Comments on: Projections of Dancers, and Imagination http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/blog/2007/10/11/projections-of-dancers-and-imagination/ Contemporary Dance Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:39:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Richert Schnorr http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/blog/2007/10/11/projections-of-dancers-and-imagination/#comment-7 Richert Schnorr Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:33:56 +0000 http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/blog/2007/10/11/projections-of-dancers-and-imagination/#comment-7 I brought a good friend of mine to Donna's performance last Thursday. My friend is a fiction writer, not a dancer or a choreographer, or any other sort of performing artist. She is a dance lover though, and I've brought her to many performances at Dance Theater Workshop and elsewhere over the years. When the lights came up after the performance, she looked at me and said "It was my absolute favorite thing you've brought me to - hands down." I was surprised. While I also enjoyed the work, I've brought her to things I thought were better constructed, perhaps more thoroughly thought out. But as a fiction writer she looks for specific details, for ambiance and mood. Even in conversation her words are descriptive and visual. She talks about the way light reflects off skin or the way the buildings look through fog. Donna’s work appealed to her sensibilities as a fiction writer and gave her a refined aesthetic perspective that surpassed any criticisms of its structure. Somewhere between the detail of the choreography and the color of the light, both Donna the maker and my friend the viewer found beauty in a jumbled assortment of movement, images, objects and sounds. I brought a good friend of mine to Donna’s performance last Thursday. My friend is a fiction writer, not a dancer or a choreographer, or any other sort of performing artist. She is a dance lover though, and I’ve brought her to many performances at Dance Theater Workshop and elsewhere over the years. When the lights came up after the performance, she looked at me and said “It was my absolute favorite thing you’ve brought me to - hands down.”

I was surprised. While I also enjoyed the work, I’ve brought her to things I thought were better constructed, perhaps more thoroughly thought out. But as a fiction writer she looks for specific details, for ambiance and mood. Even in conversation her words are descriptive and visual. She talks about the way light reflects off skin or the way the buildings look through fog. Donna’s work appealed to her sensibilities as a fiction writer and gave her a refined aesthetic perspective that surpassed any criticisms of its structure. Somewhere between the detail of the choreography and the color of the light, both Donna the maker and my friend the viewer found beauty in a jumbled assortment of movement, images, objects and sounds.

]]> By: Brian McCormick http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/blog/2007/10/11/projections-of-dancers-and-imagination/#comment-6 Brian McCormick Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:20:12 +0000 http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/blog/2007/10/11/projections-of-dancers-and-imagination/#comment-6 I would definitely be one of those who found the opening a bit drawn out, not boring, necessarily, but overplayed. I loved all of the movement in this work, which is Donna's strength, I think. I'd certainly agree that the 'leg duet' was mesmerizing. The integration of video, and the way in which that was done was very effective. When Hristoula was projected onto Hristoula (live) it was very engaging (and reminiscent of Tony Oursler's video art) and I would have welcomed more of that, instead of the silliness with the hanging plastic and Tony painting himself. The plastic sheet on the stage was nice, adding not only sound and texture, but actually creating lines from one dancer to the other as the they twisted across the stage on top it. All of the movement motifs worked, I think, to support Donna's underlying concept for this piece, but weak transitions and too many ideas kept me from being completely in it the whole time. And since this is a blog and not a review, let me also say I'd be very interested in seeing Donna make something for other than a trio. I would definitely be one of those who found the opening a bit drawn out, not boring, necessarily, but overplayed. I loved all of the movement in this work, which is Donna’s strength, I think. I’d certainly agree that the ‘leg duet’ was mesmerizing. The integration of video, and the way in which that was done was very effective. When Hristoula was projected onto Hristoula (live) it was very engaging (and reminiscent of Tony Oursler’s video art) and I would have welcomed more of that, instead of the silliness with the hanging plastic and Tony painting himself.
The plastic sheet on the stage was nice, adding not only sound and texture, but actually creating lines from one dancer to the other as the they twisted across the stage on top it.
All of the movement motifs worked, I think, to support Donna’s underlying concept for this piece, but weak transitions and too many ideas kept me from being completely in it the whole time.
And since this is a blog and not a review, let me also say I’d be very interested in seeing Donna make something for other than a trio.

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