HQ Review: TAPESTRY presented by Karlovsky and Company Dance in collaboration with Divadlo Štúdio Tanca
After two years since its initial conception, Karlovsky and Company Dance with the collaborative effort from the Slovakian dance company, Divadlo Štúdio Tanca (DŠT), premiered their production, Tapestry. As the title suggests, Tapestry envelopes the audience in intricate works not only through its physical feats but also through the complex topics each piece presented. This was evident since the beginning of the performance, before any dancer even entered the stage. When the audience settled in their seats, they were presented with an electronic, re-imagined version of Debussy’s famous Clair de Lune followed by ambient sounds of bird calls and instrumentation. This set up the audience for what was to come.
When first reading the title of the piece Medusa, one may instantly think of the famous Greek monster of the same name; however, the title is where the familiarities stop. Instead, DŠT uses the mythical creature’s name as a gateway into the theme of body dysmorphia and how to navigate its complexities to find self-worth. The beginning of the piece has all the dancers running around the stage aimlessly. They are stripped down, confident in their bodies and start to dance together in a groovy style when the music changes to a snazzy beat. Things take a turn when an anonymous voice announces the “Medusa competition.” The dancers put shirts on to enter this competition, then are put through challenges given by the announcer, each one invoking a standard of beauty onto them. These trials put the audience face to face with the beauty standards set by today’s society and how it can gradually affect one’s sense of self-worth and ultimately their sanity. This is evident as two dancers are manipulated by their hair like puppet strings to control their movements and are thrashed around wildly by their fellow competitors, all while keeping a forced smile. This all spirals into chaos until one by one the dancers put their hair up, symbolizing that they accept themselves for who they are. With newfound confidence in themselves, most of the dancers exit the stage escaping the competition. Only one dancer, Michaela Pocklánová, never discards her shirt, still enraptured by the competition and the superficial beauty it promises. She ends the piece alone on stage petrified, like she turned to stone…Medusa was a thought-provoking piece of art; by using props and tasteful humor, DŠT was able to convey their message in a way that did not come off as pretentious or too on the nose.
Next was a piece presented by Karlovsky and Company Dance, titled This Home. This 40-minute work mixed different mediums, live music, video, and dance, but kept dance at its forefront to explore the complex emotions that come from being an immigrant. The piece was inspired by the artistic director Dawn Karlovsky’s, own family history of how her grandmother migrated from Slovakia. We start this odyssey with a video setting the scene of a house in a small village. The lights on stage turn a soft crimson red, the music turns to what sounds like a joyous Slavic tune and the dancers enter the stage in a happy, almost childlike manner. Their movements invoke a character dance style implementing the idea that we are in Slovakia. This enjoyable section however is short lived as the music changes to a more eerie sound and the soft red stage lights turn off, only leaving spotlights. This stops the dancers in their tracks. Whether this sudden change was caused by tragedy in their village or from the realization that they must leave their hometown, the audience is left to decide. All we know is that the dancers cannot go back to what once was. It is in this scene we witness a change from character dancing to modern movement as the dancers move from solos to duets to groups, all seeming as if they are lost in a fog as they bring in lanterns to help guide their way. Dancers Sam Schenkein and Emilee Morton shined in this scene as they showed mastery in understanding their lines and displayed clear fluid movements throughout their time on stage. This scene also contained the most powerful moment of the piece: the dancers all lined up in a diagonal on their hands and knees, slowly crawling their way upstage into a straight line. They do this all while supporting random breakers from the formation on their backs, symbolizing the crowded conditions their migration could have been. Once the line of bodies reached their destination, they lie there, like corpses, until they roll away leaving the stage for Dawn’s solo. The viewer cannot help but believe that this was to symbolize all of those who have passed trying to leave their country. Dawn’s solo was intentionally not flashy, she mostly danced in a crouched position, her face in an expression of yearning. As an audience member it seemed like we were observing an intimate dance between Dawn and her ancestors. It was both powerful and somber. The story does change to a happier tune. As the dancers re-enter the stage, they quite literally hang parts of their costumes up on a clothes line and put on jeans. This is a clear symbol of westernization. Once all the dancers have changed their garments, they dance once again in a joyous manner, this time mixing both character dancing and modern dance. This scene is where the dancers shined as their technical capabilities were put on full display. Tayler Kinner especially stood out not only from her clean transitions but also from her stage presence, evoking a happy and excited manner, like how the audience felt when watching this scene. We end this journey where we began it, with the video of the small home in a village but this time with images of Dawn’s family portraits in the windows. Dawn sits upstage watching the video, in a position suggesting a feeling of nostalgia and love to who has come before. This Home was the stand out piece of the night and made one thing very evident, Dawn Karlovsky knows her dancers. Every dancer on the stage looked powerful and comfortable in the movements given to them. And thanks to this comfort, the viewer got to sit back and enjoy wonderful dancing with a clear and powerful message behind it.
Where Medusa showed off DŠT’s narrative skills, their next piece, Somewhere, We Begin Again showed off their athletic capabilities. Starting with simple pantomime of manual labor with no music, the four dancers of the company go about their pantomimes, weaving in and out of each other, never making contact. That is until dancer Lenka Mičincová Rajchmanova begins to experiment with self-soothing, displaying longing for physical affection. This is when music floods in with a jazzy like tune played on the saxophone, both the melody and instrument invoking a warm and soft atmosphere. Lenka’s desire for affection drives her to try to copy the pantomimes and eventually dance moves executed by the other three dancers. Never fully grasping the steps presented onstage, Lenka goes back to self-soothing. Her desire is finally satiated when fellow dancer, Martina Hájková holds her hand. A rather intimate pas de deux ensues between them, constantly teetering between the lines of sensual and playful, ultimately ending in a more playful tone as they end up in a friendly hug while sitting on the stage watching two other dancers play around with physical contact in their own pas de deux. In the end, all four dancers start playing around with contact on stage until it explodes into elaborate partnering, with the dancers seamlessly weaving from partnered lifts to aerial-like jumps, all done with grace and ease. Somewhere, We Begin Again was a smart change of pace from the more serious and complex messages conveyed prior. It was a warm hug for the audience to embrace while also admiring the athleticism of the DŠT dancers.
The last piece of the night, Tapestry, was a true celebration of what the night was all about, collaboration. Its choreography came from the improv games played between the DŠT and Karlovsky and Company Dance to better get to know each other. Even the composers and longtime collaborators with the Karlovsky and Company Dance, Kalo Hoyle and Tory Starbuck, got to be involved. And not only through playing their music. Whether by blaring a clarinet in the dancers’ faces or by blasting the dancers with a sound board, Kalo and Tory seemed just as involved as the dancers themselves. Tapestry was a short yet enjoyable work that let the audience feel as if they were included in the creation process of the production.
Ultimately, I think that was the goal the Karlovsky and Company Dance and DŠT had intended for their production of Tapestry. From the music when we first sat down and the Q&A after the final bows, they wanted the audience to better understand their intricate and complex works by making them a part of the very fabric that makes the production the work of art that it is. They achieved this goal and then some. Later this summer, as part of this collaboration, Karlovsky and Company Dance will travel to perform with DŠT to the Slovak’s company’s place of residence, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, which also happens to be the hometown of Dawn’s grandmother. A fitting end to such a personal and exciting collaboration.
Photos by Lumosco Photo