Pretty in pink: dance-o-matic takes over WMH by Laura Goldblatt Staff Writer Costumed alternately in matching hot pink underwear, feather boas and spandex cutoff shirts, the four members of the Brian Brooks Moving Company delighted the audience in the World Music Hall with the premier of their production “Dance-O-Matic” last weekend. “Some of the work is a continuation of performances done over the last two years, but most of it is new,” said Brian Brooks, lead choreographer and dancer, at the end of the concert. Pamela Tatge, the director of the Center for the Arts, brought the company in specifically to deal with the alternative dance spaces being used in the absence of the ’92 Theatre. She noted that the company’s innovative style was well-suited to adapt to the alternative spaces available. The performers danced on a square pink floor surrounded by pink lights that were turned on or off in various combinations throughout the show. Brian Brooks explained that he likes having one color for each concert. At the opening of the piece, a film was projected onto the wall behind the makeshift stage introducing the dancers and the work’s title, complete with Hollywood flashiness. “I like the mixing of different mediums: visual, choreography, video, etc. as well as [the performance’s] humor,” said Elizabeth Langston ’05. Film clips were used several times throughout the performance and helped to promote the juxtaposition between high art and popular culture that the Company explored. “It’s a wonderful way of bringing the audience into the language of the kinesthetics of dance, and their evolution throughout the century,” said Pedro Alejandro, dance department chairperson. “What’s exciting in his work is the way that the false dichotomy between popular art and high culture introduced by Yvonne Rainer is resolved.” A whimsical tone was established, based not only upon the dancers’ dress, but also by the 80’s pop music that was played for the first few pieces. The dancers’ movements mirrored the changes, breaks and shifts in the lyrics and in the music. The rest of the music was choreographed by John Stone, who noted that the Saturday evening performance had been his first opportunity to see the piece in full. “The mix of pop culture with hyper formalism makes me feel like I’m in a supermarket candy aisle - such virtuosic dancing,” said Assistant Professor of Dance, Katja Kolcio. Looking straight ahead with a deadpan expression, the performers were doll-like in their movements. “[The performance] reminded me of early surreal French silent films in how it explored the machine-like and mechanical qualities of the human body and how it moves,” said Natalie Gans ’06. “For me, that is in a way more challenging than more emotive and expressive types of dance.” The dancers played off of each other’s bodies, exploring the way that different sizes and types can affect movement. This was most notable in the only piece not set to music. Three of the dancers performed a type of catch and throw with each other, as they jumped into the air and were alternately pushed forward or caught by their fellow Company members. After the performance, Brooks explained that he and his colleagues were interested in improvised performance; they were excited by the variations and possibilities that such a scene afforded. The piece had at one point been set to music, but the group later decided that they instead preferred silence with the rhythm of the dancers’ breaths as the only sounds. The performance’s spontaneity was exhibited in a scene where the dancers first threw pink inflated balloons and then empty balloons into the audience. The balloons served as a type of dialogue between the performers and spectators: both sides hit them back and forth amidst popping, laughter and cheers. The experiment was almost too successful; people continued to play with the balloons long after the dancers had disappeared. “I was captivated by the innovative uses of light, film, color, music, balloons, costume and above all the human body,” said Lindsey Musen ’04. “The four talented and energetic dancers together had an amazing group dynamic.” Brooks also mentioned his efforts at keeping his pieces in real time, and the problems that this can cause in efforts at creating a cohesive whole. He attributed his use of improvisation as one of the possible solutions to this dilemma. The students may have summed it up the best of all. “I thought Dance-O-Matic was hot, especially the dancers!” said Aaron Welo ’04.

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