Movement Source Dance Company took audience members on a creepy quest through the mind of a living-dead illusionist this weekend for “Danse Macabre” at MonOrchid.
About 75 attendees filed into their seats Saturday night in the main room of the art gallery on Second and Roosevelt streets. The lights began to dim one by one, and smoke rose from the ground.
A single dark figure appeared in the center of the stage. A circle of light illuminated the illusionist’s gray zombie skin with deep scars, partially covered by a black trench coat. He smirked at the audience before beginning his introduction.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is all in your minds. And whether you admit it or not, you all have some sick, twisted minds,” said the illusionist, Johnny Hotshot, before laughing maniacally and fading away into the fog.
The show continued for 10 acts. Most of them included three elements: movement, magic and music. The company moved to the musical styling of local violinist Tobie Milford.
The theme of the show revolved around the concept of living with purpose versus living to get by, Movement Source director Mary Anne Fernandez-Herding said.
Fernandez-Herding, also a dancer, said she wanted to bring dance into the community by engaging the community in issues and trends close to them. In the “urban community,” there are people that are interested in many different versions of art, and it was important to her to bring them together, she said.
“We really love blending the artworks,” Fernandez-Herding said. “The idea that the artist (featured at MonOrchid) had the graveyard art up, the acting, the dancing, the music — it’s all about the multimedia.”
She said the multimedia angle is something she always tries to incorporate in her shows.
“To be honest, I think a lot of times dance concerts are hard for people to sit through, and they are not that interested,” she said. “I think that bringing the illusion and the humor into that dark theme along with dance is more powerful for the audience.”
Fernandez-Herding, Hotshot and Milford came together and brainstormed what trend was most interesting in the urban city culture and came up with the zombie theme. They rehearsed for about two months without substantial challenges, Fernandez-Herding said.
“There were challenging moments because there were a lot of ideas and a lot of moving parts, but it was a pretty smooth evolution,” Fernandez-Herding said.
Fernandez-Herding said that the company would like to make “Danse Macabre” an annual show and continue to add more performers from the community.
In the eyes of the Fernandez-Herding and the audience, the show was a big success.
“I loved it,” attendee Kristin Shears said. “It scared the crap out of me.”
Shears owns Willo North Gallery and said the blending of the arts impressed her. Her favorite part of the show was the introductory dance that included a lot of fog and contortion from three of the dancers. She also said she loved the magic tricks and illusions.
ASU German professor Carla Ghanem went to the event in support of her friend and colleague who was in the dance.
“It was creepy at times,” Ghanem said.
She said she enjoyed the contorting trio and gyrating solo dances. She also really enjoyed the violinist.
Movement Source Dance Company will post clips of “Danse Macabre” on their website in a few weeks. They will also be performing with Milford again at their season finale dance event “Serendipity” at the Tempe Center for the Arts on May 16 and 17.
Contact the reporter at asia.poole@asu.edu
