Visceral Dance Fall Engagement | Athenaeum Theater
3 out of 4 stars
(originally published on Chicago Stage Standard)
Visceral Dance opened its seventh season with their Fall Engagement at the Athenaeum Theater. The evening began with Impetere (2013), Artistic Director, Nick Pupillo’s inaugural piece which introduced the company's strong technique and athleticism. The blend between playful classical ballet movements against the strong fluid movements were exceptional. A focal point on a strong core moves only to be extenuated by the bodice style costuming. The piece is high paced and unyielding to a relentless primal rhythm. Extensions and pirouettes move into one another as seamlessly as the solos and transitions. It made me think almost the heart of the piece seems to look at what happens when one dances? You are dragged away into your art. Meredith Harrill exceptionally gives a full embodiment effort from head to toe in her dance, particularly her facial expressions that emote what her body movement conveys.
Nick Pupillo’s She Three still remains one of my favorite works that incorporates three of Visceral’s female dancers together in a harmonious flow. It pushes boundaries in examining the connection between the dancers in a language that seems tangible in a variety of thematic ways. Brian Sidney Bembridge’s lighting design with pools of light, tension and isolated focus are used in an unexpected way to exemplify the concept of the singular versus the collective. The design is actively changing as the dancers move from solo motion to interwoven movement, while the three individual spots create one large focus of light. A triad of music, movement and light elevates an intriguing perspective on humanity and femininity to a new level. The phases of this work shows prowess and poignancy. The duet KEEP (2018) by Nick Pupillo, is re-envisioned and brought to stage in a new form and perspective. Open on to an exposed stage and wings, overall this pieces is dreamy and melancholy. While described as an intimate duet suggests you can’t take without giving and can’t give without taking. It is mesmerizing and provides a strong sense of imbalance mixed with soft passion. It’s hard to pin point the exact emotions, but enjoyable none the less.
And Monica Cervantes returns to create her second piece on the company in the World Premiere of Homage. Set to the music Concierto de Aranjuez: Adagio by Joaquín Rodrigo, Daniel Casares Arturo Díez Boscovich, Orquesta Filarmonica de Málaga and Viva Almeria by Manola Escobar, Cervantes explores the sensation of losing a loved one too soon and the nostalgic journey that follows.The piece is theatrical and emotional. Caitlin Cucchiara truly excels in her minute attention to her fluid movements across the stage, which is stunning. Her dedication and emotive body language really takes this already dynamic storytelling to the next level. The complexity shifts with each movement of group work that speaks volumes to the balance between solos and duets against the company’s flow between movements. Closing the evening was Pupillo's creation Synapse, originally commissioned for Visceral Dance Chicago by the Harris Theater for Music and Dance with support from the Pamela Crutchfield Dance Fund through the Imagine Campaign. The LED-light immersive experience’s electric energy drives home Visceral Dance’s ingenuity and provocativeness.
The entire evening was very enjoyable and Visceral remains to be one of the most intriguing contemporary company’s in Chicago. To find out more about Visceral Dance, the classes they offer and future performances, please visit https://www.visceraldance.com/
