The San Francisco
Conservatory of Dance presents
The Summer Dance Series:
In-Studio
Program A – Sharp &
Fine’s Miniatures, Joy Prendergast’s Collisions
June 30th,
2015
The San Francisco
Conservatory of Dance is fast becoming one of my favorite performing arts
venues in the city, for everything from emerging choreography to student
showcases to well-established troupes. And each year, the Conservatory hosts an
in-studio summer dance series. The first program of 2015 joined two contemporary
trios on a shared program: Sharp & Fine’s Miniatures (choreography by Megan Kurashige and Shannon Kurashige) and
Collisions by Joy Prendergast.
As the lights went up on
Miniatures, two dancers entered the
space and a solo saxophonist (Joshua Marshall) positioned himself against the
upstage wall. Marshall began a hauntingly ethereal solo line while the dancers
moved slowly and methodically, connecting and intertwining their hands and
arms. A third dancer soon joined, and after reciting the first of many
Shakespeare excerpts, began animatedly dancing around the duo. Then the
dynamics shifted. The soloist stood silently while the duet went after their
interdependent sculptures with more urgency and intensity. These dramatic
dynamic changes would inform much of the work.
Pictured: Rachel Laws in Sharp & Fine's Miniatures Photo: Shannon Kurashige |
The Shakespeare excerpts
were not being acted out literally, but they were not randomly thrown in
either. And the dancers may not have been dancing directly to the music, but
again, the score was not arbitrary. This juxtaposition of theatrical elements takes
us to the core of the work. Though there certainly was a deconstructed
narrative at play, the interdisciplinary aspect of Miniatures was more about form and less about deciphering the
story. The use of movement, text and sound revealed the structural properties
of each, and how when combined thoughtfully, they have an unmatched ability to
set a scene and create a mood. The word thoughtful is key here because Sharp
& Fine’s choreographic team of Megan Kurashige and Shannon Kurashige are always
thoughtful in their endeavors, from the collaborative elements to the costumes
to the movement itself.
Choreographically, the
duets in Miniatures were steeped with
unexpected partnering and the solos with challenging extension turns and
demanding grand ronds de jambe. Intentionality and articulation were at the
heart of this piece and the cast certainly delivered.
A different mood was set
with the second trio of the evening, Joy Prendergast’s Collisions, one of individuality and sharing. In silence, amidst
the natural light of dusk, three dancers performed their own movement phrase,
sculpting the space with their individual statements. After subtle lighting was
introduced, each dancer took a turn alone in the space, building and developing
on their initial choreographic commentary. During these solos, a combination of
recorded text and classical scores sailed through the air. The compelling
nature of Collisions was in each
dance being very personal, yet the expression, scope and execution reading fully
outward. Almost like we were being told three unique stories, but only snippets,
just parts of a whole. In each case, the choreography was phenomenally good and
the dancing, divine.
At the end of
Prendergast’s dance, the three performers came back together, adding spoken
phrases to the mix - statements of reassurance and encouragement that also had
a healthy dose of dismissiveness and humor. As suggested by the dance’s title,
Prendergast was commenting on a collision – when the reality of situation and
circumstance is challenged by an uncontrollable internal dialog.
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