One Good Quote: electroViolet's "body electric 2.1" (May 12 and 17, 2018)

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 electroViolets's body electric 2.1 at The ARTS at Marks Garage (Honolulu, HI) on May 12 and 17, 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."

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electroViolet is a duo between Peiling Kao (movement) and Gretchen Jude (sound). They enter unfamiliar territories through improvisation, collaborating on equal footing to find the synchronicity without dictating and directing, and to explore the abstract and poetic in music and dance. 

Find out more at: Peiling Kao Dances

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Comments

[Kiki Rivera]

As soon as I walked in I knew this performance was going to be inviting and interesting. The curtains were open, I was handed a foil hat and the artists were sitting in the house and invited me inside. The performance was interesting to watch and hear. I interpreted of playfulness, experimentation, rule-breaking, freedom of expression, humor. I would describe it as raw and real. I find dance to often be pretentious, but this was not.

Kiki Rivera, Theatre Artist

[Madelyn Biven]

The stage was set without embellished sets or lights besides three performing bodies and their sound equipment. This set up immediately felt unobtrusive yet left plenty of room for mystery and curiosity. It’s a pure feeling~ to experience movement and sound this way, as if the elements are in their nude. The dancer moved thoughtfully and with much history in her body. Clearly a medium she has spent time working within based off the way her weight moves through her form with such smooth transitions. The sound artists also sat very comfortable in their position which felt comfortable to watch. Very interesting to hear a sound being born. But it was the playfulness of their performance that held it together. Three people imtimately listening to each other for a full hour. Like watching a foreign film without subtitles yet having a strong understanding.

Madelyn Biven, Performance Artist

[Scott Groeniger]

Outstanding. An unpredictable exploration of a wide range of emotions and sonic textures ranging from slapstick to post-apocalyptic. A symbiotic loop of movement motivated by sound motivated by movement. Improvisation at its best! A must see/hear for all. We can only hope they find a way to make a studio album and video soon. Bravo!

[Donna Blanchard]

It's always wonderful to watch Peiling work. She makes me feel like I can dance.... as though it's a natural form of expression for the human body. Her sense of humor and immediacy allow us to watch without expectation or a need to decipher. I just let it wash over me...

I am still not sure about what was going on with the camera. If it was planned exactly as it occurred, then Peiling is a damn fine actress as well.

I thought the skilled, improvised collaboration between sound and movement was stunning. It was a perfect and unorthodox example of the ultimate expression of the "yes" game!

[Kat Kazlauskas]

Having seen Peiling and Gretchen experimenting around the UHM art building this past semester, I knew we were in for something special. As a fan of the weird, wild, crazy and cacophonous I was an easy audience sell.
There were a few snafus I think could have been better incorporated due to the improvisational nature of the work, e.g., the business with the camera, and the fact that extra seating was set up directly in the spotlight (and so was I), and the haphazardly abrupt ending.
Otherwise, the performance was a disturbingly beautiful depiction of madness and magic. Some highlights for me were Peiling's interactions with Gretchen and Peter (I wanted more) and Gretchen's launch into narration/gibberish/ and operatic vocalization...sorta blew my mind.
Peiling's intuition in movement is inspiring. I watched dance students observing her with glee.
Overall, this was an incredible performance melding sound, movement, and expression into a spiderweb of delicate madness.
Bravo!

[Caterina Desiato]

Life slipped into performance and vice-versa creating their own meta-dance, almost as if by accident, following the compulsive need to pick up a hair or a scrape a gum off the ground. Sounds and movements remained tightly connected, inspired, and necessary throughout. The natural lighting of the room allowed to look at the expressions of the public: alert, touched, surprised, amused, curious, aesthetically and intellectually stimulated. Gretchen Jude lets the meaning spill out of language signifiers and turn into poetic sound marbles. Peiling's movements tune in with astonishing focus and tune out playfully at perfect times.
Captain Random's soundscaping was very evocative too, I would like to know more about the machinery he used to generate and modulate sounds.
A little thing: At the end, Peiling Kao acknowledged the soundscapers and Gretchen acknowledged Peiling but it was over people clapping and without a microphone, it was not audible.

[Lauren Calkins]

The whole performance was intriguing. Peiling's ideas and movement were very pedestrian-like which was refreshing to the typical expected flowy movements when one thinks "dance." As the performance went on I was interpreting the performance of the 1,000,000 of thoughts that we have in one second. I liked the texture of the sound. The experimental improv factor played a huge role in the success of the intriguing show. i.e. foil and Gretchen's mumbles. I think the lighting could have been utilized a little better having a darker dark and light creating a wider range for expression. I think the sound could have stood alone on its own, but with Peiling's accompaniment, the whole show was a banana sundae with whipped cream and sprinkles on top.