Converge

Carnage

Company:  CONDER/dance

Choreographer:  Carley Conder, in collaboration with the dancers

Performers:  Spencer Dennis, Emily Laird, Lauren Jimenez, Faith Markovetz, Amy Symonds

I’m not sure what happened here, but this performance really caught me by surprise. That will require some explanation, so please bear with me.

At the break, after each company had presented their piece, both Lisa Chow and Carley Condor gave a brief introduction/explanation of the work we had just seen. Conder’s explanation of Carnage merely confirmed what was already in my notes. Her intention had translated from the stage to the audience intact. It was all there: individuals coalescing into uniform, supportive motion, then breaking into isolated interactions with various duets where we witnessed struggle, attempts at support followed by a collapse that seemed inevitable – each with an emotional context that signaled a kind of impending doom or perhaps progressive devastation or loss. There was a powerful, climactic moment where the female dancers stood in a row at the front of the stage while the sole male dancer approached each from behind, grabbed her by the back of the neck with one hand and lowered her to the floor in an act that can only be described as a graceful execution. The devolution of the performance seemed complete and a certain finality, an irrevocable loss, was clearly, powerfully, communicated to us, seated in the dark. It was riveting – and that visual continues to dominate my memory of the piece just as it so perfectly embodies the title “Carnage”.

And here is where, for me, the confusion begins. First, there was no functioning program, either printed or online, for this event. What was taking place when and by who was a mystery. It took some real effort after the fact to find the essential performance information buried in the Tempe Center website. I was familiar with Desert Dance Theatre’s “Inside the Outer Corners” having seen and reviewed it previously. But looking the program information over, something seemed oddly familiar about the CONDER/dance performance “Carnage”, even though I was sure I was seeing it for the first time. I revisited my notes for the previous CONDER/dance presentation, Breaking Ground (which, by the way, had at least a minimal program), and there it was. I had not only seen this work previously but it had left an entirely different impression.

On my first viewing at Breaking Ground, Carnage had been memorable for being incomprehensible. I couldn’t find a narrative or a geometry or any organization that made sense to me. There was rich, renaissance music which did not seem to inform the energetic movement on stage, couplings whose motivation or purpose was unclear and transitions I found it hard to follow. I was increasingly, frustratingly lost.

As an audience member who sincerely tries to find the center of a work and enter into it on its own terms, I left that first performance of Carnage feeling shut out and, as a reviewer, defeated, incapable of articulating what I just saw. I’m not above leaving a less-than-positive review but “I don’t get it” is not a valid critique. This wasn’t amateur hour or some sort of hot mess, there was intent at work here but the choreographic direction stubbornly eluded me.

But here, at Converge, Carnage had somehow been transformed into a powerful performance with immediately apprehensible emotional clarity. And, though the emotions conveyed by the performers were difficult, I felt privileged to experience them as I sat in the audience. More telling still was that they genuinely lingered in my conscience. I cannot account for the disparity between my reaction to the first performance and this – indeed, I didn’t realize I was watching the same piece, but I certainly need to acknowledge the transformation in my perception of this work by CONDER/dance.

Viewed Re/Viewed

 

 

Inside the Outer Corners

Company: Desert Dance Theatre

Choreographer: Lisa R. Chow

Performers: Erik Canales, George A. Johnson, Caroline Liddicoat, Jennifer Milani

I have previously reviewed this piece as it was performed at the most recent Arizona Dance Festival. In its pursuit of depicting the dynamics of community, I was reminded here how the performers coalescing and dispersing on stage created a kind of kaleidoscopic visual effect that was enhanced by the live rhythmic accompaniment. I made mention of the importance of the drumming provided by Step Raptis for that initial event and was even more impressed by his performance here.

This time, in lieu of drums, Step assumed his position on a small mat at the front of stage left with what I can only describe as a sort of large ceramic vase. I assume it was of Indian origin and, while not a conventional drum as we understand that category, it was a percussive instrument nonetheless. As the sole accompaniment for the dancers, he was able to tease an impressive variety of sounds out of this deceptive, unassuming piece of pottery. While I’m sure his performance would be classified as drumming, it wasn’t just percussive, it was musical. There was pitch and tonality associated with the taps and slaps applied to various parts of the vessel. Particularly impressive was the deep, resounding bass thump, a sound much larger than the instrument itself, that he could produce with a solid blow from his hand. The overall effect was complex and exotic, a fit accompaniment to the pulsating interchange between the performers and a delight for the audience.

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Here and Now

Companies: CONDER/dance, Desert Dance Theatre

Choreographer: Ronen Koresh – Koresh Dance Company

Performers:  Spencer Dennis, Emily Laird, Lauren Jimenez, Faith Markovetz, Amy Symonds, George A. Johnson, Caroline Liddicoat, Jennifer Milani, Alicia Lynn Nascimento Castro, Jemima Choong

The idea that conceived of this innovative program and the institution that fostered it and made it a reality should be wildly acknowledged and hugely supported.

This was a first. The Koresh Dance Company of Philadelphia, as part of a residency at the Tempe Center for the Arts, engaged in a three-way collaboration with CONDER/dance and Desert Dance Theatre to produce a program for local presentation. Utilizing five dancers from each company, a piece choreographed by Ronen Koresh was set on the combined group. The piece, Here and Now, was the highlight of TCA’s presentation of Converge and our chance to see a national luminary focused on local talent.

I think I was expecting a little infusion of star power into the choreography and the opening complied with an immediate visual assault. We were presented with dramatic lighting and rows of dancers – each striking a strong, iconic eastern pose that could have been some combination of Vishnu and kung fu – the scene accompanied by explosive percussion. But the intensity of that tableau was not easily sustained and the succeeding two movements, even with the chimes and gongs, seemed more conventional than exotic. Eventually the piece came back together thematically and gave us a satisfying ending, with a single individual left on stage.

This may seem like faint praise, but the program was different enough to be interesting. There was something welcome about seeing these two local troupes adapt to and adopt a style that would not have risen organically out of either company, while demonstrating that both companies had the talent to perform this piece despite the higher profile of the organization for which it was originally designed. We were seeing something entirely new and intriguing being well-executed and that was worth our attention and admiration.

The larger point is that there is definitely a place for these hybrid performances and I would argue that we should see many more of them for two important reasons:

ONE: Dance has long recognized the value of artistic cross-pollination, continually lending out to and accepting choreographers from other areas. This variation afforded us by TCA ups the ante significantly because it isn’t from school to school, peer to peer but from the relative stardom of a national company to a local non-profit company or companies starved for resources.

TWO: There are (or should be) significant financial incentives for both the touring and local companies. Realistically, some touring companies frequently enhance their concerts with mini-residencies, community outreach, lectures, that sort of thing. I’ve attended a few. It’s part of that particular company’s ethos but they also get paid for it by the host. I contend that this institutional sponsorship, where possible, should be directed toward the inclusion of performances by local companies, whether that follows this groundbreaking initiative by TCA or finds its own shape at SMOCA or MAC.

Converge was a potential game-changer. I sincerely hope TCA can perpetuate this collaborative effort. A national artist residency that creates a performance using local talent is a huge opportunity for whatever local companies are involved and, more selfishly, a not-to-be-missed event for the audience.

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