Spring Break
Getting physical
'The Best of Momix' displays art in motion on Jorgensen stage
Melanie Deziel
Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: Focus
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The dance troupe, directed by the world-renowned choreographer Moses Pendleton, performed excerpts from five of their different shows in a "Best of MOMIX" performance that was a feast for the eyes of all who attended.
Pendleton and his talented troupe of dancer-illusionists demonstrated an unprecedented mastery of light and shadow. The entire performance was done in complete darkness with only small colored spotlights on the performers themselves. As was the intention, the reflective props and brightly colored, often glowing, costumes were the focal point of the show.
Andrea Schukal, a 1st-semester environmental science major who was working as an usher during the performance, was impressed by the first scene of the night when a large glowing man - a giant puppet of sorts - stumbled and danced around the stage.
"It was so dark you couldn't see the guy controlling him. It was really cool," Schukal said.
This type of illusion is exactly what Pendleton and his team of dancers aims for. The dancers employed the help of props, their fellow dancers and some serious muscle control to create the impression that they could defy gravity countless times throughout the night.
At one point, dancers hidden under umbrellas with sheer white fabric draped over them moved like jellyfish, appearing to levitate and float across the stage. Three male dancers vaulted themselves across the stage with the help of staff-like sticks and three female dancers bounced and rolled around stage atop clear inflatable exercise balls.
With the help of harsh shadows and incredible flexibility, the dancers seemed to disappear into one another as well. One scene involved the remarkably slow dancing of a couple illuminated by warm orange, yellow and red spotlights. Limbs entangled, the two moved across the stage, sometimes as fluid extensions of their partner while other times acting as a doll capable only of guided movement.
"That was crazy," said Lauren Dudziak, a 1st-semester ACES major. "The whole thing was my favorite part."
Though choosing a favorite portion of the performance would prove a difficult task, describing the one you ultimately chose might be even more difficult. The sets were incredibly simple, the props were non-typical objects and the movements of the dancers were not ones easily described.
"That crawling human lion thing," said Nikki Yakstis, a 1st-semester education and history major, "The one where they were in all red?"
Other students referred to this same scene as a caterpillar, a snake and a worm. According to the program, this particular except was the "Gila Dance," making this mysterious multi-person creature a Gila Monster.
"I don't know what it was," Yakstis said, "but I've never seen anything like this!"
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