Bill

Poro Oyna: The Myth of the Aynu

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aynu_rakkurThis was a strange performance, with a large movie screen at the front.  Shadow images were projected from the rear, making it an animation to the audience.  The displayed photo is of the main “hero” character.  Occasionally some live actors also acted with their silhouette projected to the front as well.

The music was very interesting with “tonkori” (some kind of weird stringed instrument) and a round-type chorus of 4 Ainu singers.  From time to time they would slowly pace out to the front of the stage and then circle back.

The story was in Japanese (or perhaps Ainu?) with some English translations provided by the main performer.  It did seem that there was a long string in Japanese with a short English version.

I really did not enjoy this performance.  I found myself drifting off frequently, and was glad of the short performance time.  I wish there had been more music and less narration.

ShadowLight Productions

Program notes

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

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Play and Play: An Evening of Movement and Music

Jone danceIn Moore Theater, which provided an excellent intimate environment for this concert. The first dance was nicely suited to the Mozart quartet.  The second piece was Continuous Replay, which started with a nude dancer doing a series of gestures.  The other dancers slowly stripped and then dressed again, repeating the strange set of gestures.  We learned after the show that the founder Arnie Zane was a martial artist, and this was a section from the Hand Dance.  After seeing this, I think all modern dance should be nude!

The last dance had both quartets playing an octet by Mendelssohn written when he was 16.  It featured lots of jumping related to water like belly flops and diving, evoking the joy of the quote by Jenny Holzer.  The dedication is to Demian (the D of the title), who was dying of AIDS as the piece premiered, but apparently was carried through the dance.

In the Q&A after the show, Janet Wong (associate artistic director of Bill T. Jones dance company) and Nick Kitchen (first violin, Borromeo String Quartet).

The musicians used laptops with scores showing all the parts, and foot pedals for page turning.  Normally their scores don’t show all parts or else they have to turn the page too often.

Program notes

 

Christmas Revels

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Revels posterThis was a good show at Spaulding Auditorium, with uptempo accessible music and lively dances.  There were some good banjo and blues musicians to back up the singers.  The show had the regular Mummers play and Morris sword dance, neither of which quite fit in.

This was a good length for the show, and a nice mix of songs to sing along to.

 

Rent

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Rent program coverA great performance by North Country Community Theater at the Town Hall Theatre in Woodstock.  In particular Hannah Sobel as Mimi, starting off with her sinuous gymnastics on the bars of the set.

Also Kaitlyn Ramirez as Joanne, and Megan Spinella as Maureen Johnson, Derrick Smith as Tom Collins.

The story is loosely based on La Bohème, but set in New York City at the height of the AIDS scare.  There were a number of classic songs, such as “Seasons of Love”.  The story is a bit of mish-mash, with a narration by filmographer character Mark Cohen.  This is no doubt due to the genesis, where there were many more small songs stories pared down to the musical as it stands now.