Well, it was a big, messy evening, and I loved almost every minute. Driving down from Margaretville, I was out of my mind with excitement and expectation. Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t heard about Mt. Tremper Arts (you’re neglecting the possibilities of your audience up the road a piece), but from the moment I read the calendar of events I couldn’t wait to be there.

The setting is beautiful, and the evening was as meltingly beautiful as summer evenings can be in the Catskills. It was a pleasure to wander through the gardens and to watch the audience arrive and to note how diverse that audience was – it was exciting to note that fully half were young.

As the doors opened and the audience entered the hall, removing their shoes and scrambling politely for the seats in the front rows - the ones with backs, but settling happily for the stools comprising the last two rows, the dancers were performing a joyful and very welcoming dance that made me want to join them.

Untitled Project IS most definitely a work in progress – it had some very beautiful sections and yet often the dancers seemed tentative and unsure of exactly where they should be in relation to one another. I was disappointed that the “Jenny Holzer’ contribution seemed to be the texts from which the dancers read. The words were inaudible from where I was sitting. I had expected projections of text. Nonetheless, it was a pleasure to watch the young dancers perform this piece with such pleasure and good humor. Some introduction or explanation about just where this piece is in its development would have been interesting .

HEAVENS WHAT HAVE I DONE - is a glorious mess. Funny, touching, profoundly irritating and a little scary. I have no idea what was going on, but I was riveted throughout the performance. The music was too loud, the seats were uncomfortable, and I had a glorious time.

I’m grateful beyond measure that Matthew and Aynsley have the courage, knowledge and energy to bring us such provocative performances in such a beautiful and intimate setting. I’m looking forward to many more surprising and exhilarating evenings at Mt. Tremper.

Ann Epner is a poet and dramatist in exile from NYC. She is the Community Arts Funding Coordinator at the Roxbury Arts Group, and, with the addition of Mt. Tremper Arts to the cultural arts community, no longer feels quite so far from home.
<!--EndFragment-->