BWW Reviews: OTHER MYTHS by Jonah Bokaer

Jonah Bokaer, renowned as the youngest ever Cunningham performer, continues his exploration of sculptural vitality in "Other Myths." At the Lightbox event space the audience clusters itself around a taped off dance floor. One by one the dancers stoically invade the dance space, accompanied by a pulsating soundscape and attired in dystopic humorless garb. Variations of the choreography are presented on the walls behind the audience. One of the videos presents the action from a stable perspective at a museum. The other video is a more raw/handheld point of view during a light rain.

The audience is informed upon entering that they are invited to explore their space freely. Sadly, this invitation, no doubt integral to the production's effectiveness, was ignored by the static audience. The claustrophobic space at Lightbox sadly rendered the audience excessively territorial denying this artistic layer to Bokaer's minimalist composition.

"Other Myths" is composed using the concept of individual cultural mythologies of the dancers. The movement contains both stylized action and archetypal colloquial form. The performers shift in emotion from stoic concern to legitimate physical departure. The action is deliberate and glacial in a manner all its own. Unlike the cinematic deliberateness of Robert Wilson, and the textured form of Butoh, Bokaer's action is initiated from an internal vitality.

The movement of Bokaer is fluid and shifts from angular composition to more full bodied action. The angular compositions are completed with mechanical fluidity. The finest of these moments is the hypnotizing final composition featuring Evin Hadzialjevic. In this moment, Hadzialjevic turns with meditative control, exploring the simplest of physical developments while the remainder of the cast rests in the fetal position.

These moments which explore the texture of archetypal simple actions color the performance space with gorgeous abandon.

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