Company: Halo Movement Collective
Choreographers: Angel Castro, Katie Young
Performers: Kalli Sparish, Randee Madison, Kayla Coxon, Angel Castro, Katie Young, Dr. Alexander Patrick, Tawny Hyster, Jaylene Lechner, Victoria Roman, Violet Sparish,
Venue: Metropolitan Arts Institute Theatre
It was fascinating to see both Halo’s beginnings and its evolution in a single work. This restaging of Underland: The Last Nightmare, was an opportunity for the company to revisit its roots but also incorporate and showcase elements learned in the succeeding nine years that are a portent of things to come.
Anyone expecting to see a rendition of Alice in Wonderland was soon disabused of that notion. The classic tale provided the barest framework on which choreographer and company director Angel Castro hung an impressive series of disturbing visions.
I found parts of the performance cycle stretched a bit thin. It’s hard, maybe impossible, to extend a motif over the length of a thirteen-part performance and not risk, if not repetition, a sense of sameness. Also, any unevenness in individual performances becomes more marked under these circumstances. But there was more new than not, and much of that was hot.
While the performances were obviously the entire reason for attending this event and standout solos and intimate routines abounded, I am not addressing them directly here. Instead, I am taking this opportunity to talk about the production elements that might otherwise be overlooked or taken for granted but which constituted real accomplishments and help distinguish this company as it moves forward into this critical new season.
Video
“Multimedia” has turned into a hackneyed buzzword. In dance, it’s usually code for the addition of video to the performance, which companies often undertake at their own peril. Without real creative command of the video medium, the result is usually less successful than they hoped. Video is simply one of the tools in Halo’s tool box and was included here as part of the overall design of the piece without any special reference in the credits. Because it was a major visual element in this performance, and because this is one of those too-rare instances where the video actually works, I wanted to single it out for comment.
The video, consisting primarily of looped animations, filled out the sparsely furnished set but was more than decoration. Each segment was intelligently chosen for its applicability to a particular segment. It provided a context in which to interpret the performance. An onrushing spooky dead-tree forest provided substantiation for a sense of unrelenting terror being enacted by the performer. Looped, kaleidoscopic geometrics added to the confusion and uncertainty playing out on stage. The black and white images were thematically consistent with the stark white costuming and enhanced the effect of a Wizard of Oz moment when they suddenly changed to color for the Red Queen.
While this type of implementation is not radical or unusually innovative, it gave context to the performance without upstaging it. It exhibited intention, solid control of the media and, more to the point, the performance would have suffered without it.
Sound
Coordinated sounds produced by the performers – think: yells, screams, foot stomps, etc. – can really be hit or miss.
Unless….
Castro gave a little workshop in how this could be done.
Percussion
In the piece featuring a tongue-in-cheek Last Supper tableau, he demonstrated that if you wanted to make noise, look for really noisy things. The ensemble smashed folding chairs to the floor with considerable force and precision, each hit creating a single, resounding Crack! This was not just an accent to reinforce the already percussion-heavy electronic music. These were pistol shots – resounding cracks that startled the audience and immediately focused our attention. Brutally beating on the tables simultaneously had almost the same effect.
Screams
Dancers are not vocally trained as actors are and their vocalizations, whether shouts or snatches of dialogue are often underwhelming. But this was not that. These were full-throated screams – startling, actually frightening – no interpretation needed. For their sake, I hope the performers went on a week of vocal rest.
Ensemble as Structure
As we approach the program’s finale, there is a series of movements that really deserves mention. In fact, engineers should really get this. Here, our “perpetual victim” is being constrained – first, by compression, then in tension. The ensemble created a tight mass around her legs forming an immovable base from which her body whips and flutters like one of those inflated advertising tubes – a poor comparison but it alludes to her amazing flexibility. Her helplessness and despair is total. She is absolutely trapped. It then morphs immediately, with the ensemble exploding away from her but now each holding a tether which has been surreptitiously attached to her body. The illusion was complete, with multiple tethers now holding her in tension. She is constrained either way, not just helpless but hopeless.
It’s a brilliant move that Castro partially ripped off from himself using elements from Rest in the Mourning. But here, in this particular movement, it is so conceptually strong as to be totally unique.
Lifts
Partnering a female dancer requires a visible emotional connection, a strong lead when called for (fortunately, both can be convincingly faked) and (this is my point) effortless lifts.
As a performer, Angel Castro is that male dancer so many companies need and, sadly, not all of them have. Not to dismiss his considerable dance chops but what I’m referring to is athleticism – brute strength, if you will. Angel and his partner performed some lifts often reserved for ice dancers – power lifts resolving to off-center poses, requiring balanced tension and held without visible strain. These were creeping into Pilobolus territory and created dramatic moments for which the audience was enthusiastically vocal in their appreciation. Even one of the dismounts, done slowly and with control, was a power move only a very physical dancer could pull off.
Halo is a can-do, innovative little company that refuses to be limited by its resources and continually compensates with creativity. Their willingness to seek out alternative venues, their facility with sets, lighting, video, and props, and their willingness to put in the work, allows them to punch well above their weight. I continue to be impressed with their ability to start with next to nothing and create a very credible something. I can only imagine what they could accomplish if given significant resources to start with.
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