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Finding balance in dance and theatre
‘Balancing Forces’ entertains audience with erratic movement
By Matthew Gillespie
The star performer of the evening was Seth Warren Crow, company accompanist, who mixed intricate electronic music and percussion instruments to enhance Wildspace’s movement.
Even though most of Milwaukee was glued to their TV sets this past Thursday night to catch the Packers versus Cowboys game, a small number of dance fanatics came out to see Wild Space Dance Company’s opening night of “Balancing Forces” at the Steimke Theater.
The dance show included more than 20 short works choreographed by the entire Wild Space Company, under the artistic direction of Debra Loewen.
From the very beginning of the performance, I felt like I was being transported to a dreamy universe. The topic was the evolution of movement. Wildspace’s dancers presented very simplistic choreography during the beginning of sequences, but then the endings would drive to chaotic improvisational work.
The company also put forth ideas of “patterns on the floor” and “spatial distribution” in its lesson plans. Most of the choreography during these spoken-word scenes was fluid, free-fall movement. Carving arms and legs burst out from the dancers’ cores.
I was very impressed with how smoothly the 90 minute show ran. After one dance piece was completed, the next one would fade in almost instantly.
Daniel Schuchart presented a solo midway through the beginning of the show that encompassed basic movements with good control, but ultimately fell flat. I wasn’t able to find purpose in the performance. But, when he was partnered with Lowen and other female dancers in the company, the quality of Schuchart’s movement was more dynamic and enjoyable to watch.
The star performer of the evening was Seth Warren-Crow, company accompanist, who mixed intricate electronic music and percussion instruments to enhance Wild Space’s movement.
Crow’s dreamy, ambient score included environmental sounds, heavy bass and scattered vocal breathing. It left me wondering throughout the performance if it was the score or the company’s dancing that made me enjoy the performance so much.
The environment Wildspace created aside, the dance work was some of the most innovative and erratic movement I have seen in Milwaukee’s dance scene.
In one dance, two dancers dangling ropes held as they conversed with each other. As they tried to communicate, the ropes were pulled causing their bodies to twist and turn at the pelvis.
Another dance work, “Are you ever afraid?” which utilized elements of theatre and dance, connected well with the audience. The dancers stood in a line and asked each other if they were afraid of certain performance scenarios.
These ranged from forgetting a costume at home to missing their entrance on stage. The humorous style of voice each dancer used during this piece caused the mood of the performance to lighten.
Another dance piece that was successful in making the audience chuckle was an outrageous ode to a song that contained the phrase “Burning Love” numerous times throughout the chorus.
The piece seemed to be set at a dancehall, but instead of seeing the quickstep or foxtrot, the couples pushed off one another with their heads and shoulders. It looked more like a fight with each other’s bodies than a slow dance.
The final dance work of the night was a tad disappointing. The dancers’ choreography was not as in sync as it was in prior pieces. Also, the ending caused the dancers to scatter about the stage in a crazy improvisation, something we had seen many times throughout the show, but a little too much for my taste.
Being a fan of dance on camera, site-specific work and post-modern dance, I have witnessed a lot of innovative dance in the past. But after seeing Wild Space’s performance on Thursday night I was given hope that dance can be presented in a way that will make the audience think when they leave the performance hall. And isn’t that what groundbreaking performance art is supposed to do?
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