Chris Schlicting’s love thingsmade me ask so many questions throughout its entirety: questions that amused, alarmed and delighted me the entire time. I wondered who these people were to me, to each other, to their world. And the answers came and kept coming. Chris deftly created a world of gesture, rhythm, intricacy, moment and image. The dancers knew the rulesand played wisely and skillfully. Pink nail polish. Moments of air after feeling like the ceiling was caving in. Hannah and Morgan finding a moment of humanity within the world of quirky interaction. Surprises around every corner.The question I kept asking myself during the show was “Where are they?” My imagination was fed just enough to thoroughly enjoy answering this question. In a birthday cake. In a flocked garden at sunset. In a world full of excess and misdirected interactions. Somewhere where authentic moments were just around the corner. The deftly crafted ensemble sections unfolded in satisfying ways. Jessica flaunting her dance moves in a most uncomfortable way. Justin and Jessica dancing a duet of the future. Of never quite being where the dance is in a way that makes me question how I am watching.At the end of it all, I felt like Chris and his ensemble presented me a fascinating snow globe containing a world worthy of study. And I really would like to keep shaking it up to see what happens next.Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop’s The Foundation, et ceteranot so delicately wove a series of vignettes into a commentary on generational differences in an attempt to unify and activate. Watching Anneka and Roxane is always a treat. The fast-paced structure moved in a way that made me interested in what was next, and Tiyo Siyolo and Selfish generated and performed words that came from an authentic, motivated place. Very satisfying.The evening was varied in the way the audience received it. Momentum is always good to bring people of differing training, life experience, gender, sexuality and ethnicity into a space to tell their stories, attracting different populations into the seats. I distinctly felt that these two pieces were designed to speak to very different groups. I felt included and unincluded. I think the rest of the audience felt this too. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Interesting. And troubling somehow. I don’t have any answers. Just questions. Let’s talk…
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