Audience Reviews

AUDIENCE REVIEW: The Beat Festival 2013

Company:
The Beat Festival 2013

Performance Date:
09/12/2013

Company / Show / Event
The Beat Festival 2013

Performance Date
09/12/2013

Venue / Location
The Brooklyn Museum

A bit about you:
(your occupation, your website, etc.)
Undergraduate Student, Dancer, and Intern for The Dance Enthusiast

What was the last time you moved your body?
Yesterday

Why did you go to the show? What did you expect to see?
I attended the show with fellow students as part of a required performance viewing. I did not have any particular expectations, but was curious as to how the artists would utilize the museum space.

Above Photo Taken by: Gianna Mercandetti- Dance Enthusiast Intern for the Fall...

What was your favorite moment(s)? What inspired you?
 -the lightning that happened to accompany Yanira Castro's piece
-the moment in TRP's work where the performer lightly brushed the feet of seated audience members
-sitting in the Beaux-Arts Court, feeling the space, and watching it being used by the dancers

Describe as plainly and specifically as you can what actually happened during this performance.
We are looking for non-judgmental reporting. No need for complete sentences. Phrases and word lists are fine. YOU CAN DESCRIBE : the artists, their activities, the movement, the qualities of movement, the music, the use of time, the use of space OR anything else you observed.
 The performance ran from 7pm to around 9, and within that time frame, guests were encouraged to roam about the museum and find the artists as they went. It was something like a treasure hunt. 

My journey began in the entrance area to the museum with a throng of people watching Yanira Castro's work. A solo dancer was elevated on a rectangular stage that had column-like lighting fixtures at each corner. She executed angular, sometimes quirky movements within the space, occasionally glancing at an audience member. The piece had a bound quality to it, which was evident in the way the dancer was executing movement. This was punctuated with moments of intense stillness in which she stood, staring directly into a shaft of light. An interesting sidebar: as this piece was going on, a thunderstorm was raging outside, and because the area mainly consisted of glass windows, the brilliance of the lighting outside was a special addition. 

The remainder of the evening was spent traipsing about the museum, and I discovered work by Third Rail Projects (an enthralling solo utilizing the area of a rectangular carpet -- the section I observed consisted mostly of luxurious floorwork), LeeSaar (unfortunately I only caught the end of this piece, a group work done in the expansive Beaux-Arts Court), and Storyboard P (also done in the Beaux-Arts Court; the two performers were very talented, I only wish we had been in closer proximity. The audience was seated around the perimeter of the vast space, and the movements were executed in the very center; however, the minutia in the movement was lost because of the distance). 

Would you like to see this performance / company again?
Would you recommend it to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes to both. I enjoyed being a part of this type of performance, both in its nature (of roaming and discovering) and its venue. I was also intrigued with some of the artists' work, and am hoping to see their future endeavors, particularly LeeSaar and Third Rail Projects.