human company

From K. Hanson

I’ve seen Batsheva perform twice before, both at the Lincoln Center Festival.  They’re great dancers, but mostly I’m interested in the way they interact with their audience.  They make an issue of the performer/audience relationship - Here we are on stage, there you are looking at us, that sort of thing.  I enjoy the complicated reaction I feel when watching them… a kind of discomfort mixed with interest, a pushing away as well as pulling me in.

This particular performance, called ‘Three’, explored that aspect far less than the first two I saw.  It seemed to be much more movement for movement’s sake, which is not what draws me to modern dance.  Particularly in the first two sections, I felt that there was a lack of context or relationships between performers, and that it was mostly about movement in space.  In fact, I was most drawn to the transitions between sections, when one of the performers stood downstage holding a monitor with a video of himself talking about the next section.  It was a fun device- I’m thinking of stealing it.

The third section had a lot more going on for me.  There was a wonderful duet between two men that was a real high point… They had a very strong sense of connection, and the choreography was extremely witty.  But honestly not much of the piece as a whole has stuck with me through the thanksgiving holidays.  So I guess I wasn’t very impressed.

From: K. Hanson 

Tomorrow we have our New York premiere of a new modern dance work, Suddenly Summer Somewhere, at Danspace.  I’ve been working on this piece with Monica for more than a year so I’m hardly objective, but I’m thrilled with it. 

What I see happening in this work is a nostalgic journey that two people take at the end of a long life together.  We begin at a moment of crisis, probably a moment of death, and then the two characters step off the table and move through a series of memories, impressions and emotional states.  It reminds me of the psychological journey that I imagine one takes at the last moment of life.  The moments are fragmented, often based on an image- for instance, there is a section that Monica calls ‘bad photo’ in which she and Anna assume the expressions and pose of two people who weren’t quite ready to have their picture taken.  They seem so vulnerable- caught in a moment that was honest and awkward, before they were able to control the viewer’s impression by putting on their best smiles.

Much of the piece takes place in silence, but she is also using live music from the Rat Pack- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc.  After much consideration of how the music impacts the piece, we decided to bring in an element of karaoke.  Monica always wants an element that invites the audience into the work, and she was interested to see how the karaoke would affect the audience’s experience of the work.  So, during the preshow there are two mics where people are invited to sing.    There is something about the idea of karaoke- putting oneself on display, assuming (in some small way) the identity of the artist who actually performs the song… Viscerally, it relates to that captured moment in ‘Bad Photo.’ 

Then we have video of the lyrics running during the piece itself, so the lyrics become a kind of text that runs alongside the duet.  I love the way that this undercuts the honesty of what is happening onstage… always a reminder of the author’s hand on the work.  I think giving the audience more of an awareness of how this piece is crafted, asking them (in a sort of Brechtian way) to stay a bit objective, enriches the experience.   There is also a hint of continued invitation:  Sing along.  Take part.  I think this creates a tension in the audience that awakens a different level of attention.

I don’t want to say too much about this piece since I worked on it.  Would love to hear how others reacted- what you thought as you watched it, what stays with you, etc.

 For more information about Monica Bill Barnes, visit www.monicabillbarnes.com.