Junctures

Company:  Desert Dance Theatre

Choreographer:  Lisa R. Chow

Performers:  George A. Johnson, Caroline Liddicoat

This is a piece that I desperately wanted to be better – or just a bit different. It had so many elements that I either like or love. First, it’s a male/female duet – my all-time favorite. And it had a good deal of variety. The dancers alternate between moving independently, sometimes in unison, sometimes not, and coming together intermittently as a couple with partial lifts and intertwined bodies.

When they do come together, I have an expectation that this is going to be an emotional connection of some sort between the pair. I may be unfairly influenced by the dramatic lifts and creatively intertwined bodies presented to us on popular dance shows like So You Think You Can Dance and even, god help me, ice dancing. I know. I know. But those are the dramatic moments that we, as an audience, are exposed to and expect or at least hope to see reflected on stage. It could be tender, it could be angry, but something that motivates this intimate interaction that we find so thrilling. That stuff knocks me out. And it was all here – almost.

I’m not expecting a romantic showcase – we’re talking art here, the choreographer can take it absolutely anywhere. Still, I was missing the spirit of the thing. I thought that many of the more intimate dance moves, some lifts and passes, seemed almost perfunctory, the timing a fraction off. If there was an emotional connection or just some enthusiasm between the dancers, it wasn’t communicating to me. And then I was stuck. If it’s not a romantic duet, (or a duel or mysterious forces interacting – something) – what is it?

I have to consider that my disappointment had more to do with my misplaced expectations than with the choreographer’s vision or the performance itself, but this was my second viewing of the piece and I’m still stuck. The ending, where the dancers walk away holding hands (somewhat unconvincingly), then thrust apart, summed it up for me. I got into the rhythm of the music, I followed the steps – I just didn’t feel the dance.

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