Prolifics Dance Company held their debut performance, “Bound,” in the Urban Yoga studio on Saturday. I was excited to see a show in this space because the future of performance for small dance companies lies in using more affordable spaces for performances and cross-pollinating with cultures outside of dance.
The show featured 13 pieces, all choreographed by the company’s artistic director, Christopher Biles. The company’s strength was in the group numbers. Usually, due to funding and time constraints, solos and small groups make up the majority of dance work in festivals and performances. It was refreshing to see Prolifics’ eight dancers fill up an entire space weaving in between one another or doing synchronized movements to heavy bass lines.
“Humanity” and the first section of “Falling” were standout numbers of the show. In both works, the dancers circulated around the space, developing partnerships with other performers and integrating lifts with seamless transitions. In these pieces, there was a strong sense of the ensemble. No one stood out as the greater technician or performer, because every person was integrated into the piece based on what they were able to bring to the table.
Although Biles is an engaging performer, it was helpful for him to not perform in these two pieces to foster his choreographic abilities. His talent for observing and developing an atmosphere and space based on the abilities of his performers rather than his personal desires as a dancer was clear in these two numbers. Whenever Biles performed, he was also highlighted, whether because he was the only male, because the movement was more familiar in his body than in the dancers’ or because he was always strategically placed front and center.
Many works in the show felt incomplete, as if more time should have been spent developing concepts and ideas. During “Dirt,” the dancers slowly accumulated their motions from a small side-to-side movement of the head to sitting up and spinning their torsos in encompassing circles. As I watched them, I became entranced with the music and movement and began to circle in my chair as well. An idea was beginning to develop — but then that idea was never completed.
There are infinite ways of accumulating movement from sitting and spinning the torso to circling the body into a standing position. However, this never happened. The dancers simply stopped spinning, stood up, reconfigured their bodies like statues and started to circle their torsos while standing. The transition was missing, and it completely jarred me from my trance.
Many pieces needed more consideration for transitions and content. Two pieces on female strength and women’s rights were underdeveloped to the point of being disrespectful. I questioned the musical choices in these pieces, which featured songs from Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Both artists are recognized for their pride in their own bodies. To me, however, they are still public icons for female exploitation in the media.
The social context surrounding the artist many times can drive the intent of the work in music selection — even more so than the music itself. The most uncomfortable piece was “Enigma,” performed to a song by Lady Gaga. In this piece, the women wore burqas and the male dancer stood in the center of an all-female half-circle that splashed him with spirit fingers embossed with lady-strength. The concept for this piece could have left the audience questioning more serious social issues, but there was nothing in the piece that made me feel, other than the fact that there was not enough research or embodiment of what it means to experience suppression. The piece felt conceptually offensive rather than conceptually profound.
The challenge of choreographing so many pieces for one show seemed to put a strain on the development of choreographic and artistic ideas, but it did not put a strain on the dancers’ ability to completely dedicate themselves to every aspect of their performance. The show had several exceptional performers.
During “Lifeboat,” soloist Nicole Mayes made every movement profound, from the articulation of her feet to the wide expansion of her arms. Her movements were unexpected and thrilling, but as a viewer, I never felt afraid for her safety as a dancer — she had complete control over her body.
Another solo that stood out was “Alone in my Room,” performed by Michelle Bissonette. This piece had the entire audience laughing. The music, sung by Marvin Gaye, was accentuated by a mature use variation by allowing the movement to accentuate or juxtapose the music, generating the necessary comedic relief for the show. The dancer moved around in her “teenage bedroom,” enjoying the comfort of her unhindered sexy dance moves, but the movements never became uncomfortable for the audience to watch. This was done partly by Bissonette wearing tear-off track pants and being interrupted by her mom knocking on the door right before stripping down to her negligee.
This company has the potential to continue growing into one of Phoenix’s primary companies with a large ensemble, but they still have a long way to go. It seems that they have community support that has helped them acquire an affordable performance space. However, more consideration needs to be made for their next performance in a nontraditional theater space.
There was no lighting focused on the dancers, which flattened out their bodies and the depth of the stage. The sound was also too quiet for the space, leaving the audience and some of the dancers feeling disconnected from the music, especially during the tracks with a heavy bass line.
Prolifics Dance Company has already shown its ability to create high-quality work, especially in their contemporary group pieces. Continuing to work on their strengths as choreographers and movers, and learning when to discard an idea or hold onto it until it feels completed, will help take this company to the next level.
To see this post as it was originally published alongside other downtown dance reviews, check out Julie Akerly’s self-published blog, the Phoenix Dance Review.
Contact the author at Julie.Akerly@asu.edu. Contact the columnist at molly.bilker@asu.edu
