Trisha Brown Dance Company comes with a complimentary combination of performance versatility. Trisha’s show in Palmer this weekend didn’t only leave me inspired after it ended, but it drew me in during. What stood out to me was the dancers’ constant play with internal and external focus as well as the attention to points of initiation in their bodies.
Within the movement, there were moments where the dancers focus as well as body language was more introverted and grounded in to the floor during repetitive, slower movement in unisons. The energy between each dancer was still radiant in the almost breath like seamlessness between each transition and ability to travel across the stage. In other moments the dancers, without force, had genuine moments of eye contact which as a viewer gave me a comforting feeling of strong partnership and community. It was nice to see the performers not just look at each other but really see each other and even occasionally smile; it was evident that they were at ease in their motions,./.
Trisha’s style enables her dancers to play with using initiation as the central cause of movement. Each dancer had such clear points of initiation in their bodies in the way they would bend in their joints or balance with a specific part of their body. Men would lift the women through hip connection or foot to torso connection; ways of lifting that I never thought of but which were executed seamlessly. I appreciated the articulation in the shapes the dancers made and the clarity of their moments whether they were being linear or more round and three-dimensional.
I especially loved the final piece of the show entitled “I am going to toss my arms- if you catch them they’re yours.” All nine dancers were wearing what looked like big white smocks which they gradually took off one by one throughout the work. On stage right were big fans blowing throughout the entire piece, which gave the piece a nice airy quality and weightlessness. It was visually striking to see the smocks blow off stage when the dancers would take them off revealing brightly colored leotards for the women and briefs for the men. I grew curious as to what it must be like to dance in front of such winds.
The company comes with an admirable sense of strength, cohesiveness, attention to detail, and authenticity. It is apparent that they love what they do which only makes me love what I watch. •
