AUDIENCE REVIEW: Purity and Complexity in Satomi Itohara's "Unknown"
Company:
SANCE/ Satomi Itohara
Performance Date:
September 25th
Freeform Review:
One of my favorite performances this year at the Dance Gallery Festival was a striking piece titled “Unknown” by Satomi Itohara. The piece began with three dancers, Fuka Matsuoka, Satomi Itohara, and Takeshi Ohashi dancing to Gavotte 1 & 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach. My first impression as the dance began was cohesiveness of the dancers in their movement. It was refreshing to see choreography that seemed to understate individual ego to convey something pure. All three of the dancers carried themselves with a careful smoothness and precision that mirrored the same qualities in the music. As a viewer I felt as if I was experiencing something that was slightly foreign and exotic while at the same time familiar and soothing.The piece then transitioned to a brief solo performance combined with a duet by Itohara and Ohashi performing to “Vocalise” by Andre Previn, Cello Suite #6 in D, BWV 1012-5. The fluid movement and subtlety of Itohara’s choreography paired well with her choice of music and created a sense of the sacred. Itohara and Ohashi were a pleasure to watch as they moved effortlessly through the piece. I felt a connection to something solemn, beautiful and complex that I wanted to understand better. "Unknown" was a fitting title for a piece that left me with a sense of reverence and mystery.
