~ GRONINGEN ~
Our one day excursion there and back to see Galili Dance (we are obsessed with the choreographer, Itzik Galili) perform...

6/24:

~ After the two and a half hour train ride from Amsterdam to Groningen, we finally arrived...with no address of the theater where the performance was. We were even unsure of the time it was going to start. The train station had an information center that had only a small clue for us- the first of many that sounded like this...We were to go two blocks down the street to the theater down the street (foreign name), then 100 meters to the right. After several guesses (we walked into art galleries who gave us further clues).

~ We aimlessly walked around the empty theater; no one was to be found. We picked up twenty brochures on display, looking for an advertisement for Galili Dance in hopes of finding the address...but no luck :( After walking around some more, a man approached us to ask if we needed help...I guess we looked desperate! He got the manager to help us. We went upstairs to his office where he searched the internet for the address of the performance...Eureka! We got it!

~ We also were informed that the show wasn't until 8:30 (a problem considering the last train back to Amsterdam was at 10:04). We had about four and a half hours to kill, so we walked around the city. Everything was closed because it was Sunday...The weather was horrid- cold and raining.

~ We got some dinner at Nuevo Nescio: Spaans Restaurant for Tapas. Then we checked if the theater was open yet, so we could get tickets...but no- so we went to a News Cafe nearby to people watch. The number of cyclists here is amazing. If you want to go on a date, your boyfriend picks you up with his bicycle! ...awesome.

~ It was finally time to go. There was a short ticket line, but we waited in anticipation, not knowing if there were going to be any left. This trip was all worth it when the woman handed us two tickets...Our day was officially made!

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*Performance Review*

~ Company: Galili Dance Company
~ Title: Galili Dance Marathon 2007
~ Choreographer: company members (to be listed below)
~ Venue: Grand Theater, Groningen

~ Title: Default
~ Choreographer: Ido Batash
~ Dancers: Corneliu Ganea, Fernando Martins de Paiva, Jin-Yeob Cha, Natalia Zinchenko en Sita Ostheimer
~ Music: Steve Reich
~ Costumes: track gear (sneakers, shorts, etc.)
~ Set: blank stage

~ Summary of events:

~ Dancers walked onstage and just stood there...in a horizontal line shifted stage left, and one single dancer standing stage right. They stood...and looked around...silence...And the single female dancer stage right began loudly melodically shouting (a unique character voice). Then, she lowered the volume of her voice, and began whispering- loudness again. She walked backwards slowly, strangely contorting her face in slow motion as well.

~ The other dancers moved around the stage forming huddles breathing rhythmically. Each person had his/her individual meter and intensity of breath. It was random but powerful because they allowed the body to have a reaction to the gasps.

~ They ran in a circle that became increasingly tighter until they broke apart to begin the movement. Incorporation of break dancing and an exagerration of symptoms of exhaustion. They ended up making a line and one at a time they took their shorts off.

~ Then they went to the ground, rolling from side to side remaining strait and stiff as a board...forever..and ever... Still rolling...The repetition of this idea made it stand out from all the rest. It was the first time floorwork was incorporated and the formation the bodies created gave the stage a whole new "picture" to frame.

~ Our POV: Aline doesn't neccessarily agree but, I think the dancers were bored with the choreography; They seemed to be only half-performing. I don't know if it was the gym shoes they were wearing or what, but I was not impressed with the performance quality. The breathing was arbitrary, put on as decoration for some capricious meaning related to the exhaustion resulting from sports. The movement and staging were great, but not enough to cover for lathargic dancing.

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~ Title: Um lugar para sohnar
~ Choreographer: Fernando Martins de Paiva
~ Dancers: Luciane Castro Fontanella, Natalia Rodina
~ Costumes: Striped tights, poofy skirts, and black tank tops with holes cut out
~ Set: Red Chinese lantern, basin for water, small drums, pots, cantine of water

Summary of events:

~ The single Chinese lantern came up with a dim red light over the heads of the two women sitting indian style across from each other, profiles to the audience. They began an inaudible conversation. As it went on it got louder and clearer; they were reciting lyrics of a solem poem. We found it all representational of two personalities within one person, two emotions or points of view, the past and present, life and death, Ying and Yang, lost love, or even life after or right before death.

~ On completion of their poem, the darker dancer went directly to the wall where a man's suit jacket hung. She put it on and became deranged. The light dancer went to the other side of the stage and stood in the basin and washed her feet. She went over to releave her partner of her grief, finally removing the jacket in an attempt snap her out of it with partner manipulations. They moved together through deep lounges, spins, twists, sickled ponches and wonderfully acrobatic floor work. They slammed into the ground and rhythmically army crawled around the space. Green and red got back into conversation poetry, repeating some of the phrases. Green became very emotional repeating "half of me is gone!" while crouched over, almost in tears, while red was laughing, almost giggling; it seemed like she had broken character. She walked back to her basin and sat down and covered her laughing. She rinsed her face and continued her laughing and shook her head...whoa.

~ Our POV: The opening poetry section of the piece gave us chills... The lack of light took enhanced all of your senses. What a way to get your attention! The movement was sensual and full- we wish there was more of it. The partner work conveyed contrasting feelings of love and hatred, that at times neutralized, at at others became increasingly extreme. The physicality varied with the changing of their relationship dynamics. Ultimately, it was emotionally and physically satisfying experience, but way too short (unfortunately unfufilling). It has great potential for story line and movement development.

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~ Title: Homesick
~ Choreographer: Phillip Stummer
~ Dancers: Natalia Rodina, Sita Ostheimer, Corneliu Ganea, Jin-Yeob Cha
~ Music: Jeff Buckley
~ Costumes: Men's whitey-tighties and wife beaters

The music started long before the lights came up. You could only see that the dancers were wearing white; the lights came up from overhead to uncover the four dancers standing in first position in two diagonals. They raised their heels slightly off the groud; it was so subtle most people probably missed it and thought they were merely standing still for three minutes. But for the watchers it did sense some internal struggle that came from the struggle to balance and in the working of the leg muscles. A motif of reaches was incorpoprated which was later developed into fluid movement.

They pulled the bottom of their shirts over their head displaying their torsos and masking their faces. They all gasped for air and arching back. They closed their mouths over the material and contracted, leaning over and making bizarre faces... lights fade.

~ Our POV:

Another really emotional piece...but in a new way. It was abstract and simple...pure might be a good word...and ultimately beautiful. The images created on the stage hit really hard...almost brought a tear to my eye. Stunning.
"She broke your lips and she cut your throne and from her hair she tied you to her kitchen chair"(program).
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~ Title: Sex Cells (good. now that I got your attention)
~ Choreographer: Edan Gorlicki
~ Dancers: Natalia Rodina, Sita Ostheimer, Corneliu Ganea, Jin-Yeob Cha
~ Music: DJ Mennokeij and her Mac computer
~ Costumes: Dancers personal collection, most likely from H&M

Edan struts out and sits on the end of the stage; a camera man wearing a red worker's jumper and a pink boah. He explains to the audience the improvisatoinal structures of the piece from the performers to the DJ and lighting. He also gives intructions to the audience to turn on their cell phone and to write the number on a sheet of paper and pen provided under the seats.

The music began, all the dancers hit a rediculous pose center stage. Music, music, music... new pose. This is all going on while the crazy camera man in walking around filming!

~ one woman humped the ground for at least 5 mins while everyone else was going crazy!
~ at one point Edan jumped off the stage and sprayed mens' deodorant at two audience members. He also vogued in front of two other audience members' faces!
~ There was a tray downstage with black tape, gummy bears, the deodorant spray, a disposable camera that didn't work. Each dancer had their time in that space, some ate, some took pictures, and some taped, or did it all.
~While one dancer was downstage distracting the audience, the rest headed upstage to make their phone calls. They each tried to locate their caller, then short conversations, then good-bye.
~ Also a Vanna White/boxing ringside, number round girl/assistant continued to pop up to help or distribute props. There were lots of follow the leader structures.

~ It was a very funny experience to witness and be a part of. We enjoyed how they got the audience involved. It was entertaining and hilarious at times...Good fun.

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We got back on the train at 10:04, got in around 1:00, and had to wait for over an hour for the night bus to arrive. Then we couldn't find our apartment, so we hailed a cab (but didn't have an address to give him- we accidentally left everything at home...). To end the night, we climbed up the winding stairs blindly (automatic lights turn on a few seconds too late, jumped in bed, and passed out...What a day!