I've been meaning to jot down my thoughts to several dance experiences for some time now. I'm currently working in WNY (aka Buffalo/Rochester) as well as at "home" in NYC. More to be said on straddling communities at another moment. But for now suffice it to say that I'm trying to participate as much as possible in both communities. Part of that includes seeing work and engaging in (or developing) a public discourse on that work. So here goes.
Way back at the end of July/beginning of August, Buffalo was having its local Fringe Festival: Buffalo Infringement 09. As a past participant, I tried to see as much infringement work as possible. (See my review of Phó Malpica: The Last White Elephant, also at The Spark.)
Choreographic Works Presented by Nakita Moné was hosted by the Allendale Theater on August 1, 2009. Featured on the program were a solo by Kim Knieriem (Adjunct at Niagara CCC) and a group work by Kara Mann (graduate of the University at Buffalo, 2007) as well as several works of varying scope by Nakita Moné. I know nothing about Moné's pedigree, only that she considers herself to be an emerging choreographer (emerging is a problematic term for the community at large, but she is definitely a young artist) and is currently based out of Niagara Falls, NY.
In all, two things truly stood out in the course of the concert. First, Ashley Jankowski is a performer to keep one's eye on. The program did not include bios, so I don't know if she's currently a student or not. But she is a facile dancer and a dynamic performer. Western New York should cross its fingers in hopes that she gives it a few more seasons of service before departing for a larger metropolis (as inevitably occurs with most of the area's most stunning performers). Second, Disturbances of the Circadian Rhythm by Moné shows real choreographic promise. In Circadian Rhythm Moné takes a single movement impulse - in this case minute adjustments of horizontal, "sleep"-like positions - and follows it through to a logical conclusion. Beginning slowly, the energy and tempo build from that of a gentle slumber to a rigorous, frenetic display of athleticism and precision. The dancers' perfection of strict unison amidst the minutia of head tilts and elbow adjustments is breathtaking. When the tumbling and rolling inevitably takes the dancers to their feet, they fall and the dance is over. She brings us to the brink of a new idea, but doesn't in fact pursue this new course. Instead she leaves us wanting more - not a bad technique for a choreographer looking to build an audience.
Nakita Moné, if you are listening, Disturbances of the Circadian Rhythm is a dance worth emerging from! Get a good video of it. Send it out. As you continue your choreographic practice, think of its strengths. You chose something you were interested in: sleeping positions, but also unison, athletic movement, floor work. You dug in and pursued those interests, you saw where they could take you. Once you got there, you stopped. The brevity of this work is part of its power. It is undiluted. It has no extraneous images or impulses. It cuts to the chase.
I say this not only because Circadian Rhythm was good. I say it also because the qualities found in that dance were not necessarily present in the rest of Moné's work. As a generalization, the rest of Moné's dances include certain of those aforementioned interests (unison, athleticism, floor work), along with a "concept," narrative or otherwise over-arching idea. In these other works, however, the movement material does not necessarily carry the idea. Conceptual material gets muddled by virtuosic display. Unison phrases are presented and then abandoned without the manipulation or development that makes Circadian Rhythm so intriguing. There seems to be a lack of focus or internal consistency for each piece.
While it is my goal to encourage Moné and other young choreographers in the area, I would not be doing my job as a critic if I did not honestly critique the work I saw. And to pick a particular point, I took special issue with one dance. I believe it was The Movement, but my inability to remember for sure is proof positive of why not to wait a month and a half to write about a dance concert. Whether or not the title of the dance in question is The Movement, its movement brought up several concerns. For example, Moné has one dancer blindfolded with a white blindfold that says PEACE across it in black. A white flag with a large peace sign is used to metaphorically knock down the other dancers. My first concern is with the overly literal use of Sharpie. A note to all young dance makers: trust your audience. We know what a white flag implies. Trust your audience, and trust your choreography. If the idea is not clear through the choreography, consider a) if you can make the movement clearer or more illustrative, or b) if it might be okay to give the audience a little more lee way regarding interpretation. Furthermore, I have concerns about whether or not Moné achieved her narrative goals in spite of perhaps overly zealous Sharpie use. For example, I question whether or not it was her intention to imply that peaceniks are knocking people down, that people are falling over (perhaps dying) because of peace? If that is the message, we have certain philosophical differences of opinion. But I would still wonder if she intended such a simplistic portrayal of that idea. The dance does not address a why or a how, and the same dancers are seen as both allies and enemies of the flag waving young man. I would encourage Moné to consider what her intentions truly are, and how best to achieve them. I would point her (once again) to Disturbances of the Circadian Rhythm as a template for clarity of both movement and intention.
To address Kim Knieriem's work Alone, its greatest strength is in showing Knieriem to be a solid dancer. She can be both powerful and elegant and the movement she chose for herself shows her dancing to great advantage. While Knieriem is certainly a joy to observe, I have little else to say about the work as a choreographic endeavor. I have various thoughts about Release by Kara Mann, but I will save them for a separate post detailing her work both here and in E.da.Co's concert at the ALT Theatre.
On some level, I think that the format given to young choreographers for Buffalo Infringement 2009 is at least partially responsible for the wide ranging quality of the dances produced. Choreographers were given one one hour time slot. Rather than being given the chance to choose their single best work and present it perhaps multiple times over the course of the festival in mixed bill programs, they are responsible for filling the stage for an hour by themselves. It is my opinion that such programming decisions belie a lack of knowledge and understanding of dance (as well as of the capabilities young or "emerging" artists) on the part of the Infringement producers. Furthermore, it is my opinion that the presentation of quality works alongside the half-baked does a general disservice to the local dance community as it minimizes the percentage of viewing time spent on high quality work and maximizes the potential for seeing lower quality dances. In the future I would love to see some sort of mixed billing for younger artists, giving perhaps eight or ten minutes to each of several artists.
Stay tuned for more long over due reviews!
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