By Alix Cohen
“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as a well…How many times will you watch the moon rise and yet it all seems limitless…” gentle, gruff voice-over (Wali Jamal) may represent the voice of God.
A knitter crawls up the ramp of a platform bodily pushing her chair. She spends the show working on a bright red, popcorn stitch, length of yarn which evokes time. Only once is she approached, by a curious child whom she serves tea. Later, a dancer will draw out remaining wool to pool all over the stage.
Upstage, thespians successively walk like somnambulists, as if on a tightrope. Life is a precarious balancing act. We hear overlapping voices intentionally hard to distinguish.
A man (Tom Lee) in black, wearing a Japanese robe and American hat, tries to get someone’s attention to no avail. “… you all know who I am. I keep trying to understand your inability to realize that because of me you’re invited to embrace life. Why do you keep ignoring me like the plague?” (voice-over)
He opens his robe to reveal/birth a child (a hand-built Japanese Kuruma Ningyo puppet), who likely represents innocence and beginnings, then sits on a small box with wheels in order to operate the puppet at its eye level. The child tries to engage returning dancers. They kindly push him away.
Movement shifts between ritualized patterns and sudden interruptions, calm and then playful interactions= life is driven by momentum but constantly disrupted. Notes tell me emphasis is on performers over forty, bringing life experience to the piece. All are immensely graceful.
Performers interact with one another and briefly with the child. A white cloth morphs from blanket to gown to stage. Stools on wheels make dancers seem like pinball elements. Choreography ranges from poetic, to unsettling, to blithe. I have no idea what represented what other than my impressions. The piece is intriguing to watch. Music, evocative.
Thespians: Beth Corning, Chezney Douglas, Evan Fisk, Kimani Fowlin, Alberto Del Saz, Stephanie Mayer Staley, Tom Lee
Photos by Bronwen Sharp
La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival Team – Nicky Paraiso: Curator, presents
Stand By- an allegory
Corningworks- Concept & Choreography by Beth Corning
Created in collaboration with puppet designer/puppeteer Tom Lee
Costumes –Beth Corning
Music- Enzio Bosso, Mary Ellen Childs, Hauschka, Mozart, Ryuchi Sakamoto
Voice-Over Wali Jamal
www.corningworks.org
La MaMa Moves https://lamama.org/la-mama-moves-dance-festival/
