Written by Michael Goldstein for THE ARTISTS FORUM MAGAZINE
Edited by Amos White V for THE ARTISTS FORUM, INC
Photos: Phyllis McCabe
REVIEWER RATING:
4 out of 5 stars
TAKE DANCE: THERE AND HERE
NEW YORK, NY (March 29, 2015) Yesterday, the Michael Schimmel Center at Pace University presented the last performance of TAKE Dance’s latest production entitled There and Here, as part of its tenth anniversary celebration. When the lights slowly shone on the stage and dancers for the first time, like the first rays of dawn creeping over the horizon, Takehiro Ueyama invited the audience to peer into a strong, haunting world, which seemed to consist of nothing more than environment of sand, a mixture of simple sounds, and the dancers themselves.
Part of the thrill the show generates comes not only from a distinct combination of eerie lighting and distorted music, presenting an almost dystopian and mythical tone that was the next seventy minutes. The show’s thrill comes also from observing the dancers conducting absolute control of their muscles, demonstrating a dynamic zenith of power that the human body is capable of when the mind and body are one.
As the performance went on and the dancers danced their routines, it was clear to me that Takehiro Ueyama was not relying on a clear line of events for expression, choosing instead to let the bodies express the life of the stage.
One specific element of the performance that made it rather intriguing to watch was the presence of sand occasionally falling onto the stage from above, highlighting a powerful desolation of sorts, while the dancers’ movement, a mixture of ballet and kung-fu, express an unwillingness to surrender to despair and a desire to endure the harsh laws of time.
At the end of the day, TAKE Dance’s There and Here is an ominous but engaging window into the human body’s inability to accept limitations by way of an unrepeatable display of the elasticity of the human body. I encourage all dance fans to go see TAKE should they perform in your town.
For more information about TAKE Dance, visit: takedance.org
