Dance means different things to different people. To some, it is ballet or classical dance forms full of graceful movements. To some, it is an expression of their reaction to music- hip-hop, jazz dance, tap dance,etc. To others like me who are not so graceful or particularly born to dance, it is a fun way to exercise. And to some, like Sankai Juku’s founder Ushio Amagatsu, it is butoh.
Ushio Amagatsu
According to Amagatsu, the dance form of butoh represents “a dialogue with gravity”. Be it ballet, hip-hop, Irish dance or any other dance, gravity defying movements are a huge focus of modern-day dance. But butoh is about “sympathisizing with gravity” (to quote Amagatsu) and thus it comprises of entirely different set of movements.
What I feel Sankai Juku's butoh symbolises- embracing the call of gravity
Sankai Juku will be performing the work “Hibiki: resonance from Far Away”, at the Power Center this weekend. Be prepared for stunning imagery and some inventive and impressive choreography.
Show times:
Saturday, October 23 | 8 pm
Sunday, October 24 | 2 pm
Power Center
Tickets @ the Michigan League Ticket Office; more info on the UMS webpage
Paul Taylor is a name that is revered in American contemporary dance. He has done over 130 dances and is known for his lively, creative and powerful choreography. This week, the Paul Taylor Dance Company is in Ann Arbor. This will be a visual treat as the dancers are known for their athletic and powerful performances on a variety of subjects. There are 3 shows and each one of the shows offer something very unique.
Paul Taylor Dance Company
The program for friday has Taylor’s version of the well-acclaimed “Orbs” and another recent dance called “Also playing”. This latter dance is set to Donizetti ballet music and has an element of humor to it.
The legendary Paul Taylor
For saturday, we have the sizzling “Piazzolla Caldera” and a couple of other lovely pieces from Taylor’s vast repertoire.
I managed to make it to this show and grab the last seat in the nick of time by doing a 2 min 34 second sprint from the C.C. Little Northwood bus stop to the Stern Auditorium of UMMA in 2.5 inch heels (as to why I had to sprint can be a a story of its own by itself- but then, we are not interested and so….)
Just as I caught my breath and stopped the audible panting, the lights dimmed out on a full auditorium with many people standing at the back. There was a brief introduction of “Angika” (with all the funny anglicized pronunciations of the Sanskrit words). Here’s the gist.
In Angika, the dance performed is the over 2000-year old Odissi, from East India. This dance, known for its square stance and fast feet and leg movements along with its stunning grace and sensuality was a dance that was mainly used as a means of expressing devotion. It was a means to advance in spirituality and so the themes and songs that you come across in this dance are also of this kind- devotional prayers or songs expressing love for the Divine. Sreyashi Dey, Artistic Director of Srishti Dances of India, was performing this lovely ancient dance with her students.
As the kids in the audience fretted a bit, complaining about the darkness, a clear resounding voice beckoned us, “Welcome to the temple of dance.” The voice belonged to Martin Walsh, whom I last saw as a ‘Galileo’ in the Residential College’s production of Brecht’s “Life of Galileo” in March 2009 (Mr.Walsh was brilliant as Galileo!) . Martin Walsh is head of the Drama Concentration at the Residential College and he has a perfect voice for narrating.
The words belonged to poet Zilka Joseph and she took us to a temple where we were to hear the stories of dancers as they prepared for prayer. We could smell the incense and the fragrant fresh flower garlands that they had lovingly woven. While we waited thus, the magic began.
The sound of strong tapping of feet with jingling of the bells on their anklets came first. It was followed by the dancers, looking resplendent in colorful elaborately designed Odissi costumes. In an invocation to the divine, the dancers seeked the blessings so gracefully with slow movements and a lot of poses. The effect was bewitching.
In most Indian traditional dances, the program always begins with an invocation. It could be to to Mother Earth ( it’s almost like asking her permission to dance as we do stamp the feet on ‘her’ when we dance ). Many dances also include a note of thanks to the Guru (the teacher) and the Divine.
The second dance, called the “Konark Kanti” was about the Temple of the Sun in Konark, Orissa.
Konark Sun Temple
In Joseph’s Poetry, she imagines that the moonlight touches the figurines on the Temple of Konark and brings them to life (like our “Night at the Museum”). These dancers start dancing and the musicians bring out their instruments and even the stars get dizzy looking at this impromptu performance. The raga (melodic mode) to which this song was set was a very pleasant one.
Figurines form the Konark Temple
This dance was a wonderful one- so many moods shown clearly in expressions as well as clever variations in the choreography, as if the dancers wanted to show all the weapons in their arsenal.
The third dance, called “Manini”, the most expressive and I am sure, the most difficult one to comprehend, especially for a Western audience, was a solo by Shreyashi Dey. This song is about Lord Krishna’s beloved, Radha. She is waiting for her Lord and so she decorates herself as well as the gazebo and waits for the Lord. She is clearly happy anticipating his arrival. But as the time wears out (she in fact falls into sleep for a bit), her joy turns into despair and then anger and she flings all her jewelry and tears down the decorations. In the end, she is so dejected. you could say, “So it’s the case of a girl who has been stood up by her lover!”. You may be correct but here, “Radha” is the seeker who is searching for “the Ultimate Truth”, her lover and the story of Radha and her love are symbolic metaphors. Anyway, this piece requires perfect portrayal of the emotions that Radha goes through.
Sreyashi Dey
Odissi, is a dance that not only demands strength in movement, but it also requires the dancers to have good acting skills , as facial expressions are a very important part of this dance. Sreyashi Dey was absolutely brilliant in this song. The way she portrayed disappointment with trembling fingers, a heaving chest and eyes heavy with fatigue caused by unbearable sadness was brilliant. She ran through the gamut of emotions that Radha feels and at the end, when she lay on the floor in a bundle, totally dejected, you couldn’t help but reach out for her. This was a great piece.
The other two pieces were really fast and full of quick movements of both hands and feet. They demanded so much from the dancers (Kritika Rajan, Ishika Rajan and Debnita Talapatra were the other dancers from Shrishti Dances of India- they were very graceful and co-ordinated) and the stamina of these dancers as they moved through really tough pieces was something amazing. The choreography required co-ordination and you could find all the “yoga” postures from advanced yoga classes too.
Ishika Rajan, Kritika Rajan, and Debnita Talapatra
The final Pallavi was really intense as the tempo was so fast-paced and the use of space in this piece was very nicely done. The dancers were very cohesive and the symmetry of their movements was so beautiful.
So there was the really beautiful dance. There was some wonderful poetry that set the stage for these dances. Where were the sculptures? Though we saw some brilliant postures as part of the dance, somehow the message of the connection of the dance form as an inspiration to sculpture or vice versa didn’t get conveyed. Maybe this aspect could be elaborated in the next performances (which would be great!).
This was definitely a great show and the next time you get a chance to watch Odissi, please grab it.
It was a fantastic night at Necto (and I didn’t even stay for the dancing part!) thanks to the Stonewall Democrats. The Gender Bender Revue took place at the famous nightclub on East Liberty St. this Friday night. And oh man, was it fantastic! Drag queens and performers galore. It was faaaannnn-tastic!
Victor and Christian, the MC’s (sorry, I can’t remember Christian’s drag name, but Victor was Queen V), made the show so funny. It really felt like a classic drag show because of these two and their stage presence. They started the show with their own number “Janet Jackson: On and Off tour” in which both played Ms. Jackson, one on tour, and the other off. Their Lip-sync was awesome. I had never seen Victor do Drag and he and Christian both had Janet to a t.
Next, one of my favorite groups on campus performed, The Compulsive Lyres! One of our fantastic a capella groups. They sang a medley of popular club songs which was perfect for the setting, as these are the songs DJ Mark plays pretty often down in the Red Room. There were some minor technical difficulties, but the Lyres picked it up and plowed through it without a second thought. Great talent, excellent performance!
After them there were two more drag queen lip-syncs, A Britney Spears song-Toxic, and a song about girls and pearl necklaces. Both were very sensual and creative expressions of gender and invaluable additions to the show.
And then…Johnny Moans… A comedian. He was incredibly funny, he really was, but I guess I prefer a different kind of comedy. He used all of the stereotypes and infamous things about Gay culture to produce comedy, and though most of it was funny, he was incredibly obnoxious and oppressive….to everyone. Plus he had this really awful mustache :).
And of course, we had to have some Lady Gaga, so another wonderful queen got on stage and played his own version of Gaga’s songs. This medley put together “Telephone,” “Poker Face,” and “Bad Romance,” in a striking interpretation of her music. It was an acoustic piece with the voice of an angel (at the least the sort of angel you’d see on LOGO’s “Nonsense Revolution”).
There were so many great acts, including a Michael Jackson interpretation, a Justin Bieber impersonator, and a group piece by the E-board of the Stonewall Dems. They hosted a raffle with prizes and Potbellies provided food during intermission. The event was great. The publicity must not have been what they expected though because the turn out was less than acceptable. The Revue had so much talent and was set up so well, plus it was only $5 for entrance to Necto for the entire night. I don’t really understand, but I guess there are a lot of things happening this weekend, so many in fact that I have to pick and choose my own events. In fact, it is a very very busy weekend. Get out there and see a show! It is one of my very favorite parts about college.
As Always,
This is Danny Fob: Artist and Art Reviewer.
And excitingly queer! I’ve heard about this event since the beginning of the year and have been waiting with desperate patience for its arrival. And here it is J. The Gender Bender Revue is a gender performance variety show; a talent show based on gender expression and sexual orientation. There will be drag kings and queens, acoustic renderings of pop songs, lip-syncs, and other performances all on a fantastic stage in possibly the best club in Michigan, Necto Nightclub! (You must be 18 years or older to enter and have a valid photo ID. Guests under 21 years of age are not permitted to buy, accept, or drink alcohol of any kind at any time.)
This event is always a big hit in Ann Arbor and on campus. The Facebook event already has 83 confirmed guests! FACEBOOK GROUP The tickets are cheap (only $5!) and they get you into Necto for the night, free food, half off drink specials (only for people 21 years and older!!) and this fantastic show!
There will also be a raffle so don’t forget extra money if you have it! All proceeds from the show will be donated to the LGBT scholarships at the University of Michigan. You can purchase tickets at the Spectrum Center or from any of the Stonewall Democrats (who are putting on the event). You can email them at GBR2010@UMICH.EDU. Tickets will also be available at the door.
Once last thing, which I need to tell you before I sign off, the day and time. I can’t believe I almost forgot! The 4th Annual Gender Bender Revue is this Friday, March 27th from 6:30 to 9:00pm. Just to sum up…
What: 4th Annual Gender Bender Revue!!
Where: Necto Nightclub, 516 East Liberty
When: Friday, March 26, 2010, 6:30pm – 9:00pm
How Much: $5 tickets purchased at Spectrum Center, at the Door, or from Stonewall Dems
As Always,
This is Danny Fob: Artist and Art Reviewer
It is always interesting when two art forms come together. It is quite something else when three forms come together- sculpture, dance and poetry!
In ANGIKA, the extremely exquisite and well-thought out details of sculptures in India help derive the style of dance for today’s performance. In India, the temples are not only places of worship but also places where you can find some of the best sculptures and art.
Example of Indian Sculpture- Statue of Nataraja from Thanjavur Big Temple
In Indian sculpture, there are so many dancing figures and Lord Shiva, the celestial dancer and the Destoyer, one of the Trinity, was depicted as dancing (as can been seen in the image above).
Using the lovely Odissi style of dance from India, well known dancer Shreyashi Dey and dancers from her academy, Srishti Dances of India come together to perform from a script by poet Zilka Joseph. Odissi is a very old dance form that needs a lot of training, especially with the facial expressions.
What: ANGIKA: Sculpture & the Dancing Body
When: Saturday, March 20,2010 7.30 pm
Where: Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan Museum of Art
So what am I looking forward to in this performance? A lovely colourful evening where it is a treat for all my senses. I would love to see how poetry is set to dance and what sculptures come to life. Come join me at UMMA today to celebrate an Indian art form that is centuries old!
