Tom's Life Bits

It was a very hot night. The car thermometer was reading 100 at 7:30 PM on the way to Duke. We had a fun evening of MFA performances which were wonderful. We arrived and there was some kind of Flash mob dance going on. Dancers were everywhere doing movements in the lobby. this continued into the theater when performers danced down the aisles while people were still filling the theater. The lead dancer shed her dress next to my seat as she entered and went on stage in bra and panties. Hers was an electronic number called “through”. A matric of blue lights was locatred on the back wall. The lights and different tones were set off by her motion and by sound, specifically a guy playing drums. A troupe of dancers later joined her forming various shapes and pairings as they created lights and sounds. They then danced with the lights and sounds they created in a loop. Second number was “Urban Nature” where 3 woman danced to static performing various motions. The last before intermission was “On Your Skin” where a video of a dancer is projected onto a dancer. She absorbs the video and dances through life. At the end she returns into a hole in the screen swallowed up. After the intermission “Plainspoken” involved a solo dancer in a white flowing suit making nice motions, eventually covering the whole stage with dance and then reverting back to her single in place stepping and flowing. The end was spectacular. It started with congo drums and the African Dance company processing into the auditorium ending up on stage with a rousing African Dance. Switch scenes to a New Orleans funeral procession swaying slowly until they really get gooing with a dixie beat and a full jazz orchestra. This is joined by the loud sound of congo drums again and about a dozen ADF dancers in a lively performance. Libbie was on her feet waving a white cotton flag passed out to the audience. It was a fun number. I want to see it again!

It's cooler this evening, about 87 as we entered the campus compared to 100 last night.
The first performance “Garden Space” were by a group of 6 girls striking modeling poses around a piano. They kept going around while the music played. They then held hands while one was out free dancing and a second tried to join the hand holders but was an outside feeling her way along the bonds.
The garden was represented by a strip of astroturf down the center of the stage. When the music stopped the girls danced wildly and out of control. then one of them started playing on the piano and all seemed to calm down. It ended with each of them dancing separately as the left out girl went from performer to performer and moved her backward or sideways. Then the curtain came down.
The second performance, “Turn” was my favorite. The choreography was great, the lines were beautiful. A girl in white flowing dance suit and a black guy are seated on a bench. They start making movement together, she jumps prone into his arms and then a few teams runs across the stage and propels off the bench into his arms. It was great, beautiful dancing together. Later they are joined by other dancers.
After intermission we had a carnaval dancer dancing fast and lively. As carnaval dancing is banned because it is too noisy and lasts all night we se her faded at the back of the stage. The dancers read the archives about how dancing is naturally in the West indies blood, nobody has to teach it but know the dance is banned.
A Korean guy stands center stage in the next. Dancers writhe and roll on the floor as strange koto sounds play. They all rise up surrounding him. He appears wounded but heals as the bandages come off and he resumes dancing. Weird.
The next dancers dance on rugs which I think signifies their own space and home. They no longer are as free as when they first started the dance. A baby crib ison stage and we hear sounds of crying. Later they are free again and resume dancing as the crib is unfurled as a banner.
The last number is a single guy doing Title 11. The music is the Lords prayer but soon he starts hearing voices and other sounds. His movements become tormented as he bangs his elbows and fists on the floor. He can't shake the demons in his head. Ths was a great solo piece and easily the highlight of the evening.