Out There is over. Here’s what I got out of it: a few free glasses of champagne, the chance to congregate with a grab bag of exciting people in the performance/dance world.. and I was so moved to start my own blog!
The last piece, David Neuman’s feedforward, will live on as my favorite of 2008. The Maguire was again taken over by a bunch of New York dancers (from the “downtown scene”), but their concept had more color and sprawl than any of the previous productions. The flat expanse of the stage became the court / rink / track / golf course for nine athletic dancers who sally forth through the perils of the sporting life.
The piece was described in PR materials as “Merce Cunningham coaching a soccer team”. I can’t do much better than that, except to contend that Neuman and his Advanced Beginner Group, throw much MORE into the mix.
The action is accompanied by an original score and a studdly trombone choir. The performers (donning costumes that place them somewhere between tennis player and baton twirler) are comic, stoic, euphoric and victorious–running the gammote of emotions available to those who sacrifice sleep, calories and their ACL bands for the sake of competition. They also handle text extremely well! The script is credited to Karinne Keithley, but the grunts, growls and exclamitory releases of breath are all original (and seemed spontaneous and inspired).
I love performance events that ride the fine line between competative / combative ritual and performance. I love allusions to Middle-American traditions (pep fests, marching bands, etc). I love the athlete as icon (disposable icon, especially if you are female–like Kerri Strug and Bonnie Blair). The dancers on David Neuman’s mat evoke these personas—articulate the human experience for our amazement, responding in interviews with sideline commentators with quips like “I was trying to keep my head in the game” and “God blessed me with a positive attitude”.
There is great drama in athletic performance. I have memories of seeing NCAA champ and current Team USA member Carrie Tollefson run races in high school. I was once on the starting line with Luke Watson (another Team USA member–I finished 3 minutes behind him). I love watching bodies battle and push them selves to dramatic and emotional extremes. These memories from high school are burned into my skull (or shins rather) like the melody of a Liz Phair song.
There is great drama in music (especially when that music is there to manipulate a roaring crowd of sports fans). I also loved my marching band experience (despite some of those JERKS in the trombone line–not all of them were studdly).
I also have an affection for the fine art of sports commentary (great work Neal).
David Neuman had a lot of great elements to work with, but for my sensibility (which always prefers theatricality, surprise, and pandemonium) the performance could have stolen a bit more from the roller derby world. The collision of these ideas (sports and dance) was a bit listless and never took any head first plunges. There were no surprises.
It was a treat to watch the stage co-exists as golf course, wrestling mat, gymnast mat, tennis court and football field. The shifting dynamic was powerful.
There seems to be some very cool people connected to the project. Especially Mr. Lower East Side, Neal Medlyn, who claims to give good head to unicorns. (Can he have a solo slot next year?)
Writer/performer/musician Karinne Keithley has a lot of good stuff to peruse on-line as well.
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