Hidden Treasures
Katherine Knight
On the 30th and 31st of March, Hidden Treasure debuted featuring the works of various Temple Dance department faculty members. Although the concert featured eight pieces, I will focus on the movement vocabularies of the following pieces, Marion Soto’s States of Gravity and Light #2, Keith Thompson’s Silent Echo, and Philip Grosser’s Embers.
States of Gravity and Light #2, by Marion Soto, featured not only two fabulous dancers, but also four branches. The movement was born from what could be done with, and around these branches. The tempo was very consistent, and movement remained fluid throughout the piece. The dancers glided through gestures with the branches balancing on the arms, legs, or even the top of their head. The movement felt indirect and flowed evenly to offer a feeling of improvisation. They moved circularly in space with a pleasant amount of level changes that left me impressed with the balancing act provided by the branches. Noemi, featured downstage, had very strong angular focus with a branch on either arm or leg. She moved through a passé to find a deep lunge, and then repeated to another angle. She offered a strong repertory of leg extensions, front, back, and side, while balances branches on her limbs. Upstage, Jumatatu offered a steady walk with a slow level change that only the eye would notice by looking away for a moment. One long branch balanced on the top of his head while his focus remained straightforward. At moments, it was difficult to decide if the dancers were moving with the branches, or if their movements were decided around the branches. Ultimately the two dancers came together to share similar movement patterns. Their gestures were slow and focused on the use of the branches. Their arms moved slowly as if through water but were focused directionally by the branches. Their legs provided a demonstration of balancing acts of extensions and passes while their upper bodies spiraled around smoothly. They danced together making contact as if the branches were no longer involved. Their weight sharing was flawless and quiet. At one point, the branches seemed like an obstacle and they showed strength as the branches stood straight up and they attempting to climb up them. The dance was concluded with a beautiful lift where Noemi climbed up Jumatatu similarly to her struggle against the branches earlier in the piece. She appeared weightless.
Keith Thompson premiered Silent Echo, with seven dancers. It began with seven very different dancers moving in unison with the upper stage right as their “front.” Their movement focused on the beauty of their backs moving as if their feet were cemented in place. Their arms and backs glided through space in a circular fashion, with their focus moving in circles as well. Besides some dramatic pauses, the group moved through a constant flow of gestures. The movement had a bounce to it, found in a quick plie throughout the phrases. Keith’s movement is strong and physical but still remains soft and fluid with a sense of grace. The male dancers particularly provide this quality, never losing sense of their masculinity. Keith includes many variations of inversions and floor work with quick rebounds back to their feet. The group splits to leave two males on stage. Their movement is full of arms gestures, leading with the mid-limbs, followed by their backs and through the rest of their bodies. Behind a sheer scrim, dancers walk in a pedestrian fashion, but not to distract from the movers in front. The dancers move together sharing weight and exploring original movement based on the circular gestures of their arms and legs. They share a common strength shown through extensions and jumps. Their weight shifts quickly as they move through space, leaping and bounding, with eye catching level changes. The energy on stage changes when the women enter in a straight line. A series of gestures take place leading with their heads and following through the tail. Their fingers even enjoy the ride, flexing and extending. There is a clear difference between sustaining movements and holding shapes that Keith explores. The women get a chance on stage without the men, moving solo and in partners sharing weight. Their movement pushes and pulls shapes that they share. Once again all seven dancers share the stage and move individually with original shapes born from leading with the pelvis and head, moving through circular paths with amazing arm gestures to follow. The dancers find stillness one at a time in a shape seen in the first section of the dance described as kneeling on the ground with their heads peering through their arms.
Embers, choreography by Philip Grosser, used the music of Shostakovich and featured five dancers. The movement used a consistent element of swing, giving the movement a feeling of weightlessness. The piece had a very peaceful, intimate feel to it that the dancers shared. Their bodies moved fluidly through space as they danced in unison. Philip used a series of leaps and glisads throughout his phrasing. This was featured in the next section when two female dancers moved with speed that gave a more hectic feel. Their feet moved very quickly through a series of small jumps and leaps. Next a male soloist moves across the stage while shaking his upper body then collapsing over. He continues to walk while he shakes his body off balance, as if fighting against some force. The group forms again and they move using body halves and present gestures leading with their mid-limbs. The group hits accented shapes with strong beats in the music. A repeated gesture emerges. The dancers create a tight fist with their hands that point aggressively towards the ground. They focus on that one point as they dance phrases around it, then return to that point. An animalistic characteristic comes out when the dancers exit stage on their hands and feet. They return to the stage in groups moving with Philip’s trademark movements consisting of leaps and turns leading with their distal limbs. We also see beautiful spiraling movements in the dancers emerge. The dance begins to offer a feeling of struggle when the group joins hands and pulls at one dancer that appears to be trying to escape something. This becomes a theme for the remaining part of the piece. The dancers seem to be dependent on each other, pulling and pushing to survive.
While these three pieces appeared very different on the stage, with different themes and emotional intentions, choreographically they seem to share overlapping themes. They all have a circular feel to the phrases and movements that lead with the head and pelvis. I also saw very original shapes emerge in all three pieces. These choreographers continue to produce new work, and elaborating on old work, and I look forward to viewing their work again.