HOW TO BE A DANCER IN 72,000 EASY LESSONS

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Review by Noah Witke Mele

Presented at St. Ann’s Warehouse in conjunction with Dublin’s Teaċ Daṁsa and Gate Theaters How to
Be A Dancer in 72,000 Easy Lessons is a fantasia of storytelling, spectacle, and motion. Written by Michael
Keegan-Dolan, and performed along with Rachel Poirier the show braids an autobiographical monologue
recounted by Keegan-Dolan about his life as a dancer with movement, music, and poetry that accentuate the humor and drama of a life in the arts.

When the lights begin to dim, Poirier enters the stage carrying an angle grinder and a cigarette as a No
Smoking announcement plays. With a flurry of sparks and a cacophonous noise, the power tool shears the
padlock off a large wooden crate from which a seemingly endless supply of objects emerge: an inflated balloon, a bicycle, a dartboard, four cinder blocks, plastic chairs, a disco ball, and more. These objects framed the performance with a sense of anticipation, waiting just off-stage to be brought to life.

Keegan-Dolan addressing the audience with an oblique poise, ready for anything in a handsome green suit that throughout the performance is exchanged, piece by piece, for Poirier’s black dress and ruffled collar. Between stories of his childhood and early career, Poirier sings or the two engage in a moment of Gene Kelly-esque choreography.

A particularly delightful anecdote recounts an unsuccessful audition for Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, where she knowingly asked Keegan-Dolan if he did musical theater. A frenetic pace builds as each story tumbles into the next, stitched together with moments of dangerous excitement—in one moment Poirier throws darts while Keegan-Dolan stands mere feet from the dartboard.

As the show nears its end Poirier takes the stage with a sublime solo: lithe, loose, and angular to a
pulsing Bolero accentuating Poirier’s joints with an easy grace. In the background, Keegan-Dolan leans into the wooden crate balanced on its corner. The exquisite chemistry of the two performers is clear at this moment, the excruciating challenge of Keegan-Dolan’s pose and the depth of Poirier’s long dance demonstrate the skill with which they have guided the audience through the wild romp of the performance.
In the final moments, the two sit, eyes closed, as Stravinsky swells and the lights rise on the audience, a
gentle and effective outro before a well-deserved standing ovation.

How to Be A Dancer is not to be missed. It is the kind of performance that is crucial in broadening audiences’ understanding of the world while simultaneously being spellbindingly entertaining and touching.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Noah Witke Mele

*Photos by: Teddy Wolff