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AUDIENCE REVIEW: Chutzpah Dance presents "Mesh"

Company:
Chutzpah Dance

Performance Date:
November 19 2023

Freeform Review:

Koresh's artist showcases in Philadelphia are wonderful ways to see new work, and I thoroughly enjoyed the latest one on Nov. 19. But even among a dozen strong and varied pieces, Chutzpah's "Mesh" stood out, mostly for one reason: trusting its power to capture the audience, it gave itself time to breathe.

"Mesh," like most of the pieces I saw in the showcase, is less than five minutes long, but it felt as fully developed as a much longer work. The beginning, especially, was not rushed: a single dancer steps on stage, pauses, and sways; eventually her movement grows cyclical, bigger, but not free — she's rooted to the spot, and her rotations seem to be around some core of tension. This continues for nearly a minute before she begins to move around the stage, limbs extended and pulling her through space in tilts and gentle illusions — but it works: the bigger movement is effective precisely because the audience first had time to be drawn into the dancer's inner world.

The same principle applies to the ensemble work as two other dancers enter as the first resumes her original swaying mode. They bend around each other, arms and torsos entwining and guiding each others' limbs, but the movement takes its time, clearly not afraid of starting with a subdued, eerie feel that matches the ambient soundtrack ("Fleur," by Kirk Osamayo). The dynamic changes, of course, as the movement grows and the dancers lift and roll over each other — it still seems to be the first dancer's world, with the others (perhaps figures in her mind?) manipulating her. Unison is used sparingly, making it much more powerful, especially a moment when all three dancers stand in a triangle downstage and sway identically together — the seemingly random movement of the beginning shown now to be determined precisely, maybe as a reaction to some invisible force.

None of this is to imply the piece is not dynamic; the moment I just described is followed by the most active part of the piece (to the point of fouettes, in fact!). And the high-energy larger unison sections are exciting; but that's payoff for the full establishment of the dance's environment made in the slower sections.

Chutzpah are performing in 30-30-30 at Dixon Place on Dec. 30, and have their first full-length performance May 25. If it lives up to "Mesh," it's sure to be a must-see.

Author:
Grace Fisher

Photo Credit:
Chutzpah Dance via Instagram