Almost from the first beat of the performance, I felt the breath in my belly deepen and slow down. This is a typical response of mine to artistic expression, but I was watching a dance called Noise + Speed. The music was dissonant and the dancers’ staccato, angular movements reflected that. So, why was I feeling so relaxed? Noise and a fast and frenzied existence usually engender sensations I struggle to keep at bay. The dancers in front of me, however, were choosing a different response: they were allowing these sensations to penetrate them and to embody the dissonance they heard. How did that embodiment make them feel? Did they, too, feel relaxed, and was that feeling of relaxation communicating itself to me....
Dear Aynsley and Mathew:
I want to congratulate you on the success of your festival, Mt. Tremper Arts.
By creating anything new, we embody the spirit of Walt Whitman, who believed in nothing more than he believed in the possibility inherent in the American experience to set precedent; to do what has not been done before; to decide for ourselves that, yes, this is how we want things to be, even if it means breaking from tradition and/or propriety.
Although, with new things come risks. I’m sure you both know, as artists, that it is impossible to satisfy the taste of every person who comes into contact with artwork. Artists are always aware of this conundrum, and each finds her/his own relationship between their work and the public. We must agree, though, that, in terms of art, it is always better to err on the side of risk. Risk is how we grow, discover, and learn.
That is why I would like to commend you for the risk you both took to program–without interference–the dance work of Elke Rindfleisch, whose two dances I found compelling, bold, enigmatic, incisive, and thoroughly brave.
On Saturday I went to see Dusan Tynek’s Dance Theatre perform two pieces, Fleur-de-Lis and Apian Way, at Mount Tremper Arts. As a poet and writer, I find much of my expression through words, and was blown away by the dancers’ precision and communication through the body. In both pieces there was a commitment from the dancers to connect with one another and the audience in such a concentrated way over an extended period of time with a clear and conscious ability to express story and emotion. Wordlessly....