AUDIENCE REVIEW: Carrie Ahern Dance
Company:
Carrie Ahern Dance
Performance Date:
April 3-5
Photo by Michael Faulkner
Company
Carrie Ahern Dance
Show / Event Name
The Unity of Skin
Performance Date
April 3-5
Venue / Location
St Marks Church
Your Occupation:
Choreographer/Teaching Artist
Last time you moved your body:
Yesterday
Have you ever seen this company/ before?
Tell us a bit about your history with this group/performer?
I have not seen Carrie's work before. I do however work with one of her performers, Jillian Hollis, on the regular with POW and The Painted Ladies. I have also worked with her costume/set designer, Olek, for a Moving Art Project. I have seen Carrie in ballet class, so I have seen her move...
Why did you go to the show? What did you expect to see?
Jillian told me a bit about the show, that it was very intense and moving. So I was expecting something emotional (and it was). Also, from the pics in the advertisements, I was expecting some handmade costumes and set (and there was).
What was your favorite moment(s)? What inspired you?
The first moment of the show, a large piece of crochet dropped right in front of me, what a surprise. I aslo LOVED when the woman jumped up towards the crochet net and "floated" in the web. There was a man standing behind, partnering her, but you really couldn't see him. It was very effective.
Describe as plainly and as specifically as you can what you actually saw. We are going for description without judgement.
There is no need for complete sentences, phrases and word lists are fine. You can describe these elements or anything you can think of: the artists, the kinds of movement, the qualities of the movement, the use of the stage/space, the musicality/timing...
nets, fabric, emotions, laughing, crying, colors, hypnotic images, dancers moving from feelings, trance, circles, repeated movement, caged barking dog, floating, stillness, connection between dancers in a world far far away
Do any images, colors or feelings pop into your head when you think about this show?
I love the costumes, everything had this translucent net like feel, as if it was our skin cells magnified and re-set in amazingly vibrant colors. There was also some wonderful laughing. The man wrapped him self in a blanket of crochet and just went giddy, made me laugh too. Jillian was a dervish...
Describe any or all of these elements: music, lighting, the venue. - How did they contribute (or not) to your enjoyment of this performance?
I thought the church was a wonderful setting for atranscendentalpiece like this. The music, which was improvised, had a wonderful ability to grow with the movement, even though there was only one cello. The lighting was amazing when it cast shadows of the net into the space, very transformative.
Would you like to see this performance / company again? Would you recommend it to a friend?
Why or why not?
In my personal opinion, I thought the piece was too extended. There was the laughing section, and it felt to me like the end of the piece. But the piece went on (and on) after that, and I couldn't tell what was happening. Nothing seemed to peak as high as the moment of laughter.
What would you like to have seen more of? Less of?
More flying the net. Less walking around in space.
If you could, what would you ask the choreographer / dancers?
What inspired this piece (it felt like some sort of hallucinogenic trip to me)? There was some moving around, the dancers were getting closer and farther, they were crying, what was happening?
