Audience Reviews

AUDIENCE REVIEW: Shen Wei Dance Arts

Company:
Shen Wei Dance Arts

Performance Date:
Sept 18, 2008

Photo © Andrea Mohin

Company
Shen Wei Dance Arts

Show / Event Name
Fall for Dance

Performance Date
Sept 18, 2008

Venue / Location
New York City Center

Your Occupation:
Choreographer, dancer, dance educator

Last time you moved your body:
This morning

Have you ever seen this company/ before?
Tell us a bit about your history with this group/performer?
Yes, I've watched them perform at ADF 2002. I have taken their workshops as well. I went to college with Jessica Harris (a company member) at Pomona College in CA.

Why did you go to the show? What did you expect to see?
I got a free ticket to see this night's performance of Fall for Dance from a Professional Education Development class last Sat. that City Center hosted. I hadn't seen this company perform in a while and knew a few people in the company.

What was your favorite moment(s)? What inspired you?
I liked the circular floor pattern at the beginning of the piece. 3 or 4 dancers would start a set circular floor pattern together. It looked like lizards crawling up a wall.

Describe as plainly and as specifically as you can what you actually saw. We are going for description without judgement.
There is no need for complete sentences, phrases and word lists are fine. You can describe these elements or anything you can think of: the artists, the kinds of movement, the qualities of the movement, the use of the stage/space, the musicality/timing...
Lizards
floor pattern
grafitti backdrop
precise movement initiating from one body part
colorful socks
trios, duets, unison
Solo vs. uniform
Deliberate precise movement develops into loose floppy movement
Musical instruments by shaking bodies
moving vs. static

Do any images, colors or feelings pop into your head when you think about this show?
Chameleon lizards that change colors everytime there is a shift in movement dynamics or floor patterns

Describe any or all of these elements: music, lighting, the venue. - How did they contribute (or not) to your enjoyment of this performance?
The vastness of the theater and the number of seats that were occupied at City Center is amazing. Fall for Dance festival is able to draw crowds.
I noticed the colorful socks that each dancer wore in the piece and wondered about their significance.

Would you like to see this performance / company again? Would you recommend it to a friend?
Why or why not?
Undecided. I would probably recommend it to a visual artist b/c Shen Wei's work is quite visual and visceral.

What would you like to have seen more of? Less of?
I would like to see more interaction between the dancers and less deadpanned faces.

If you could, what would you ask the choreographer / dancers?
What do you envision in terms of the development of this piece? What would you like to achieve with this piece?