By Alix Cohen
Moses Pendleton’s 2022 Alice, aka this Alice in Wonderland-ish dance/theater piece, is a visual feast: wildly imaginative, impressionistic and allusive, rather than depicting Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. “it’s a taking off point for invention,” Pendleton writes.
A giant photograph of Lewis Carroll gives way to Alice seemingly levitating, reading her namesake book. Perhaps invoking the author, a male dancer (in control of her position) executes a dreamy pas de deux with the girl (and a ladder.)
Three doors of radically different sizes each open to reveal the heroine to herself. Several Alices then repeatedly climb out of cylinders (rabbit holes) only to fall back, diaphanous white skirts fluttering above. More Alices rise up almost to fly space above the stage- stained glass projected onto their towing skirts- then collapse in a heap.
A pair of lit up soles- paws- run across the stage floor in complete blackout. White rabbits with big, creepy black eyes move as one except for jerking heads and shoulders. They lope, stretch and almost hop, coming down on haunches.
Franz Ferdinand sings “The Walrus and The Carpenter” as dancers on sand banks of a tossing sea morph into oysters, snails, and shells, shifting position inside formless stretchy coverings. An ersatz Lobster Quadrille is performed by figures wearing tiered black skirts falling down and tiered red skirts falling up. “Will you, won’t you; will you, won’t you; will you join the dance?” Women charmingly partner with parasols.
Eyes of the Cheshire Cat spiral out of its enormous head creating an on screen vortex. A blue caterpillar is evoked by a row of large beach balls. These are bounced, slid, tossed, and sat upon in kaleidoscopic, Busby Berkeley configurations. Screen images of what’s happening onstage are hallucinatory.
Alice flies above The Queen of Heart’s rose garden suspended by frilly, red chiffon. Characters in red capes open them to reveal square fronts patterned by playing card suits. Mad Hatters, whose hats look like cans without brims, cavort in and outside of yellow cylinders marked 10 1/6.
Dancers tilt mirrors in which they’re reflected as leaving the ground, holding fast to the edge- an extraordinary illusion. In front of a gnarly wood, two couples offer beautiful duets in which 90% of fluid choreography keeps bodies connected.
Choreography is singular. There are no signature moves identifiable with the company. Portions appear under East Indian influence, others are balletic, modern, or colored by Spanish dance. Inventiveness is omnipresent. The vision is cohesive.
There isn’t a weak link among the current company of dancers who are strong, subtle and gleefully enmeshed.
Alchemy of Lighting (Michael Korsch), Video (Woodrow F. Dick III) – sometimes overwhelming, varied Music (Moses Pendleton) and fantastical Costume (Phoebe Katzin) is marvelous. Intermittent voice over could be more coherent.
Grace Slick’s “Go Ask Alice” (Jefferson Airplane) sums up the mischief, magic, mystery, and psychedelic aura of the piece. “The stage is our rabbit hole. We welcome you to drop in.” (Moses Pendleton) 90 minutes went by in a captivating blink.
Photos by Renato Mangolin
Alice presented by MOMIX
Artistic Direction Moses Pendleton
Founder & Artistic Director- Moses Pendleton
Associate Director – Cynthia Quinn
MOMIX https://www.momix.com/about/
Through Sunday January 4 at
The Joyce Theater 175 Eighth Avenue https://www.joyce.org/
