Tales of the City

dance review

Those of us of a certain age may recall a TV crime drama that closed with the now famous tag line, "There are eight million stories in the naked city." BodyVox has taken that sentiment and given it a lively twist with "A Thousand Little Cities." And whereas that TV series was dark and suspenseful, BodyVox's piece, with the exception of one sinister episode, takes a primarily lighthearted approach to its investigations of people and places. "A Thousand Little Cities" may be considered a loose-knit travelogue—the word happens to be the name of one of its dances—but the threads between its 13 segments are not especially tight. Rather than going a straight or full-circle route, the piece opts for offshoots and detours. Consequently it assumes an air of adventure, though it sometimes meanders too much for its own good. Certain elements, such as a Roy Orbison impersonator, might have seemed like a cool idea, and while the guy elicits chuckles, he is ultimately superfluous to an otherwise cleverly conceived wedding scenario.

"Maelstrom," the show opener, begins with a female dancer dreamily swinging in a harness. A large backscreen is filled with a wavy pattern that suggests a tornado in the making. As the dancer's graceful movements grow more agitated—arms and legs going from flowing to flailing—the ominous weather projected behind her kicks up into a furious storm. When the full company surges in at the end we anticipate being set up for one heck of a ride. Our ensuing trip offers humor and potent observations of human behavior.

"Elevator World" employs film and computer animation to observe the ways that, when one person enters or exits these close quarters, the placements of others invariably shift, appearing very much like a dance pattern. Laughter from the audience affirmed that everyone could relate to the true human nature being exposed here.

Darkness descends with "One Wonders." Performers in oversized coats huddle in a circle, as Tom Waits is heard wondering "what's he building in there?"; the ring opens just enough to barely reveal someone doing who knows what, and the implied answer to Waits' question is, clearly, nothing good.

With these and other episodes "A Thousand Little Cities" builds viewer interest via ever-changing atmospheric moods. Meanwhile, the choreography offers inventive interactions and transitions that consistently offer surprising juxtapositions. And even in the serious segments, the movement reflects an abiding sense of physical experimentation and play.

BODYVOX April 7, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts