Jun 20
Did You See “State of Play” Festival?
Hello Dance Lovers!
It’s been nine days since State of Play closed and I feel like I’m still coming down from the incredible two weeks of live art, conversation, and community. A deep thank you to all who showed up, showed out, and contributed to the festival experience.
Reviews of the evening-length performances are forthcoming. Until then, we at Dance Stories and ODC Theater would love to hear from you, dear festival-goer.
Jen Norris, dance aficionado who attended maybe the whole festival (?!), recently started her own dance writing site: Jen Norris Dance Reviews.
She wrote about several of the shows (thanks, Jen!) Here are a few of her responses:
“A majority of dance makers included spoken text, either recorded or voiced live, to support the movement and provide context for their work.
As we return to viewing live performances, patrons seemed hungry for dialogue. Almost all attendees chose to indulge a twenty-to-thirty-minute post-showing discussion with the artists. Oddly these were part of all the studio showings, but not one of the three major theater productions chose to engage the audience in conversation.”
“The venue was bathed in a saturated pink light with blue undertones, dozens of women’s sparkly stiletto and platform shoes floated over the dance floor. As the houselights dimmed, loud pulsing club music filled the space and the two performers entered strutting toward each other on the diagonal. They passed each other center stage with a sassy shimmy that caused the fringe along the plunging necklines of their black form fitting halter jumpsuits to bounce extravagantly. The audience was all in, whooping its encouragement with each diagonal pass as the two performers established their command of the room trying on different saucy prances, amusing themselves and each other.”
“Choreographer Bianca Cabrera has crafted something purely original and captivating in Fever Dreams. Her genre of dance is impossible to define with influences of burlesque, ballet, go-go, club, cabaret, camp, contemporary and modern dance. The execution was fearless. These dancers used their athleticism, flexibility and strength to create new shapes and ways of traveling. They never gave in to the practicality of merely standing on one’s feet. Low to the ground, bug-like, one bent the top of their head to the floor, using it as a foot in a tripod stance.”
What dances are you still thinking about? What artists are you looking forward to seeing again? Any general takeaways?
Write in the comments and let us know :)
