Two dancers stand on stage, near the back wall. One stands with feet together, gazing down at his feet; the other extends a foot forward, with the ball of her foot on the ground, like she’s about to finish a tendu.
We’re on stage, too—the audience is positioned in two rows on three sides of the performance space, with the stage crew in the Dance Center's seats behind us. The work lights are on and, when I looked up, wondering why, I saw illuminated fluorescent tubes suspended vertically from the ceiling. There’s maybe a dozen of them, maybe more. I was really distracted by the knowledge that, with these unflattering hues shining on all of us, the audience is meant to be part of “I Hunger for You,” choreographer Kimberly Bartosik’s Chicago debut.
“I Hunger for You” has one more performance Saturday at the Dance Center of Columbia College.
A central question Bartosik pursued is, “Where is faith located in the body?” motivated, in part, by the fallout from the 2016 election and breakdown in communication amongst people on opposite ends of the political spectrum. “I Hunger for You” is neither directly about that, nor overtly political; rather, Bartosik aimed to unearth the inner source of any conviction within the body. Watching this work, the question, to me, was, “What compels us to move?”
The answers unfold throughout an hour of sweaty labor by the main cast, five dancers of exquisite facility who start “I Hunger for You” with a surprising chapter of technical dancing derived, it appears, from the many places Merce Cunningham’s name appears throughout the biography pages in the program.
Throughout that part, none of these five dancers really acknowledges one another, or us, for that matter, despite what feels like close calls as they whip high kicks inches from our faces. That would change, along with everything else as the dancers abandoned the rond de jambes and arabesques of the first section almost entirely, without ever referring back to them. They end this artful task intentionally out of breath, like they just finished a really hard workout.
No less physical, but far more instinctual are the sections that follow. “I Hunger for You” leans hard into repetition, be that a pulsing chest, flailing arms, a thrust of the pelvis, or hopping up and down, reinforced by the pounding, infectious bass of Sivan Jacobovitz's original score. As an observer, I can’t help but relate these moments back to my question: What compels us to move? Which impulses are so strong one can’t help but react with the body?
Naturally, I look for metaphors. The experiences of my life drove me to see, within this work, images I could equate to boisterous religious services, crowds at a sporting event, mosh pits and drunk slow dancing at a wedding. The idea of “letting go” is omni-present here, with each changing pattern appearing spontaneous—though I highly doubt it is.
And then Dahlia Bartosik-Murray, a young girl, comes out of the audience and sits in the middle of the dance space. She gazes, blank faced, at Joanna Kotze, who ceases moving and allows herself to be stared at. The presence of a child both freezes the action and hypercharges the room—watching her watch makes me again aware of my own body language.
There’s a dissonance about sitting still on a folding chair for an hour—knowing we are, at once, part congregation, part scenic design, part social experiment—watching movement that looks hard and effortful, but also cathartic and gratifying. There is a compelling mix of approaches to rigor and virtuosity in “I Hunger for You” that keeps you guessing, and for the witness, the rewards come from watching cycles of that which go on long enough to make you wonder how long it can last, simultaneously hoping for a change, or an end. When it does end, it is us, the audience, who are left illuminated in a soft amber glow, one of only a handful of warm looks by lighting designer Roderick Murray the entire evening. Was it about us all along?
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“I Hunger for You” concludes tonight at the Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $30, available by clicking the event page below.