Co- Show 12

Under the scream of an airplane above, I am beckoned by two stories of floor-to-ceiling windows, glowing electric violet. I start to feel the bass low in my ribs as I get closer to the crowd. I see mesh, leather, platforms, animal print, and lots of black. The atmosphere is peak chic, and I would expect nothing less: I am at CO- Presents’ 12th iteration of their popular Performance + Party series.

Throughout the eight acts that make up the evening’s performances, the crowd mills and flows, but no one can claim a seat for long. The audience must crouch down, make space, and stand on tip toes as performers activate different sections of the airy but severe architecture of Mutuus Studio in Georgetown. It is impossible to see every bit of each performance, and this is part of the point: at the cost of constant clear sightlines, we are given the rare gift of experiencing temporary closeness to and intimacy with the performers. Tshedzom uses the CO- format to great effect, captivating audience members with lingering eye contact and a mysterious, infectious smile that morphs to knit brows. Her flexed wrists frame her jutting chin and sideways-sliding neck in poses that contrast with the smooth undulations of her lower body. Halfway through her piece, the tone of the music and the movement change simultaneously, and Tshedom’s focus shifts from beckoning the audience in to examining whatever turmoil exists within her.

Upon reflection after Show 12, connecting threads begin to surface, some of them literal. Tethers–physical, emotional, and cultural–emerge in works by Tabitha Steger, Adri La Pollito, and hana shiozaki & J888D3. Steger glitters in the corner, encased in strands of gold beads that drip down from a hoop around their shoulders. The duet between the dancer and this prop flips back and forth between a seduction and a dance of disgust, all of which plays out across Steger’s expressive face. In another kind of encasement, La Pollito creates a tableau of performers working on laptops, while Alicia Mulikin stands behind, literally connected to Pollito by their long hair, braided together with red ribbons. Projected images of packed schedules and video calls with distant friends paint for us a picture of a person grappling with distance from their roots, symbolized by the interconnected braids, which transform throughout the piece from tether, to net, to mainstay. Also using braid imagery, shiozaki emerges with Butoh-like slowness, dragging long cloth braids behind them as J888D3 (jade wong) creates sensory and strange noise music. shiozaki reveals a pair of scissors from inside giant, heavy boots, and gravely cuts through both of their braids, untethering themself from some sight unseen.

Breath as a spiritual and physical force is another throughline across the evening’s varied works. Elia Mrak holds a calm stillness, before dissolving into movements combining languages of quigong and breaking. Underscored with what we gather to be the voice of an astrologer speaking to 9 month old Elia’s future, we see Mrak fully embodying the astrologer’s reading: the prediction that breath, movement, and dance will be at Mrak’s center. The effect is hypnotic and calming. Breath and spirituality take on a different flavor in Ryan Rose Rubythroat Vinson-Jacobs’ piece, which begins with them wearing a gas mask, sitting on the stairs surrounded by flickering candles. Vinson-Jacobs expels breath through long-held notes and snippets of poetry. Their energy is wild, almost too big for the high-ceilinged space. In a moment of quiet, a young child in the audience peeps, “I’m scared.” Within moments, Vinson-Jacobs has subtly shifted their energy, and the child beams, arms thrown open wide in an invitation for Vinson-Jacobs to sweep the child off their feet…which Vinson-Jacobs does.

Unsurprising to TUSH fans, where Angel Baby Kill Kill Kill is a regular performer, at Show 12, Kill Kill Kill’s costume innovation is on full display. Amid a shower of soap bubbles, they slowly descend Mutuus Studio’s large central staircase, clothed in a white gown and white gloves, their head and neck completely encased in a large, illuminated, puffy cloud sculpture. After traversing the room, the white gloves come off to reveal black gloves, the dress is shedded to reveal black fringed pants and corset, and beneath the cloud-head, Kill Kill Kill’s signature elegant demon makeup. They lip sync a song of love to and with an industrial project light. The light is held like a microphone, then like a lover. As the light moves, the angles of illumination on their face shift and flicker.

Temple Mozaic closes the show with a piece that celebrates community and the joy of movement. The group is made up of Kitara (aka Katherine Fellner, Orb (aka Dufon Smith), and Free (aka Alfredo Vegaura). Like a mosaic, they tile together different styles of dance to create a kind of cultural fusion. The piece begins with Orb smudging the space with Palo Santo and inviting the audience to clap along to the beat created by Free, who is playing a berimbau–an Angolan instrument also used in Brazilian culture. Free and Orb dance together and individually, using movements from breaking, Capoeira, and house, all with their own flare and daring tricks. Then, Kitara emerges in an explosion of pink feathers and rhinestones which flutter and sparkle with fast footwork and rhythmic hips. Orb, Free, and Kitara invite movement from the crowd around them, setting the stage for the dance party, DJed by Calico (Jacob Zimmer) to follow. 

Like a mosaic, the magic of CO- emerges in the macro view of different artists working across disciplines and traditions, alongside each other like tiles forming a pixelated image.

CO- Show 12 was performed November 21st at 8 and 10pm at Mutuus Studios in Georgetown. It featured performances by Adri La Pollito, Angel Baby Kill Kill Kill, Elia Mrak, Hana Shiozaki & J888D3, Ryan Rose Rubythroat Vinson-Jacobs, Tabitha Steger, Temple Mozaic, Tshedzom. Read the program here.