Come have refreshments and offer your feedback at this casual, in-progress showing of Hope Goldman's new evening length work Birds in Paradise. Free, donations welcome.

 

There is an animalistic quality in Birds in Paradise that is almost primeval. It is a human animal quality where the performers tap into a cardinal physicality that is distinctively female and many times creature-like. The movement is rich and thick with a strong connection to the earth, performed from the inside out, and released in waves through the dancers' spines. This conveys a deep sense of importance as though these creatures are relaying vital information about survival. When the dancers physically connect, it's as though they're imprinting their unique knowledge and characteristics upon one another. There is an undramatic yet inherent sense of emotion with a connection to the “herd”. The dancers agility and flexibility in mind and body itch to carve out new ways of convening, gathering, and thinking exemplified in the pulsating movement, facial expressions, and sound score.

 

The final work will be presented September 11-14, 2014 at Collaboraction's Pentagon Theater.