You should be very very jealous of me and Jimmy Lo. Not only did we have great weather in New York this weekend and stay with the lovely Kasia Kowalczyk (yes she plays an alien in star trek), but we also had front row seats to Decreation, choreographed by William Forsythe.
It's not often that a performance exceeds already-high expectations, but this one surprised the shit out of me. Based on an essay by Anne Carson about (what do you think?) relationships, the text explores the impossibilities of moving/communicating thru romantic jealousies. The dancers confront each other, scream, they try not-talking, they attempt to make time stand still, they condescend each other, they tease and flirt, they break things down detail by detail, they just fail at it all. And that's just what I can say about the text.
The music was done by David Morrow and it was really wonderful. Most of the dialogue was spoken into mics and manipulated in realtime, supplemented with Morrow onstage keyboard. The mics acted more like confessionals or telephones than soapboxes and dancers constantly moved the 4 or 5 microphones around--creating territories and zones on an otherwise blank stage. During the musical climax, dancers (and a sprinkling of professional singers I think) built a really long crescendo of 'i love you's sung into the microphones. The dancers spoke/sang/screamed the lines to the microphones amidst heightening activities/dances.
Below is a clip pretty indicative of the pacing and feeling.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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