Choreographer: Caitlin Rose

Performers: Carmen Alcantara, Angela Bass, Sienza Chandler, Ignacio Jara, Lauren Jimenez, Addison Lintz, Caitlin Rose

If you were at the Bolshoi (I wasn’t), and saw a line of ballerinas (I didn’t), each extend an arm from their side, you would be witnessing a marvelous culmination of historical tradition, exhaustive training and personal physical ability and intuition. No stance would be quite like their stance and no arm would be quite like these arms – the exact elevation at the shoulder, the precise crook of the elbow, the attitude of the wrist and the artful splay of each individual digit. With no further perceptual motion, this, by itself, would be dance. The body in repose or curled on the floor is redolent with potential. The extended arm is not static – it is a thing composed of effortless intensity, implying direction and motion even where none exists – each physical element purposeful, expressive, the cumulative effect a wonderment and a beauty. This… just this… is dance.

I believe that choreographer Caitlin Rose, whose work I am seeing for the first time, has a deep understanding of, and abiding respect for, the essential interiority of dance.

This became apparent from the opening scene of The Effusive Descent. A line of female dancers is sitting on the floor, torsos angled backwards, legs slightly bent, hands resting on their knees. It was a lovely tableau which presented itself as beauty in repose. It was a thoroughly effective deception as, in reality, everything was in tension. The dancers were not, in fact, relaxing as much as they were balancing on the floor. A balance that they maintained effortlessly as they raised and extended first one leg, then the other, slowly moving them in unison to the strains of a melodic piano score which, when they added the arms, became a graceful swim through the ether, never altering their point of contact or indicating any strain. So simple. Seemingly effortless. Beautiful.

The floor work sequence was interrupted by two dancers who literally catapulted onto the stage – a surprising entrance that triggered a transition into the next movement, with the ensemble dispersing into various fluid configurations characterized by sweeping gestures and occasional moments I can only describe as balletic.

As dancers paired at various points around the periphery of the stage toward the end of the second movement, I was impressed that they were not relegated to the backdrop. They maintained a level of concentration and focus on their interaction with each other that allowed each pairing to become its own entity and, speaking for the audience, gave us a point of interest wherever we looked.

The ensemble dispersed for the final sequence, leaving only a male/female duo on stage. The pair aggressively pulled and strained against each other and, as their connection grew closer, that sense of tension grew and the pace quickened, with their now-staccato movements, their sharp, audible intake of breath, accelerating to a crescendo as if there was a fire beneath them. It was an ending so unexpected you couldn’t believe whare it came from. If it was a distillation of the previous graceful displays of focus and nuance, it was so amplified and distorted as to be almost unrecognizable, and yet so thoroughly satisfying you could not imagine this piece without it.

Work as simply constructed as The Effusive Descent requires exceptional execution to elevate it to the level to which it aspires. This implies concentration, focus and commitment on the part of the performers. Fortunately, choreographer Caitlin Rose assembled and surrounded herself with the necessary talent to successfully execute her vison. I hope that she can continue to attract this level of talent, for I can only assume that her subsequent productions will demand it.

Viewed Re/Viewed