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Sunday, September 7, 2008

aflong aflongkong

Ten Tiny Dances tonight was only eight because of a few people who couldn't do it. It was at the same venue as last nights performance. The stage was in the middle with some chairs surrounding it. We got there fifteen minutes before the show and it was fairly crowded. We did get a good some just behind a row of chairs. The ladies surrounding us were quite awesome and friendly so we were able to scooch in close together. I was wearing a sparkly loose top and jeans. I was sweating within minutes.

The performance lasted an hour and a half in total but it felt like fifteen minutes. The thing that united all the dances was that they had to be done within a sixteen square foot stage area and four of those feet was a raised stage. First up was Anne Furfey and Margretta Hansen in Shake the Cushions. The two ladies were in red and white swimsuits that were under white button downs. During a part of it they buttoned themselves together and danced. They started slow and shook a lot. Having the space prevents some of the larger and more graceful movements. It lent itself more to contemporary and modern movements. Part of the next dance, with Achana Kumar, was obscured by the stage. The woman had a veil which she pulled away from her face to completely obscure it. Her dance had a lot of Indian movements. I found it surreal until Meshi Chavez took the stage. He blew my mind. Just a guy moving, writhing, twisting, contorting, laughing... He pulled me in and in a blink he was over. He had an amazing amount of control over his body. Even in only his undies, he was still sweating all over the place. A guy had to clean the stage after him.

A lady that looked like she was a Pedersen gal was in the next number. Rinda Chambers and Keely McIntyre came out in nighties and engaged in slow movements. Meshi was a hard act to follow. Vuelto From a Future Dance (what's a vuelto?) was nice when I saw it but I can't remember much about the three women beyond their nice clothes and hair. Didactic Identity was my second favorite, next to Meshi. All the performers had box heads on and each was drawn with slightly different hair and expression. They moved in tight little circles, in unison, or in a chain reaction way. Hard to explain but I could really feel their energy as they moved. Most of the performers seemed to be from 30 to 50, only Meshi and these girls seemed to be 25 and under. Nice to see dancers continuing for so long.

Next up with Taiko Drumming! Slipping Through my Fingers was the title. For the first half the drummers sat and moved handheld drums about as a woman played them as they came into her reach. Then it was her and a man on stage moving fluidly about and drumming the handhelds as the rest played the huge Taiko drums. The beat vibrated my teeth. All of it was accompanied by a violin. Winding down for the night was a short and sweet performance called Hobnobblins: The Elder Alliance. It had Jessica Hinkle, Beth Hoyt, Tommy Smith, Lathrop Walker, and Reggie Watts. It started with Reggie getting a simple beat going. He stood in the center and did a small little hand jive. A woman joined him and stood in the corner of the stage doing a little running dance. A man in a ski mask came and did a different dance in rhythm. The man who introduced the performance stood in the other corner and waved his arms in the air like he just didn't care. Lastly a woman done up like a starlet occupied the final corner and swished her hair about. All their dances were in sync to the music. And one by one they walked off and that was that.

Cecine and I made our escape to the sweet sweet night air. I made myself some late night Gnocchi and now I am ready for another nice sleep.

Even though I got up at 1pm, I still felt like I did a great deal today. I went to PNCA to share some workable fixative with Jen. We talked about last First Thursday, how crazy busy she has been, we got some ice cream and sat by the fountain and enjoyed it. This time it didn't melt across my hand in a hilarious mess. She had to leave for work so I returned to school and caught the end of the Yes Men lecture. These guys go into conferences posing as representatives of large companies and promote joke products and give fake presentations. People take them seriously as well. I wish I had seen the start but I can spend more time in the exhibit they have at school.

Swung by Trader Joe's to get some food stuffs. Mostly frozen vegetables. Robin and Diana came in as I was checking out. Cecine ran into them as well. She must have gotten there right as I was leaving. Heh. Cecine made spaghetti and sauce for the both of us. It was delicious. I did my part of the cooking as well. The "getting the top off the jar" part.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That was a very good review of the dances. You should write for a newspaper or an entertainment newsletter. Very good observations.

JS