“Zoe|Juniper: A Crack In Everything”
DiverseWorks
Through Frebruary 2012
www.diverseworks.org
The intensity of the dancing proved the most striking aspect of Zoe|Juniper’s “A Crack in Everything, doctor ” and that’s saying a lot, health as the installation, spanning photography and video designed by Juniper Shuey, offered a stunning environment for the piece.
Loosely based on Aeschylus’ Greek Trilogy, “The Orestia,” fragments of a narrative floated about anchored in a climate of serene authority. With translucent scrims lining a lighted white corridor set between opposing audience seating, the piece felt both tightly contained and airy. A sense of looking through the proceedings lightened the pervading gravitas.
With the dance sequence paced in five to 10 minute intervals, a sense of pervading drama loomed, as if the characters were carrying out a sacred ritual. Tiny steps, hands clutching imaginary objects, and plies so deep they seemed to go through the floor, evoked a relentless tension between the psychological and emotional tonality.
Zoe Scofield’s highly detailed choreography combined live and filmed work in a seamless partnership. The dancers, including Kristen Frankiewicz, Kara Newton, Christiana Axelsen and Raja Kelly, performed with resolute conviction, grounded, yet exuding a nobility of purpose. Potent moments of harmony occurred when they accompanied the ghost-like projections, as if existing simultaneously in the present and past.
Matt Starritt’s droning electronic score added to the epic atmosphere. Erik Andor’s sleek gray dresses offered earthy texture and contrasted the shimmering gold leaf framing the dancer’s faces. The audience was invited to mill through the space to observe the dance from numerous viewpoints in a surround sound/movement experience. Performances continue with local dancers on Saturdays in February at 1 p.m.
— NANCY WOZNY
