dance

Paired Spectacular

Paired Spectacular, Linda Austin Dance

If I could introduce you to the work of Portland-based choreographer/dance artist Linda Austin with any performance of hers sight unseen, I’d choose Paired Spectacular: a performance diptych in honor of Deborah Hay & Yvonne Rainer opening Friday, June 18 at 7 PM with performances June 18-20, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM and 9 PM and Sunday at 7 PM at Performance Works NorthWest (4625 SE 67th).

Austin stands out among Portland choreographers as her solo and group works generally extend further into performance to include interaction with mundane props, the use of voice, body-triggered sound, and uniquely: humor. They are less about movement as movement, and yet they don’t wander off the contemporary path into the reactionary world of narrative. The reason Paired Spectacular will be a great intro to Austin is that it finds her addressing the work of two influential dance makers, so you’ll get an intro to the work of Hay and Rainer in addition to Austin’s work, while witnessing one of our best dig into her own influences.

As Austin puts it, “Paired Spectacular is a love letter in the form of a performance diptych, dedicated to Deborah Hay and Yvonne Rainer, two dance pioneers whose work continues to resonate in the bodies and minds of dance experimenters today. Each half of this hinged work pits choreographer [my] own history, compositional inclinations, and processes against that of the two iconic figures.”

Dancers Linda K. Johnson and Richard Decker join Austin for “Part One: Universe,” in which each performer makes an exacting effort, a la the practices of Deborah Hay, to navigate ephemeral states of consciousness, summoning up an unpredictably arcane universe from mundane objects and dancing that remains stubbornly unfixed to any strict pattern.

“Part Two: MUTT” is an homage to, and ersatz version of, Yvonne Rainer’s seminal 1966 work Trio A. After performing a continuous series of highly specific, multi-layered movement tasks as a solo, and then as a duo with Richard Decker, Austin is joined by a mob of 14 Portland dancers in ruffled shirts for a chain-letter version of the piece. Threaded throughout both halves is Austin’s penchant for revealing the magic in everyday materials—dental floss—popcorn—paper bag—brick—used in unfamiliar ways. Even more magic is revealed via the expertise of lighting wizard Jeff Forbes. MUTT features Linda Austin, Jin Camou, Richard Decker, Nancy Ellis, Anne Furfey, Dora Nicole Gaskill, Bonnie Green, Rebecca Harrison, Paige McKinney, Kaj-anne Pepper, Chelsea Petrakis, Danielle Ross, Robert Tyree, Fawn Williams and Taylor A. Young.

Tickets: $12 – $15 sliding scale. Reserve at 503-777-1907.

POSTED: June 17th, 2010 | AUTHOR: lisa | FILED UNDER: dance | TAGS: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

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