Brought to
you by
the New
York manufacturer of fine dance apparel for women and girls. Click
here to see a sample of our products and a list of web sites
for purchasing.
With Body Wrappers it's always performance
at its best.
Go back to Flash Reviews
Go
Home
Flash Review 2, 2-6:
Pasta and Pretension
Dzul Dance, with a Side of Cream
By Diane Vivona
Copyright 2001 Diane Vivona
To begin with, Sal Anthony's
S.P.Q.R. is a strange venue. Sal Anthony has been a great supporter
of dance and the movement arts; but primarily he is a restaurateur.
Upstairs from his Little Italy eatery, this past Friday he temporarily
transformed a catering hall into a theatrical venue for Dzul Dance's
"The Mayan Cosmos." With its ample bar and dance hall feeling, this
space has potential for cabaret acts and new vaudeville, but this
particular evening's agenda was far from light-hearted. Dzul Dance
has a serious mission: "...to help preserve Pre-Hispanic Ancient
Culture...." In case the audience was confused by the smell of marinara
sauce mixed with the percussive sounds of rattling ankle bands and
drums, an introductory narration told us about the importance of
Mayan arts. The tone of this cultural history lecture set the audience
up for a diorama-style reenactment of Mayan ritual. What we saw
was pure offence. A culture reduced to stereotype: carnivorous sexuality
and animalistic behavior. It was as insulting as watching the 1943
film "Cabin in the Sky," where African-Americans are depicted as
those happy singing dancing people who love to eat watermelon.
Multiculturalism is a
hot commodity today in grant and fund-raising parlance. Javier Dzul
is a native of Mexico and this, combined with his training and consequent
performance credits with the Martha Graham Dance Company, creates
a pristine dossier for intercultural work. But is there more to
intercultural fusion than splicing a codified Graham step with a
move from a Mayan ritual? Is there a criteria or a cultural/historical/political
reason for intercultural work?
It is obvious that Mr.
Dzul is not concerned with these types of questions. His solipsistic
display of skin and limbs, exhibited through repetitive kicking
and writhing, does little more than degrade his own culture. Overall
the effect is appalling. Though I know little of the Mayan people,
I felt embarrassed for them. Was it really possible that Dzul consciously
chose to have the men spread the legs of the women and then lift
them over head to display? Is that really a raw piece of flesh that
is hanging from Dzul's mouth and then gnawed on voraciously by bare-cheeked
men? Not only was I offended, I was revolted. The continuous sight
of spread legs and undulating torsos combined with the sickeningly
sweet smell of cannoli cream twisted my senses to nausea.
Getting past the dreadful
choreography to the performers themselves, it is possible to see
that Dzul rehearses his dancers well. They are clean and clear and
committed. Perhaps getting to finally perform some of the Graham
technique that they have all ardently studied in class is enough
to fulfill these dancers. I don't begrudge them that. Venues for
performing the Graham technique are few and far fetched. Amy Piantaggini
and Jennifer Binford, who have performed with the Graham company,
held the stage with particular aplomb. None of these dancers are
unpleasant to watch. All the women have bodies that could be featured
in Shape magazine; the men are Chelsea boys (read svelte, hairless
and cut). We get to see them in the bare suggestion of costumes,
and this is only disagreeable when considering to what this signifier
points. Generally this is the problem. The dancing itself is not
bad, nor is the structure of the choreography or the fluidity of
the movement; however, this movement is conveying something. And
what it conveys undermines the complexity of the Mayan culture.
A final plea: Have a
conscience. An opportunity to share, link, compare, and explain
difference and diversity is not often obtained. Rarely does this
opportunity come with a rapt audience. Choose wisely. The window
of acceptance can narrow quickly to discrimination.
Go
back to Flash Reviews
Go Home
|