There were some interesting pairings at PointBreezeway (yes, in Point Breeze and worth a trip) circulating around the autumnal equinox. September produced Jasmine Hearn and Continuum Dance Theater.
Continuum’s Sarah Parker chose an informal format with a couple of solos from her latest piece, EMPIRE (click on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the review), performed by a determined Heather Jacobs, with Lamar Williams both generous and passionate. Sarah then invited the intimate audience into the creative process where they offered words, like “salty,” “saucy,” “loopy” and “sunny,” whereupon the performers incorporated them into an improvisation. It was a concept that tried too hard, which lessened its impact.
Jasmine brought Anna Thompson and a world premiere, favoring consent. I came upon them as a pair of glam chicks, so uncommonly tall in their high, high heels. Then they changed costumes, vaguely alluring and virtually topless with duct tape pasties. The goal was to “give consent to our pleasure.” And they did, in a funny, smart, always surprising way. Jasmine may be the most thought-provoking choreographer on the Pittsburgh scene and Anna is truly finding her own voice, not only dance-wise, but vocally. These were private dancers, yet so inviting.
They did sing later: “Honey come home.” “I’ll clean out the fridge.” “You’re a good girl — you know it.” So did we…
Posted by jvranish 
CrossCurrents 