Fresh Meat Productions
presents
The Missing Generation
by Sean Dorsey Dance
Z Space, San Francisco
May 7th, 2016
Incredibly moving. If I
was asked to describe Sean Dorsey Dance’s The
Missing Generation, those are the words I would choose. And yet that phrase
doesn’t even begin to do this amazing piece justice. Choreographed and written
by Artistic Director Sean Dorsey, The
Missing Generation is a contemporary dance work that examines the early
years of the AIDS epidemic. It talks about those who were lost in the prime of
their lives. It talks about those who lived through and survived the horrors of
that time, those who witnessed the senseless decimation of their community. It
talks about those living with these memories still today. At its heart, The Missing Generation is an artistic
dissertation on remembering.
As a dance writer, I
usually take a lot of notes during performances. But there are the few instances
where I don’t do that, and it’s because I am completely engrossed in what is
happening on the stage. Dorsey’s The
Missing Generation was one of those rare experiences.
Performed by the
spellbinding quartet of Dorsey, Brian Fisher, ArVejon Jones and Nol Simonse, the
sixty-five minute piece was scored by a combination of music and stories – real-life
stories that Dorsey had compiled from individuals who experienced the early
days of HIV/AIDS. There were stories of sorrow, stories of loss, stories of
trauma. Sharp isolations, spasms and contractions shook through the bodies on
stage; spinning motifs spoke to uncertainty, desperation and frustration. There
were stories of love, stories of togetherness. Hands held the other tenderly,
bodies locked in embrace, breath was in tandem. Unison sequences required each
of the four dancers to tune into the other’s intention and need; three dancers
lifted the fourth high in the air (a recurring motif); arms opened wide in
second position.
There were vulnerable
personal stories, stories of both hiding and searching. During one of these particularly
striking moments, Dorsey staged dance and choreography that went in and out of
a single spotlight on the stage. Brilliant. And even in the midst of this sober
subject matter, Dorsey managed to inject some lightness. Of note were the
academic deconstruction of paradigms, stereotypes and terminology and the
1970s-style club duet (by Jones and Simonse).
 |
| Pictured: Brian Fisher, ArVejon Jones, Sean Dorsey, Nol Simonse Photo: Kegan Marling |
But the most powerful
stories were those of community. The final unison scene felt like a group
meditative practice. Gorgeous partnering abounded with supported arabesques and
cantilevered physical sculpture. This choreographic theme was peppered
throughout The Missing Generation,
and its importance to the work is crucial. In order to attain these positions
in space, the four dancers had to be all in, counter-balancing each other,
supporting one another. Each individual in a collective working together to
accomplish something bigger.
Sean Dorsey Dance’s The Missing Generation is an iconic work
of contemporary performance; one that I believe will be staged for years to
come. It is that important. Not just as a noteworthy work of choreography (which
it is) but because of its narrative message. When confronted with deep sorrow,
it’s hard to know what to say and thus, we often choose not to say anything.
Don’t. Ask, talk and learn.
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