailey Citigroup Theater
November 28 to December 1
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Original music by Ryan Lott is excellent accompaniment to Gibney's movement and sensibility. Kathy Kaufmann's mixture of deeply colored backgrounds in near darkness and ballet-intensity white light also showcases geometrically patterned black-and-white costumes by Naoko Nagata and a set of hanging scrims and brushed metal box tubes designed by Lex Liang, which frame strong, consistent performances from the six dancers; Janessa Clark, Drasner, Jill Frere, Jenni Hong, Kristy Kuhn and Hannah Seidel.
Though solos and groupings of twos and threes shifted throughout, one memorable duet between Frere and Hong that began with a subtle but strong confrontation between two friends really made Gibney's choreography feel right. A dramatic solo with Drasner dancing in silhouette also gave an emotionally charged end to the piece.
"The Distance Between Us" is a subtle discourse on the emotional ebbs and flows between people, especially women, in an hour of meticulous, flowing beauty.
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DECEMBER 3, 2007
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
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