Do Be
Z Space, San Francisco
Aug 4th, 2016
Get set for a deliciously
wild ride of imagination, whimsy and capriciousness with Do Be, an artistic experience created by Post:Ballet and The Living
Earth Show. Post:Ballet’s Artistic Director Robert Dekkers and The Living Earth
Show co-founders Travis Andrews and Andy Meyerson have launched a production filled
with innovative choreography and narrative revelation set amidst epic
unconventionality. In addition, Do Be
speaks to the convergence of compositional independence and interdependence.
Each of its six individual chapters is its own unique theatrical container,
featuring a different commissioned score, performed live by Andrews on guitar
and Meyerson on percussion. And yet there is an undercurrent of connection
running through. The resulting full-length work takes a deep dive into creative
collaboration and explores the choreographic, musical, design and conceptual
possibilities within twenty-first century dance theater performance.
A mystical prelude of
sorts, Pasturing I served as an
introduction and invitation into the strange and unusual world of Do Be. Right from the start, the notion
of extremes rang clear. Slowly the dancers entered the stage, costumed in a
heady mix of futuristic metallics and romantic gauze, by Post:Ballet Creative
Director Christian Squires. Jacob Cooper’s ambient, atmospheric score was
peppered with sounds of breaking dishes and power tools, which happened live in
an opaque onstage cubicle and was projected on the floor downstage center.
Unison duets and partnered pas de deuxs emerged in the space; Dekkers’
choreography varying from specific gestures to high extensions to Graham-inspired
pleadings, spirals and floorwork. The mood shifted from measured and meditative
to dramatic and expansive and back again. You didn’t know what to expect from
one minute to the next, and that was glorious.
I had seen the next two
chapters before, on separate occasions – Family
Sing-A-Long and Game Night last summer and Tassel in the fall of 2014. Many of my original observations held
true, though with both there was also an opportunity to experience newness. Family Sing-A-Long and Game Night posits
the familiar – well-known folk and children’s songs, egalitarian movement and
party games - repetition, accumulation and crescendo bringing a sense of
theatricality to each. But at its core, Family
Sing-A-Long and Game Night is all about defining oneself in situations that
are steeped in assumption - challenging constraint, messing up structure,
confronting the appropriate. This could not have been clearer in the ‘chair
sequence’. As the company sat in chairs, moving in unison, their feet twitched,
they swayed back and forth, they drew their knees to their chest. It looked
like a group of children or adolescents (or maybe even adults) struggling with
certain expectations of behavior. While half of the company cleaned up the birthday
cake that had been presented to and wrecked by Charles Martin at the end of Family Sing-A-Long
and Game Night, Tassel began to
unfold, and the notion of extremes was revisited. At first, its series of
gestures and sculptural poses seemed somewhat sedate and calm. But quickly,
that stylized physicality built and grew into a chaotic frenzy. Bodies ping-ponged
all over the stage, clothes were discarded; a group of individuals disengaging
with one reality and searching frantically for another.
The Bell, The Ball, The Bow-Tie & The Boot signaled the second half of Do Be. Four dancers in rolling mobile wardrobes encircled a soloist
(Kar Will.), while swarming patterns were projected on the stage floor.
Throughout the lengthy sequence, Cora Cliburn, Aidan DeYoung, Gabriel Mata and
Vanessa Thiessen would emerge from their cocoons in different costumes to
engage with Will. in a variety of interactions. It felt ancient and
apocalyptic, primal and mysterious, all at the same time. I also couldn’t shake
a retro, old school video game vibe. And while this segment felt a little long,
there was plenty to capture the attention, from gorgeous upside down balances
(on the neck and shoulder) to platform pink high heels. Even gummy worm candy
made an appearance.
 |
| Rachel Coats with Andy Meyerson of The Living Earth Show and the dancers of Post: Ballet Double Happiness from Do Be Photo: Natalia Perez |
By far, the highlight of
the evening was Double Happiness, a
flowing ensemble dance, gorgeously led by Rachel Coats. In a yellow tulle skirt
with balloons attached to her back, Coats began sweeping through the space -
developpés soaring in second position, high relevés freezing in time. Following
her phenomenal solo, Coats was joined by four similarly costumed dancers (Cliburn,
Caroline Langner, Martin and Jackie McConnell) and by Will. A feeling
of forwardness, encouragement and community overwhelmed the stage. But Double Happiness was still avant-garde,
to be sure. As the five yellow-clad performers stood on an angle, vibrating
their hands, moving shoulders up and down and shaking their heads, it was like Serenade had been injected with a high
dose of nervous energy and anxiousness.
Pasturing II ushered Do Be to its
conclusion. Though it was the final chapter on the program, it was actually the
first time that the entire company was onstage together. They traveled from the
back of the space towards the audience, first in slow motion, and then moving
with increased power and drive. Giant lifts, cantilevered partnering and
dizzying spins were interspersed with moments of repose. Suspension and release
informed movable group structures that came together and broke apart, only to
be reformed somewhere else. And in a lovely cadence, the entire Do Be village descended on the stage,
led by Dekkers, Andrews, Meyerson and Squires – every collaborator celebrating and
delighting in this considerable artistic accomplishment.
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