|
| |  |
| | Photo by Sarah Landolt | | | Kuan-Yu Chen (ground), Kensaku Shinohara, Mei Yamanaka
|
Fertile Ground
The HATCHed Sequel Series and WAXworks deserve watching
By QUINN BATSON
Offoffoff.com
Dance incubator showcases WAXworks and the HATCHed Sequel Series are breeding good work.
The HATCHed Sequel Series, presented at the studio of Jennifer Muller/The Works, is HATCH series all-stars chosen for a longer time slot and more exposure, with pieces or collections of pieces up to 35 minutes long. The May 21 evening had two really strong long pieces and six short ones.
Third Supper (Always SLOW Work-in-Progress Project) by Kensaku Shinohara is filled with humor, exciting contact partnering and some big dancing, by Shinohara, Mei Yamanaka and Kuan-Yu Chen. A couple, Shinohara and Chen, come across a creature on the ground moving strangely and dare/push each other to check it out. When the creature begins to interact with them, things move quickly. Whenever things begin to seem normal, Shinohara throws in something absurd to keep laughs coming.The partnering and dancing is really smooth, fast, and creative when it happens, and each dancer does an impressive no-fuss solo. Upbeat and surprising music choices and a joyous section that goes in and out of unison are some favorite parts among many. The creatureness of Yamanaka comes and goes, but it returns at the end for a reprise of the opening, with differences. Fun.
|
| HATCHED WAX: TWO TO VIEW | Choreography by: Kensaku Shinohara, Kendall Cornell, Koryn Wicks, Mari Meade Montoya, Justin Tornow, Courtney Colon, Yuki Ishiguro, Kentaro Kikuchi, Megan Bascom.
Produced by: HATCHed: Jennifer Muller/The Works, Pascal Rekoert
WAXworks: Xan Burley, Alex Springer.
Dancers: Koryn Wicks: with Yue Tong Kwan, Kudzalshe Jeti, Malik Kitchen, Jessie Niemiec, Sarah Molczan, Hildur, Olafsdottir, Lindsay Hall, Matthew Manix, Natalia Messa, Kasi Narcisse-Cousar, Tatiana Sanchez, Jane Sawyer
Kensaku Shinohara: with Kuan-Yu Chen, Mei Yamanaka
Clowns: Carla Bosnjak, Julie Kinkie, Michaela Lind, Diana Lovrin, Clare O’Sheeran, Aly Perry and Lucia Rich
WAXworks
Mari Meade Montoya: Hannah Darrah, Breanna Gribble, Ariel Lembeck, Kathryn Logan
Justin Tomow: Amy Brinkheide, Julia Y. Edwards, Laura Grant
Courtney Colon: with Lisa Buss, Froza Mercado, Ian Mercado, Danielle Rieger, Magen Spearman
Y&Kproject: Yuki Ishiguro, Kentaro Kikuchi
Megan Bascom: with Carly Berrett, Robin Cherof, Alyssa "Allie" Bruehlman.
Related links: WAX | | SCHEDULE | HATCHed Sequel Series at Jennifer Muller/The Works
May 21, 2011
WAXworks at Triskelion/Williamsburg Art nexus (WAX)
May 22, 2011
|
| |
Kendall Cornell/Clowns Ex Machina uses clowns to make dance satire and social commentary with laughs, in Clowns Full-Tilt. Carla Bosnjak, Julie Kinkie, Michaela Lind, Diana Lovrin, Clare O'Sheeran, Aly Perry and Lucia Rich make an excellent ensemble — all shapes and sizes and each a character. The main subjects for skewer are beauty cheats and hygiene ads. Brilliant bits between longer skits keep things moving and flowing, and there is no dull moment. A mashup of performance genres and vocal gags and singing makes this a rich brew.
Korwyn Wicks fill out the program with 6 short dances full of young dancers and strong movement. Wicks herself moves well, especially in a solo performed, surprisingly, to a recording of Allen Ginsburg reciting "America." Nothing in the other five pieces is surprising, but the dancers and choreography are good on the way to better.
|
| |  |
| | Photo by Sarah Landolt | | | Clowns Ex Machina: Diana Lovrin and Aly Perry
|
WAXworks, presented at Triskelion in Williamsburg, includes audience feedback cards for each choreographer presented, a nice touch that gives choreographers feedback and audience members reason to think. Technically, the pieces presented are works in progress, though most feel sufficiently finished.
Megan Bascom's Satiate or Salvage (excerpts) finished the May 22 show in style. The opening duet has a lovely soft-synch unison quality that appears again often in other groupings and sections of this piece for four women. Slipping in and out of unison gives the dance and dancers a communal and connected feel, as if they are constantly checking in with each other and cooperating, rather than dancing slavishly as one to preordained movement. The soft synch also gives the dancing a very musical quality, as if it is playing with and collaborating with the music, written by John Kasiewicz. The partnering between dancers is often breathtakingly quick and smooth, with unexpected moves to floor and contact that is very close to the ground. The flow and pacing of Satiate is impressively smooth and satisfying, too. Good stuff.
 |
| Photo by Xan Burley | Megan Bascom and Dancers, L-R: Megan Bascom, Alyssa Bruehlman, Robin Cherof, Carly Berrett
|
Life by the Y&K Project, aka Yuki Ishiguro and Kentaro Kikuchi, is a speedy mix of b-boy, gymnastics and dance that seemingly could only be done by a couple of gymnasts who have street performing cred and some serious dance training. The music is credited to Ishiguro as well, making this male duo even more impressive. Their mix and flow work well and make Life a joy to watch.
A group of six dances unison and canon as far as they can in He Was Either Mad and Over It, or Lost and Gone Forever, by Courtney Colon. The movement is decent, but the relentlessness of the (unintentionally loose) unison, broken only by very predictable canon, quickly brings things down.
And unison overuse plagues No. 6, by Justin Tornow, as well. It is a clean, inoffensive trio that stays in one place, subjectively, due in part to music that never changes.
This WAXworks begins and this review ends with Genderfrication: spit and skip, a new piece by Mari Meade Montoya. Her range as a choreographer and the performing flexibility of her dancers are always impressive. Humor and dance weigh pretty and ugly, and the audience never sees which side of the scale things will fall to until they fall. Smart musical choices give the whole piece lively energy and a good pace.
|
MAY 27, 2011
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
Post a comment on "HATCHed WAX: two to view"
|
|
|
