Rivulets

Dancers’ bodies drape  down from the benches on their sides to the floor into a sprawling “V” — like an ancient Greek frieze depicting a ritual procession.

The languor and beauty of this sight fades into walks around the Baryshnikov Arts Center space. Each dancer is distinct, holding a different energy.

Everyone circulates around the room and at some designated point, they move in unison, stretch apart and release an individual in the center.
Processed through  a flow that breaks into duets, the dancers face each other and angle arms up and to the side, framing the face and then freeing the arms in pendulum swings repeated by legs.

A flurry of motion circulates around the space, and at some point, everyone backs away leaving one couple to perform an intimate duet.

Some duets are based on traditional modern dance moves, others rely on club style arm gestures and torso twitches or supportive leans in and away from each other. Each one engages in a distinct duet reacting to one another. Perhaps one lifts another, or they cross arms, flip palms up, elbows to the side — referencing the gay balls.

A distinctive group of dancers, Jordan Demetrius, tall and self-contained is compelling in-part because rather than look intently at the audience, he expresses a gaze that’s internal. Indeed, everyone expresses a matter of fact look. one that’s — business as usual — while doing some extraordinary things inside a frame of thoughtful sequences.

It’s not so much the actual steps as it as the aroma of the overall sensations. Entitled “Rivulets”, that’s an apt title for a work that repeatedly seeps through your mind.
EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis