No need to add water to this celebration of life, love and movement. The evening swirled with a juicy blend of culture and performance. You splashed the audience with a rich mix of performers and styles that blended together deliciously.
Ragga: Not having the identity of facial expressions, hair and personal association, the audience had the opportunity to only see movement. What a unique and powerful approach to express choreographic intent. But, ah, a quick glimpse without hoods revealed another layer of perception that packed quite a punch.
The swaying sweep of dancers in white with their circular wave of energy contrasted the hooded trio not only visually but also in it’s lift up, up upwards instead of the first trio’s stomping pull towards the earth. The elements of water swirled continuously in the movement.
The palm frond gobo was a delight on the open of third piece, highlighting the commanding presence of each of the Journey to the One dancers. The costumes must have been designed for the spinning movement since they seemed to come to life in motion. I enjoyed the abstract structure of the piece allowing me to create whatever images I conjured up instead of witnessing a literal intent.
The most profound, spiritual and emotional part of the evening came for me with Heap of Lava. You shared the core of Hawaiian culture which you painted through the use of hula and chants. It seemed as if the nine dancers were the highly developed civilization that Cook found when he came to the islands. I loved your text. Just add tears.
At first, your trio of Honeywine was a challenge trying to choose between watching only the most generous and powerful performer (you) and then the other dancers. Wisely, you chose two dancers that were capable of balancing your presence out with their strong performances as well.
The entrance for Dance with Me mixed seamlessly with exiting solo dancer. I wanted the running diagonal leap phrases to develop and continue! They left me wanting more, (I can imagine that the limitations of the space could have been a factor).
I’ve enjoyed seeing SimmerDown take three different kinds of form now (art gallery, gymnasium and small theater setting). What a vessel this intimate Oakland performance space is, changing the quality of it’s content into more of a house party scene. I was standing up so I wouldn’t miss a thing. We wouldn’t want to miss a speck of how you embraced and celebrated your fifteen years of Malia Movement!
Congratulations!!
Love, Karen