ARTS . Dance

The Collaborators

Unravelling the abstract intricacies of Inou


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Published: Apr 22, 2008

Charles Anderson's Dance Theatre X performance at the Painted Bride represented one-half of the dance dialogue between himself and Koto Yamazaki inspired by Trxfr->Transfer, a residency program bringing artists together to collaborate and engage in creative conversation. (Part 2, featuring Yamazaki's dance troupe, runs this weekend. See our Arts Pick.) Of course, artists often seek out other cultures and styles of expression to broaden their perspectives. But too often, the work that results doesn't look much different than their usual material. You almost wonder, "So what's the big deal"?

This was not the case with Yamazaki's Inou. The piece required Dance Theatre X to take a marked departure from Anderson's African-influenced contemporary movement featuring high-spirited athleticism and socio-political commentary.

With Inou, which means "hidden shadows" in Japanese, four dancers dressed in black (Anderson, Karama Butler, Dina-Verley Sabb-Mills and Daquan Thompson) engaged in gestures gleaned from an amalgam of genres. But Butoh, a slow-moving, internally directed style that demands intense focus from both the performer and the audience, dominated the proceedings. With the dancers' movements so slow and measured, their figures were like mystical apparitions stepping in and out of a dreamscape. A rhythmic-minimalist-techno-industrial soundtrack enhanced the ambience, though it was the sheer elegance of the dancers — whose bodies artfully bent and twisted while arms and legs unraveled and retracted in languid, fluid fashion — that made the work soar. At times dancers skittered about, perched on tiptoes, arms stretched out wide like wings, as if they were floating on air. On occasion a dancer engaged in an energetic burst, which proffered the thought of a person being of more than one mind. This was but one of the abstract psychological intricacies of Inou, which warrants multiple viewings to peel through its layers.

Meanwhile, the other piece on the program, Evidence of Things (Un)said, was an excerpt from a work in progress. Presenting an array of patterned phrases and emotional scenarios, all classic Anderson, this was a short slice to whet appetites. It worked on that level.

(d_kasrel@citypaper.net)

Dance Theatre X April 19, Painted Bride Art Center