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Flash Review 1, 1-5:
Jackson's Action
Patterns and Poses of Space
By Peggy H. Cheng
Copyright 2001 Peggy H. Cheng
Kristin Jackson Dance
presented "Wanla/Weave," a premiere, and excerpts from "In Their
Shoes" (1998) last night at Joyce SoHo. An internal quiet seems
to pervade Ms. Jackson's movement style, even when unexpected stamping
and slapping gestures accent the choreography. Throughout, there
is less a sense of urgency or danger, even while exploring the large
swathes of emotional territory that seem connected to concepts of
survival and identity exploration, than a sense of solitude, observation,
and careful movement in and of space.
"In Their Shoes" was
a full-evening, collaborative project between Ms. Jackson and Japanese
composer Keiko Fujiie (who lives in Nagasaki) based on oral histories
by survivors of World War II. Last night Ms. Jackson showed an excerpt
called "Other Stories," danced by guest performers Jennifer Chin,
Kuan Hui Chew, Chiharu Ishii and Kayoko Sakoh. "A Clearing," a solo
inspired by the Japanese Noh ritual of washing the stage before
each performance, was the introduction to "Other Stories." Ms. Jackson
ceremoniously pushed bamboo poles out of the stage area to the four
walls of the stage (clearly inscribing the "fourth wall" of the
downstage line) and then dragged more out as she exited by backing
away slowly. At this point, the four dancers entered and sat, on
their heels as in ceremony, behind the four respective poles, facing
center stage and each other.
What ensued was a lovely
dance filled with strings of the same, simple movement vocabulary.
The style was thus spare and did not create uncertainty. At the
same time, the repetition of phrases, paying much attention to facing
of directions (perhaps begun with the pattern of the bamboo poles
placed at the four sides of the rectangular performance space),
began to feel drawn-out and too obviously repeated. The dancers
drew graceful lines, held delicate poses, and performed with a kind
of solitude that was broken at moments when contact was made and
the group came together. Particularly towards the end of the dance,
the group swept across the stage in running paths and then came
together and dispersed in carefully plotted patterns, often symmetrical
and pleasing to the eye. As before, the ending was a study in these
patterns and the re-iteration of movement phrases with Ms. Fujiie's
music trickling off and the dance ending in silence. Perhaps because
it was an excerpt, this piece did not capture my thoughts and direct
me towards any sense of story; instead, I found myself studying
the direction of movement, the careful gestures that often carved
and moved the space as if exploring the plasticity of the many formal
poses that had no real beginning or end.
This feeling, of being
caught up in the patterns and poses in and of space, continued for
me in the final piece of the evening, "Wanla/Weave," a solo choreographed
and performed by Ms. Jackson. Utilizing a sound score culled from
a Matsuri festival (a Japanese celebration), Ms. Jackson explored
more of a quirky side to her performance style, entering the stage
with paper sculptures (which she designed) adorning her arms and
balanced on top of her head. Even though this could have introduced
an element of danger, it did not. Ms. Jackson retained her calmness
and rootedness as she moved about, carefully placing and re-arranging
the paper sculptures (which resembled partially opened greeting
cards or the cover of a book) until they became a miniature house
and a row resembling a wall further downstage.
For a while there was
a feeling a confinement as four of the sculptures became a tiny
box in which the dancer began to slap herself, the flurry growing
in speed but not necessarily in emotional intensity. As before,
I sensed that where she was facing, the patterns she traced on the
stage and through space, were all important. However, the reasons
for the chosen directions and gestures remained enigmatic to me.
In the end, Ms. Jackson carefully wove her way through a line of
paper sculptures with one in her hand and then brought herself,
and her space, slowly towards us as the lights dimmed and the piece
ended.
The costumes were all
beautifully designed by George Hudacko, evocative of Japanese traditional
dress in its textures and lines, yet versatile for movement and
bringing focus to the graceful flow of much of the movement. Lighting
was designed by Susanne Poulin and I especially noticed the design
in "Wanla/Weave" where Ms. Poulin's lighting brought the focus of
the middle of the piece into the small confined space of the paper
box, and then added great drama to the sight of Ms. Jackson approaching
us with blackness behind her as the piece ended.
Kristin Jackson Dance
continues at Joyce SoHo through tomorrow night. For more information,
please call 212-334-7479.
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