The opening night performance of ODC's State of Play contemporary dance festival featured three distinct performances in different stages of development. As expected for a festival debuting new works and works in progress, the pieces varied in quality and mood.
The festival, which took place Aug. 27-30, was a four-day celebration of risk and creativity in contemporary dance centered around the theme of "play." Beyond the inherent playfulness of staging new works, it was unclear how "play" figured into the choreographic choices of the pieces.
Thematic confusion aside, each piece explored a unique concept or feeling.
Laila J. Franklin's BABYBABYBABY, an evening-length piece, stole the show. This Boston-based multidisciplinary artist brought an exuberant ensemble piece to the festival and lifted the mood of the entire evening.
BABYBABYBABY explores the idea of love in ways hilarious, heartfelt, and wholly unexpected. A highly synchronized ensemble forms the backbone; on Thursday night they spoke in unison to the audience, then broke into a series of duets, solos, and group pieces that touched on a range of experiences, from kitchen compost arguments and the joy of falling in love, to the anguish of loneliness.
Bright-colored costumes made the piece pop even further, and the gorgeous a cappella vocals of the ensemble added extra surprise to an already dynamic piece. Laila Franklin's solo dance and song deserves a special acknowledgment. Her dancing would've been captivating enough on its own, but the addition of her stunning voice elevated the piece to another level.
The subtle inclusivity of BABYBABYBABY also merits a mention. All of the couples begin in LGBTQ partnerships, and clumps of dancers at the opening and closing of the piece hint at a communal love beyond each couple. It was a refreshing portrayal of the many forms love takes, and it never felt forced or performative.
The opening piece of the evening, Nervous by Dragons Dance/Erin Yen, featured an appropriately frenetic series of vignettes. Thumping music provides the backdrop for this lively journey through the activated state of the human nervous system. Quick gestural movements and recurring moments of ensemble discord evoke a tense feeling that resolves briefly at the end as the ensemble appears to fall asleep onstage, only to be jolted awake by a sudden alarm clock!
A fun "pass-the-ball" motif did hint at the spirit of play: the dancers transfigured an imaginary ball from one shape to another as they passed it from one person to the next. These recurring moments had the added benefit of easing an otherwise tense atmosphere.
Consistent with the theme of the piece, the music for Nervous blasted at an upsetting volume. ODC provided earplugs that offered respite, but one wonders if the music could've provoked the same feeling at a lower volume. The screeching, percussive baseline of the songs was already quite propulsive.
Johnny Huy Nguyen's Burn explores the idea of fire in a variety of contexts, including the Native American practice of controlled burns, the suicide of anti-war activists, the use of bombs in the Vietnam war, and the personal burns the artist has weathered in his life. Though Huy Nguyen's dancing was physically impressive, replete with headstands and other feats of endurance, the piece as a whole felt disjointed.
This year's State of Play Festival marks the fifth annual return of the event. It furthers the tradition of experimentation and creativity at ODC, a company known for its dedication to the creative process.
