Tongue.TONGUE HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE, SANTA MONICA Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. , CA SEPTEMBER 30, OCTOBER 1-2, 7-9, 2004 If fashion shows are the new dance-theater genre, then Stephanie Gilliland, artistic director of the Los Angeles-based troupe Tongue, is its reigning Valentino. The choreographer, in a reworked and expanded version of 2001's Tertium Quid ter·ti·um quid n. 1. Something that cannot be classified into either of two groups considered exhaustive; an intermediate thing or factor. 2. A third person or thing of indeterminate character. , rolled out her own metaphorical red carpet in seven shows over two weekends, infusing the beauty ritual with a shot of high-dose mysticism. Inspired by a fashion show by rapper/designer Sean Combs (P. Diddy) and a book on Saddhus (India's holy men), the 65-minute work rocked with Gilliland's signature crash-and-burn movement that leaves the viewer gasping for breath. The opening gambit--a riff on the catwalk--featured haute couture as filtered through the gray matter of dancer/costume designer Holly Johnston: Fashioned from leather fetish fetish (fĕt`ĭsh), inanimate object believed to possess some magical power. The fetish may be a natural thing, such as a stone, a feather, a shell, or the claw of an animal, or it may be artificial, such as carvings in wood. wear and everyday junk (plastic trash bags, newspapers), this "collection," as trotted out by the eight-member troupe, made mockery of modeling at the same time it paid homage to the body. And how Gilliland knows the body: Whether repeatedly hurling themselves to the floor in death-spiral fashion, their thudding, thwacking noises creating a distinctive soundtrack, or offering lyricism lyr·i·cism n. 1. a. The character or quality of subjectivity and sensuality of expression, especially in the arts. b. The quality or state of being melodious; melodiousness. 2. in one-arm balances and feral feral untamed; often used in the sense of having escaped from domesticity and run wild. backbends to Robert Een's elegiac el·e·gi·ac adj. 1. Of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past: an elegiac lament for youthful ideals. 2. cello score, the dancers were vessels for Gilliland's choreographic magic. The doffing-and-donning-of-clothing motif also conjured the notion of shedding identities. Bradley Michaud gamboled in an ersatz er·satz adj. Being an imitation or a substitute, usually an inferior one; artificial: ersatz coffee made mostly of chicory. See Synonyms at artificial. jig; a statuesque stat·u·esque adj. Suggestive of a statue, as in proportion, grace, or dignity; stately. stat  u·esque Brittany Dunn preened in neo-cheesecake mode; and the '60s sprang to life in Caroline Aizawa's strobe-lit grooving. Slow blackouts created mood shifts, with superb leaps, dives, and muscular partnering predominating. A trio of men--Bryan Wallk, Jay Bartley, and Michaud--wearing suit jackets around their ankles, gave voice to gender issues. Ah, pity the stressed-out businessman. Or not--Nicole Cox co-opted a jacket for herself, flaunting it like a cape before the garment enigmatically morphed into bird wings. In the finale the company let loose with reckless abandon, cutting to the emotional quick of the power that is dance--redeeming, profound, gorgeous. The union of hard-core physicality and meditative moments of yoga-infused sculptural poses creates a perfect yin-yang balance. Tongue speaks a distinctive language that resonates within the soul. Long may it wag. FOR MORE INFORMATION www.dancetongue.com |
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