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Repertory Dance Theatre's season opener, "H20," begins long before you sit down in the theater. Multi-disciplinary arts organization Brolly Arts' pre-show of 40 artists, poets, and visual artists simultaneously made use of every nook and cranny of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. And although it's an ambitious idea that can make for a long evening, one of the two most intriguing dances of the night is performed during the pre-show in the downstairs bathroom.
Thursday night was rough technically for Brolly Arts, seeming more like a dress rehearsal than opening night. It was hard to know where to go — and when — especially with live performances cycling every 15 minutes. But being in the moment is what gives art its urgency, and with presumably bigger crowds on Friday and Saturday nights, viewers can simply follow the pack to the most interesting work.
One of those sites is sure to be choreographer Mallory Rosenthal's inventive piece, which is titled in the program with the universal symbol for the women's bathroom. The audience crowded into the doorway, looking over one another's shoulders, peering around corners, or watching in the mirror on the opposite wall, providing each person their own perspective. The success of this piece doesn't depend on the specific movement, theme, or even the wacky music by N.E.R.D., "All The Girls Standing In Line For The Bathroom," but rather it's Rosenthal's glib, artistic point of view that carries the day.
After the pre-show, RDT's water-themed concert began at 7:30 p.m., presenting four revivals under the same umbrella, which didn't necessarily work as a programming strategy. Sometimes it's better to simply stage the four best pieces in your repertory — or add something new.
The opening number was Children's Dance Theater's staging of modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey's 1928 work, "Water Study." The piece was performed with an honesty unique to CDT dancers, and was a reminder of why modern dance broke with the traditions of ballet, to form its own voice, vocabulary and raison d'etre.
Next, a 1995 piece, "Watermark," by RDT alum Ford Evans, spoke to the ebb and flow of Utah's rivers, lakes and wetlands. Guest dancer Sadie Carhart with the company's Aaron Wood instilled meaning into their individual parts. It was a joy to see RDT dancers use their strength and abilities in this technically challenging work. But the piece itself doesn't transcend the distinctively mid-'90's choreography of flowy movement, predictable groupings, and an over-all sameness of dynamics.
When dancer M. Colleen Hoelscher took the stage in Francie Loyd's "Lady of The Lake" she gave the evening's most gripping performance. The piece might be described as a sensuous duet between a woman and a plexi-glass tub of water. As Hoelscher makes her way in, out, over and around the tub, the piece is both dangerous and exhilarating. Hoelscher holds the audience in her grasp with her physical strength and mental cool.
Closing the evening was choreographer Zvi Gotheiner's "Glacier." This wasn't as satisfying as Gotheiner's last work for RDT, "Bricks." It didn't have the overlapping duets, trios and solos that segue into group movement and hold the work together. There wasn't enough of his quirky hip or rib isolations that suddenly set a moment apart from the swinging connective movement. The most emotionally gratifying part of the dance was a duet between dancer Nathan Shaw and Hoelscher. Shaw easily and blissfully lifted Hoelscher over his head, but just as quickly returned to the struggle that defined their lives.
RDT's 'H20'
P While the program's political theme doesn't necessarily work, the concert offers an interesting mix of dance and art.
When • Reviewed Thursday Sept. 30; continues tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Where • Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center's Jeanné Wagner Theatre, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City.
Tickets • $30; $15 seniors/students; at 801-355-ARTS or http://www.arttix.org.
Also • A free preshow event by Brolly Arts takes place in the lobby from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. and features poets, dancers, video artists and more.