Audience Reviews

AUDIENCE REVIEW: Community, Care, and Support: Mark DeGarmo Dance's Virtual Salon Performance Series

Company:
Mark DeGarmo Dance

Performance Date:
March 5, 2026

Freeform Review:

Mark DeGarmo Dance’s Virtual Salon Performance Series took its audience on a curated journey through three works that showed the diversity of the artists assembled. Each piece on its own defied categorization, combining elements of different dance styles and exploring other artistic mediums, but they were unified in their commitment to sharing the humanity of the artists with the viewers. Throughout this evening of dance, themes began to emerge: community, care, support. And these themes were not only present in the dances, but the audience as well. After each artist shared their work, the audience took the opportunity to share their own thoughts and feelings on what feelings were evoked for them during the performance, what they saw, and what connections they made. The artists from each piece stayed on to watch one another and offer feedback, helping melt the barrier between audience member and performer. This format allowed the audience to react in real time, sharing immediate feelings and gut reactions while also allowing those on the zoom call to sit with their thoughts and ask clarifying questions to learn more about each artist’s process.

The first piece, Young Luck, was six dancers cycling in and out of the group while each maintaining an individual identity. Performing live, they formed clumps, twisting, bumping, and fighting for their own space while maintaining a level of care and communal strength that was conveyed adeptly even through a camera. At times urgent, at times yearning, the dancers reflected a world that is not always friendly and can be frightening. Throughout, themes emerged of connection and how caring for one another can be a deeply loving and lovely act, especially in a brutally cruel world. The final image of bodies strewn across the dance floor only to rise and find one last pose as if arrested mid-movement before slowly backing away from the camera was a powerful one that served as a reminder that everything is fleeting, but we catch and hold what we can when we can.

The second piece, Mycelium, was a riveting and beautifully executed meditation on connection and support networks. Two dancers took the stage, interacting with each other, the space, and their audience in a way that was so casually effortless that each moment seemed to float to the next. As the dancers intertwined themselves, they showed their mastery through the clarity of their movement and the precision of each angle of the leg and subtle tilt of the arm.  Although pre-recorded, the connection between the dancers and their audience was palpable and the audience became part of the network of the performance.

  The final piece, The SOLO Project, introduced the audience to a new world of sound, lights, and dialogue. Starting behind a screen with only his silhouette showing, the dancer finally emerges to a chorus of “I hate you” coming from the music. With soft graceful movements that defy the ugliness of the words, the dancer defines himself in opposition to the negativity. This piece is an emotional journey of self-discovery, ending with dancer and choreographer Nick Daniels’ own recorded voice speaking about defying hate and standing up and making choices that are based on inner strength and knowledge rather than external noise.

Networks of support, community support, self-support, and most importantly audience support were layered throughout each moment of the evening. In such an intimate setting it was so lovely to see many of the performers’ friends and family in attendance and interacting with the work. The whole program shows an amazing level of support for dance artists, giving them a platform and an audience with whom to share their amazing talents.

Author:
Maggie Fischer