One Good Quote: Kizuna Dance (March 10, 2018 @ Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Berkeley)

 

Photo by Matt Cawrey

From Blog Director Jill Randall:

In Fall 2017, Life as a Modern Dancer launched a new concept for post-performance discussion and writing. The goals are multi-fold:

• What are new ways to invite post-performance writing (since so few publications now print dance reviews, and there are fewer and fewer dance critics in the United States)?
• How can choreographers hear and read more from audience members about their impressions and experiences of dance events?
• Can we offer new mechanisms for choreographers to gather language about their work, to further their work and to promote their work? 

The premise is simple. If you attended the performance of Kizuna Dance at Shawl-Anderson Dance on March 10, 2018, please take a few minutes here to leave a comment. Write down images, impressions, appreciations, and questions from the performance. These can be words, phrases, or a few sentences. Then please sign it with your name and a descriptor, such as:

Jill Randall, Director of Life as a Modern Dancer

Chris Randall, dance enthusiast

Reed Randall, first-time audience member 

We thank you for your time, support, and thoughtfulness. Here's to more dialogue, more reflection, and more writing on the dance performance experience. As choreographer Mariah Steele noted, we are "democratizing dance criticism."

------------

Comments

[Rebecca Johnson]

Seeing the photo this morning I am reminded of the experiences I had watching Kizuna Dance yesterday. I can tell by seeing the photo again today that I fell in love with these dancers. I miss them already - they gave a full commitment to Cameron's choreography and revealed more and more more of themselves throughout the evening. I thank the dancers for their incredible performances.

Cameron's voice as a choreographer is one to watch. There is a lot happening and a lot to consider - as well as a lot of truly athletic and beautiful movement to watch. The movement in all three pieces shared was dense, specific and sharp. Navigating it was akin to moving through thick brush in the woods, sometimes lush and sometimes thorny. The experience for me was a cycle of being invited in, engaging and then witnessing the movement boil over and spread through the room with heat. Cameron knows how to create a powerful spell over his audience.

I was curious about the movement vocabulary and wondered whether Cameron could venture even further outside the contemporary dance vernacular, but I suspect we will see many experiments in his work as his voice and body of work grows over time.

[Rebecca Johnson]

Rebecca Johnson, Executive Director, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center

[robin nasatir]

I absolutely loved watching the grace, strength, and clarity of the three male dancers in this performance. They were extraordinary as dancers, performers, and ensemble members. The movement vocabulary for all the dancers was beautiful, evocative, and innovative - and I absolutely loved the integration of capoeira and break dancing into the more familiar contemporary form. I hope they return to the bay area soon!

[Shannon Preto]

Sorry it has taken me so long to post a comment, I have been busy with my new job/career. What is also an interesting exercise is how much, or what, I remember from shows. This is the “take away”. What I enjoyed about the show was a little moments of unique choreography, and the ending duet of the last piece. I remember some of the fluidity that some of the male dancers going into and out of the floor using the Capoeira and breakdance movement vocabulary. I remember some of the exciting contemporary movements that many of the women performed.

Yet taken on a whole, it was an ”ok” evening. I can see Cameron working with ideas individually and crafting interesting sequences of movements, but the work is still under developed. It felt like a bunch of individual vignettes, or pieces, but didn’t quite connect into a whole. It was also interesting to note that while the bodies were moving, the faces were not; they were held in that “modern dance” ‘affect-less-ness’ . It also felt like the dancers onstage weren’t always connecting with each other, nor connecting with the audience.

Last, it is very difficult to choreograph and produce dance. Any recognition for the creative work of a young dance artist is encouraging. Every time there is a dance performance, it is a momentous occasion. Let’s keep this ball rolling.