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AUDIENCE REVIEW: Above and Beyond Dance

Company:
Above and Beyond Dance

Performance Date:
February 29, 2008

Company
Above and Beyond Dance

Show / Event Name
Seeking

Performance Date
February 29, 2008

Venue / Location
Kumble Theater, Brooklyn

Your Occupation:
dancer. teacher, choreographer

Last time you moved your body:
today

Have you ever seen this company/ before?
Tell us a bit about your history with this group/performer?
Above and Beyond Dance is a collection of fine dancers who were brought together by Chriselle Tidrick to share an evening of dance that seeks to blend the airbourne qualities of circus arts with the weightedness of contemporary movement. Chriselle is an amazingly versatile and strong performer. As a dancer in my company, I have seen her embody the lightness of a butterfly as well as lift someone twice her size. She also happens to be a good organizer and was able to gather many performers and supporters to inaugurate Above and Beyond Dance.

Why did you go to the show? What did you expect to see?
I went to the show to support Chriselle and other dancers who I know and admire: Anabella Lenzu, Emily Vartanian, Tomomi Imai and Gabriel Zaragoza.

What was your favorite moment(s)? What inspired you?
There were many moments that gave a sense of new possibilities for dramatic use of the stage space just above the standing body which is usually inaccesible.

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...
I had not seen a lot of aerial dance so it was fascinating to observe so many different types of aparatus in one presentation. One dance centered around a fabric sling which was manipulated by one dancer with a partner on the ground who often became mysteriously involved in the swinging, flipping, falling, interactions. The irresistable kinetic thrill of the bungie segment by Emily Vartanian had a viseral stomach clenching element but I wished for more connection to what had come before and after. The thread of Tango dance and milonga atmosphere throughout was compelling yet not strong enough to sustain the many disparate segments and link them as a whole. Transitions were challenging by the very nature of having to be hooked into the aparatus.

Do any images, colors or feelings pop into your head when you think about this show?
Red, arm gestures, suspension, gravity, Tango

Would you like to see this performance / company again? Would you recommend it to a friend?
Why or why not?
This gathering of performers, committed to getting Above and Beyond Dance "off the ground" managed to get a respectable house for their performances in Brooklyn's Kumble Theater. I'd like to see their efforts continue and I look forward to the next project.

What would you like to have seen more of? Less of?
I would like to have seen more actual collaboration throughout. I believe that the idea was in place but that time was not available to experiment more and play with the discreet sections by each choreographer. I kept waiting for someone to walk through the legs of the towering stilt characters or hang many harnesses for a trio or quartet of suspended choreography.