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| ABOUT TRaC |
Dance TRaC Fall 2003
A Trip to Camp Cupcake, With a Stop at the Strip Club That night I had been feeling stressed, tired and altogether exhausted. Luckily, there were the sounds of club music, exotic lighting and dancers resembling stoned hippies to bring me back to life. Sam Kim's "Nobody Understands Me" and Luciana Achugar's "A Supernatural Return to Love" invoked memories I never thought I'd be forced to relive through the art of dance, yet it was still pleasurable. Sam Kim's piece was one of peculiar abstractions. The set, designed and constructed by Sam Kim and Alex Walsh, was that of streamers that, with the use of lights, changed from silver to glitter to clear. The music was rock/pop-ish, a mix of Duran Duran, Yaz, Depeche Mode, Johnny Cash and Erasure. With Marin Sander-Holzman's editing I wasn't sure if I was intrigued or unmoved by the set. Kim, who also danced in her piece, is a very upbeat person. Kim's personality came out in her choreography, which is something choreographers do not interpret. The choreography and setting reflected on that of the 70's, in which people were free-willed and open-minded. The piece was reminiscent of stoners and smokers "rolled" into one dance. Kim's choice of clothing was untraditional, having the dancers in almost normal over-garments and dancing in choppy choreography, at times with no music. The performance seems to be reminiscing on high school times, as if Kim holds those moments close to her heart in a special way. In high school, people learn who they are. So I got the feeling this piece is talking about finding your identity. Overall, Kim's piece was aight. "A Supernatural Return to Love" was a very intriguing piece from start to finish. I do not like to know what is going on on the stage. The piece started off very nonchalant, with the girls standing on stage against a white wall laughing spastically. Chloe Brown, the lighting director, also walked across the stage to make it seem as if they were "hanging out", though they did not achieve their goal. Luciana Achugar's "A Supernatural Return to Love" was set to the music of Pierre de Gaillande and Gary Greenblat. It was performed by Lucian Achugar, Anna Azrieli, Willa Carroll, Jennifer Kjos, Kim Osterberger and Beatrice Wong. The piece was a show of women's empowerment, or so it looked. The women were very vulgar at times, often moving in very confrontational ways such as humping the floor and doing hip-hop movements. It reminded me of Camp Cupcake, the place where Martha Stewart has been forced to reside for the next couple of months. In this piece, the feminist feeling behind the dancer's choreography were obvious.
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