William Miglino (of Pacific Northwest Ballet faculty) curated Movements in Form, a mixed bill featuring works by Christin Call, David Harvey, Kaelyn Lefferts, Cameo Lethem, and Miles Pertl, performed at The Kirkland Performance Center on August 17. Movements in Form ranged from light-hearted pieces about love to an abstract improvisational piece focusing on the dancers’ awareness.
Visually stunning, Astraea/ Liveablekillsafe, choreographed by Call, incorporates grandiose costuming and pleasing visual content. Followed by a skirt train the length of the stage, Call emerges from the wings on Pointe, donning a crown and regal attire. She walks directly across and it becomes evident that her train of fabric is not only connected to her skirt, but also ropes suspended from the ceiling. Releasing the skirt, it floats away from her before settling in a snakelike form, creating a unique backdrop for the dancer. The visual effect of the skirt announces the importance of Call’s character, creating intrigue. As the music starts to sound like a swarm of bees, Call becomes afflicted, grabbing her head and moving about wildly. While it’s obvious that the dancer is under invisible attack, it’s unclear what she is afflicted by and why. While visually beautiful, more development of the piece feels necessary to understand Call’s intention behind Astraea/ Liveablekillsafe.
A series of vignettes on the topic of love, whether that of sisters or lovers, was choreographed by the dancers in lyrical response to live acoustic guitar music by Henry Jamison and Eric Maier. A duet between Lefferts and Julie June represents the love that sisters share, as the pair use each other to lean on. The exuberance that they express through emotion communicates a side of love without problems. Although there is a naivety to the simplicity in the relationship, it is the type of relationship that we all wish to experience. Clean contemporary ballet technique and a soft airy style from Lefferts added ease to the series of vignettes. Although there was beautiful technique and style in the movement, a shift in dynamics in the choreography would have added to the depth of the piece. A trio between Christopher D’Ariano, Lefferts, and June expresses the love shared between friends by showing the support and emotional intent. In their partnering they take turns lifting and supporting one another, showing an ideal version of friendship.
Awake and Aware, choreographed by Zoltan Katona and Miglino in collaboration with the dancers, is based off of the dancers reactions to the instruction to create dance based on feeling rather than thought. Miglino projects a live-feed video of the stage onto the screen the dancers, creating a duplicate effect. Miglino walks around the stage, repositioning the in various poses and removing them stillness. As the dancers begin to move they slowly develop distinct personalities. There is an improvisational quality to the movement: unpredictable and unique to each individual. The dancers maintain connection to the group as they improvise, showing a keen awareness of their surroundings as well as their internal focus. Since Awake and Aware, uses feelings to inform the decisions made, it challenges the idea that every action we make needs to be based on thought.
Movements in Form also presented three other works. Janus, choreographed by Cameo Lethem, is a duet that makes use of abstract black and white art and militaristic movement to show a relationship that is completely separate, yet very connected. Diphthong, choreographed by Leah Terada and Miles Pertl, which uses lighting and dynamic movement to show loss of control in a romantic relationship. Kirk, choreographed by David Harvey, incorporates gestural upper body and pedestrian like movement, to show a display of abstract emotions. -Cassianna Diaz
Movements in Form was performed at The Kirkland Performance Center on Friday August 17th. For more information visit: here.
