Image by Heidi Wagner courtesy of Evolving Doors Dance.
Upon entering the black box theatre at the People’s Building in Aurora for Evolving Doors Dance’s A Rip in the Sky & Mending the Moon, on Thursday, March 7th, the eye was immediately pleased to meet fabrics of all textures, colors and sizes laid delicately across the surface area of the stage. The pieces were separated by intentional spatial borders, which wonderfully prefaced the abstract array of themes to come that would carry through the whole evening. Themes of tearing, weaving, ripping, and mending in relation to the feminine were provoked within the personal and the interpersonal- often simultaneously- and from all angles: somatically, geometrically, relationally, communally, and even globally. These themes would progressively guide the audience full-circle back to the same stage of gracefully placed fabric- this time with new comprehension and endless symbolism to entertain.
As the performers entered the stage, EDD dancers met a live score of spoken word and original accompaniment by Amy Shelley. The movement was mesmerizing- a perfect balance of yang and yin. The poetry painted a timeless pattern of history that was accessible for the viewer to parallel with their own story. The musical accompaniment was brilliantly executed with accents in all the right places and silence when called for. The costuming was simple; it represented the old and the new, complementing the underlying connection between past and present.
Image by Heidi Wagner courtesy of Evolving Doors Dance
Each vignette progressively developed the aforementioned themes guiding the mind here and there and allowing thought to trail and be expounded upon in later scenes. Choreographic moments and motifs were developed and woven together with precision like the inner mechanics of a clock. As solos and duos migrated on and off stage, relationships were paused or broken, or sometimes, they lingered.
A beautifully raw exchange of tension between two dancers who pressed into each other in various shapes until the other had no choice but to move a shoulder or a foot, was undoubtedly one of the most captivating somatic moments of the evening. This partnership invited the viewer to be a part of the exploration of the inevitable tipping point of force. The narratives danced back and forth between realism and humor. A crowd favorite was a modern re-envisioning of the story of Homer’s Penelope by Artistic Director, Angie Simmons.
The flawless execution of each and every element of this socio-politically charged performance allowed its presentation to be woven together in a way that paralleled, and authenticated, its theme of mending. A Rip in the Sky & Mending The Moon will live on in the mind as a display of symbiotic mastery.
Andrea Jayne Martin: Artistic Director of Boulder-based ethereum dance co., Andrea Jayne Martin is a graduate of Rhode Island College with Bachelor Degrees in Dance Performance and Performing Arts Management in addition to a Certificate in Nonprofit Studies and a Minor in International Non-Governmental Organizations Studies. She is currently producing ethereum dance co.’s latest work, CREATIO, a site-specific performance installation and art crawl to premiere, for one night only, at Denver Botanic Gardens: Chatfield Farms on April 19th. For Tickets, please visit: ethereumdanceco.org
On Mending
On Mending
Upon entering the black box theatre at the People’s Building in Aurora for Evolving Doors Dance’s A Rip in the Sky & Mending the Moon, on Thursday, March 7th, the eye was immediately pleased to meet fabrics of all textures, colors and sizes laid delicately across the surface area of the stage. The pieces were separated by intentional spatial borders, which wonderfully prefaced the abstract array of themes to come that would carry through the whole evening. Themes of tearing, weaving, ripping, and mending in relation to the feminine were provoked within the personal and the interpersonal- often simultaneously- and from all angles: somatically, geometrically, relationally, communally, and even globally. These themes would progressively guide the audience full-circle back to the same stage of gracefully placed fabric- this time with new comprehension and endless symbolism to entertain.
As the performers entered the stage, EDD dancers met a live score of spoken word and original accompaniment by Amy Shelley. The movement was mesmerizing- a perfect balance of yang and yin. The poetry painted a timeless pattern of history that was accessible for the viewer to parallel with their own story. The musical accompaniment was brilliantly executed with accents in all the right places and silence when called for. The costuming was simple; it represented the old and the new, complementing the underlying connection between past and present.
Each vignette progressively developed the aforementioned themes guiding the mind here and there and allowing thought to trail and be expounded upon in later scenes. Choreographic moments and motifs were developed and woven together with precision like the inner mechanics of a clock. As solos and duos migrated on and off stage, relationships were paused or broken, or sometimes, they lingered.
A beautifully raw exchange of tension between two dancers who pressed into each other in various shapes until the other had no choice but to move a shoulder or a foot, was undoubtedly one of the most captivating somatic moments of the evening. This partnership invited the viewer to be a part of the exploration of the inevitable tipping point of force. The narratives danced back and forth between realism and humor. A crowd favorite was a modern re-envisioning of the story of Homer’s Penelope by Artistic Director, Angie Simmons.
The flawless execution of each and every element of this socio-politically charged performance allowed its presentation to be woven together in a way that paralleled, and authenticated, its theme of mending. A Rip in the Sky & Mending The Moon will live on in the mind as a display of symbiotic mastery.
Andrea Jayne Martin: Artistic Director of Boulder-based ethereum dance co., Andrea Jayne Martin is a graduate of Rhode Island College with Bachelor Degrees in Dance Performance and Performing Arts Management in addition to a Certificate in Nonprofit Studies and a Minor in International Non-Governmental Organizations Studies. She is currently producing ethereum dance co.’s latest work, CREATIO, a site-specific performance installation and art crawl to premiere, for one night only, at Denver Botanic Gardens: Chatfield Farms on April 19th. For Tickets, please visit: ethereumdanceco.org