...First, a little disclaimer: I have seen this work before in its original performances in 2006; and – the dancer/co-creator is my wife.
My impressions from watching the solo last weekend were that Mark and Andrea offer us a mosaic of thousands of tiny moments. Each moment has its own nuances, its own flavor. But it comes together somewhat like a large impressionist painting – all the moments create a larger picture. The dancer has her focus downwards or “inwards” for most of the piece, leaving us in the audience feeling like we’re on the outside, trying to learn what’s happening inside. The feeling is that we are watching a personal struggle, and so the fact that we are allowed to witness it gives one the sense that we are being privileged with a close eye into some very intimate wrestling. There is repetition of a task. But this is masked by changes in direction, speed, movement quality, by stutters and hiccups. Sometimes the punctuations are almost violent, the smacking of knees and ankles into the floor as the dancer carves her inexorable path through space. Less often her motions are slow and syrupy, as if a swan were unfolding her wings underwater. A few times she stops altogether, exhausted, and goes off to the side of the stage. There she sits, catching her breath and sweating, and re-ties her hair. She begins again a few minutes later, like Sisyphus coming back to his unending task....
How often do we have full permission to just look at a human body, unselfcounsciously? We usually look with purpose -- to see and assess what's going on with someone, how they feel, what they think. Everything Up Until Now and Including provided an opportunity to see the human body, the human form, how it moves, what it does, without story, without working to assess. That's what I enjoyed about this piece. It's also what some audience members afterwards found to be not-as-enjoyable as they would have liked, feeling that they missed having a story and therefore found it more challenging to follow the dance.
Everything Up Until Now and Including was unpretentious. I found myself breathing in unison with the dancer, the movement of her ribs, belly, shoulders, reminding me of how tender this body is, how flexible and vulnerable we humans are. The movements felt more like exploration than expression of emotion. A very curious, attentive exploration of how the body moves when the movement begins with a slight tilt of the head. A whole section of vibrant movement coming out of that subtle movement. Sometimes the dancer seemed to disappear, her wishes irrelevant to the movement of her body, as if her movements were following her body, gravity, and the flow of initiated energy....
...Most remarkable about this company’s work is the use of facial expressions, especially to add a comic element. Dancers are so often associated with expressing movement through their body alone, and the face is often almost a blank slate. That is fine for much work but Barnes’ style truly benefits from this holistic element. The facial choreography is distinctive from what is going on down below, but is not distracting. Rather, it’s integral, and recalls a slapstick sensibility that showcases Barnes’ and Bass’ talent not just as trained dancers but also as actresses....
...The performance, 3 Dancers, 4 chairs, 26 words by the Aynsley Vandenbroucke Movement Group was to me a sweet, contemplative exploration of two themes: grieving and semiotics. In the first moments of the piece, a sign informs us that this is a prologue. A woman places a series of written words on the stage. these words have an ominous message. Things are amiss; a man, woman, or child has died. The narrative device of a prologue gives the audience license to read a story into what follows, no matter how cyclical or atmospheric that story may be.....
...Words containers containing contain
What was that ? Who is this word
And serene was this life this one who asked who knew who went before.
Words can dance and dancers be words
Beginning...
...until the words
which cannot stay fixed
either
enter the white heart
of the woman
who is empty space
who has held
the bird the stone the dirt the grave...
...Life Death how the cycle moves around without much change
circle floating around with letters...how people say "I can't find the words to express what I am trying to say" however with these 26 words a new story was formed with new emotions each time...
...The whole piece I was like, PLZZZZ take that hoodie off! I feared he might, actually, explode. Cuz he was super rocking out. A really great way to start the show. I was like YESSSSS, we’re gonna rock out here. That to me is what great dance is really about. So often I feel like it’s all emotional or conceptual or trying to be smart or it's so BORING when really I just want 'em to put on a hot jam and FIERCE it....
...On the short drive home, the skies opened up and I rode in the pounding rain, loudly singing "Bolero" along with the steady beat of windshield wipers and cymbal crashes of thunder....
...the quartet, danced to bolero was fascinating. i loved
the costumes, especially the two men , also dressed in
flamenco ladies' dresses, black and lacy and dramatic.
great... i , myself, enjoyed this piece, but being a
dinosaur, i will have to ponder on it being done without
moving on with one's legs...