A COLOSSUS PREMIERES IN MODERN DANCE
By Paul Hertelendy
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music
and dance
Week of April 17-24, 2009
Vol. 11, No. 92
The large, no-name Garrett-Moulton performing group
has an
extraordinary new dance-theater invention conjuring up visions of
Greek-Roman mythology and more nebulous
literary
references, all in the context of modern dance. It’s a major
undertaking in
this era of economically challenged performing arts, with 24 barefoot
performers on the Yerba Buena stage, plus another eight live musicians.
The hour-long
world-premiere piece brought to mind
Ariadne arriving on the island
of Naxos, or
Venus born and taken out to
sea by gentle zephyrs. Just an hour long, “The Illustrated Book of
Invisible Stories”---“IBIS”
for short, recalling the water bird of ancient Egypt---is
a remarkable creation
co-choreographed (!) by the local artists Janice
Garrett and Charles Moulton.
Behind the six
dancers, “IBIS” features a unique Movement
Choir. It is a tightly regimented ensemble of 18 women, in
concept somewhere between a
rhythm section, Balinese ketjak
ensembles, and a Greek chorus (but without
the singing). They move and gesticulate in tight formations, click and
cluck,
mew and strew flowers, and become a major dramatic force impelling the
drama forward. They become The Wind,
blowing dancers hither and yon, then sucking them back to the seaport.
In the
most arresting turn, they become a dense-packed centipede wandering
about
stage, scattering the recoiling dancers in terror---and in humor.
All this, from
the fertile minds of Garrett and Moulton,
who decided once upon a time that dance was really boring. Whereupon
they were committed
to stimulating each other to greater inventiveness. Where does the work
of
Moulton end, and that of Janice Garrett & Dancers’ leader begin? No
one
knows, and the company isn’t talking. The mystery prevails, as much as
the
specific allusions within the dance-theater scenes.
All I know is
that the work of Garrett-Moulton is not to
be missed, either here or elsewhere. It is creativity to the core.
Petite Tanya
Bello, who whirled and gyrated about the
stage in dazzling fashion, was the sparkplug of the enterprise at the
April 16
opening, showing a willowy fluidity in a memorable duo with ex-ODC
dancer
Private Freeman. Bello’s
soft landings from jumps were exquisite. Bello
reemerged
for the climactic Ariadne-Venus arrival to port from the sea, standing
on the
back of a human ship, then being lifted up that mountain of Choir
members into presumably a safe haven.
The sextet of
soloists interacted in high-velocity fashion,
in every possible permutation, with whipping limbs and back twists that
somehow
avoided all collision and disaster. Their high energy sustained the
work, even when the
movements were predictable.
A wealth of
lighting designs flooding the hardwood floors
was created by Jacob Petrie.
An agreeable
score had been co-composed by Odessa Chen and Jonathan
Russell, with Chen featured on several songs and guitar accompaniments.
PRECEDENTS---The Garrett-Moulton collaboration had started
last year with their 2008 “StringWreck.” Meanwhile, Janice Garrett
&
Dancers, founded in 2001, remains an active separate performing outlet.
“The Illustrated Book of Invisible
Stories” by
Garrett-Moulton, a modern-dance world premiere with 24 performers on
stage, plus
live music. Forum, Yerba Buena Center,
San Francisco. Through
April 19. For info: (415) 978-2787, or go online.
©Paul Hertelendy 2009
#
Paul Hertelendy has been
covering
the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with
relish
-- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)
will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local
artists as well.
#
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