 |
 |
 |
|||||
|
| ABOUT TRaC |
Fast TRaC Spring 2005
The New New Stuff Dance is defined as "moving rhythmically usually to music, using prescribed or improvised steps and gestures." Many people have different ideas of what dance really is and categorize dance using strict guidelines. However, can you really define dance or any other art form for that matter, by a basic set of principles? This question constantly entered my head when I was watching The New New Stuff at Performance Space 122. The New New Stuff is a new dance performance at PS 122. This show included two dance pieces cleverly entitled "Drama of Works &Warhol" and "The Pumpkin Pie Show: The Cardiac Show." "Drama of Works &Warhol" is a piece that depicts the life and times of the great Andy Warhol. The ingenuity of the piece was clearly expressed through how it was directed. There were many boxes set up on the stage, all labeled "Warhol," and on the opposite side of the box there were different labels that signified each state of Warhol's life. These labels include "Film Footage," "Mom's Stuff," and "Fan Mail." The show begins with the soul of Andy Warhol, as a puppet, coming out of one of the boxes. The movers of the soul guide Warhol through each phase of his life. Three were also two other performers who played the role of Warhol's right brain, the creative side of the soul, and Warhol'd left brain, the cerebral side of the soul. As the puppet moved across the stage, each box was opened to reveal a part of Warhol's life, whether it was the creation of the Campbell's soup can designs or his deep religious beliefs. Some boxes contained Campbell soup cans that represented him and his family; there were cutouts of a church with a squeaky toy that was a nun, which represented the religious influence of his childhood. As some of the boxes opened, sound effects were provided; some included interviews of Warhol and others had regular sounds such as a phone ringing or the sound of waves. The boxes chronicled an aspect of Warhol's life and depicted parts of his personal life not known to the public. The second piece of the show was entitled "The Pumpkin Pie Show: The Cardiac Show," which depicted the horrible conditions faced by four women in a concentration camp. This piece was inspired by the story of four girls taken from a concentration camp known as Ravensbruck and forced to lie naked next to dead bodies after escaping a concentration camp. This piece began with a man explaining the complex structure and functions of the heart and hypothermia's effect on the body. Four girls lay sleeping on one bed in the middle of the stage. When their time came, one of the girls would sit up and talk about their story and feelings about what was happening to them. Music specially composed for each story accompanied their narration. There were many different stories: one was about discovering new parts of someone close to you, another about the terrible conditions of the camp and how they had to prostitute themselves to acquire food. One of the girls discussed her love of music and her experience of having sexual intercourse with one of the men in the camps. Perhaps the most emotional was the last story of how the girls were before entering the camp and the beauty of a simple day at the beach with the people you love. The piece ended with a song entitled "Numbness Now" which expressed the overall theme of the piece, which is the inhumane treatment of Jews during the holocaust. Both pieces were different and equally brilliant in their creativity and originality. After watching the show, dance was the last thing that popped into my head. Both pieces were so thought-provoking, especially the second piece. Although this was not as original as the first piece, it was undeniably layered with emotional complexity. Especially when one of the women described her day at the beach: the beauty and simplicity of her words just reaches inside your heart and mind and commands emotion. As the words escaped her lips I felt an extreme chill run up and down my spine and suddenly not only did I understand her words but felt them as well. This piece is truly powerful and heart wrenching. Although the second piece was filled with passion, the first piece was equally brilliant. It was so original and creative that the careful thought it took to create a puppet playing Warhol's soul literally blows you away. The brilliance of having two performers as his right and left brain is indescribable. Just the way Warhol's life was depicted through the careful opening of each box was so original that it makes one question the typical dance performance. Indeed, The New New Stuff challenges the ordinary dance show and goes above and beyond avant-garde thinking. It is the perfect representation of thinking outside the box. This show was completely exceptional in its originality and ingenuity as well as its complexity and its power to bring about feeling in a show without flashy or over-the-top performances.
|
|
