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This is my fourth year attending the Philly Fringe, now billed as the Philly Fringe and Live Arts Festival. Basically a distinction made between hosted shows and those that are self-produced. The line up of performers and artists for both venues is almost overwhelming - dance, music, and theater and boundaries in each of the works that are normally impossible to find.
Many of the performances are very polished with well-established companies that have chosen to explore new mediums or present entirely new works. Then there is a wide array of new artists trying to be seen and hopefully establish a following. And then once in a while, there are those little surprises…
Convinced by a overly enthusiastic producer’s email campaign, I decided to check out a new work entitled “Illuminescence” by a new dance company called Music & Motion. With my arrival at the box office at International House in University City was an encounter with a mannequin model covered in a yellow glowing material that led the way into the theater - definitely a novel approach to advertising versus the standard fringe sandwich boards marking venues.
As the dancers entered for their first number, an interactive piece with a sculpture by artist Robert Woodward, better known as Peanutbutter, one can not help noticing the age of this group. This is perhaps the youngest troupe of Fringe performers with ages varying from 14 to 20 years. And yet they took command of the stage and the audience right from the start with a whirlwind of movement, techno music and glowing costumes lead by Andrea Piovane, sixteen years of age, who was revealed from the rolling centerpiece of this lit glass and metal sculpture.
Not sure what to expect, I quickly perused my program to learn that this troupe of dancers were teens that had come together from community based programs run at Springfield, Oxford Valley and Montgomery Malls. They had worked together to design costumes, select music, choreograph and rehearse for the Fringe. Some of them had extensive dance backgrounds at local dance schools and others had no prior training or performance experience.
As fog filled the stage, the second number began and was a delightful interpretation of the music done in a mixture of ballet and lyrical dance combined with the eerie vocals of sixteen year old Maria Grinneby. She had apparently written the lyrics and created her own arrangement for this piece. Ms Grinneby, for one so young, has a striking stage presence and a vocal style that is sure to propel her career.
Other notable pieces were Solaris, a duo with senior dancers Mandy Hartzell and Kate Lubenetski, a dance acrobatic number done with a large clear globe. Here again, a very sophisticated interpretation of the music and delightful choreography.
White Lights showed some of the strength of this company with dancers Jeff Sykes and Kristen Konski who had the audience clapping with excitement with a lengthy series of intricate turns and lifts and choreography that mixed hip hop with ballet and modern overtones.
But my favorite piece was the finale with the whole company, which had been split in to two basic groups – lyrical and hip-hop. Each came on separately marked by rapid lighting changes. And then finally combined with a intricate weave of both styles of dance. As a dance critic for ten years, I sat in the audience realizing that I could easily comment on technique and a variety of minor issues with the production. But what I got from this group as they came together in that final number was a sense of heart and spirit that I had not seen for sometime in professional productions. This youthful group of teens reminded me of what dance is truly about…a celebration of our own kindred spirits.
Final performance by Music & Motion of Illuminescence on September 14th at the International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $15. Philadelphia Fringe Box Office 215-413-1318 or www.pafringe.org
---Dee Schmidt, Freelance Journalist
dee.schmidt@gmail.com
Many of the performances are very polished with well-established companies that have chosen to explore new mediums or present entirely new works. Then there is a wide array of new artists trying to be seen and hopefully establish a following. And then once in a while, there are those little surprises…
Convinced by a overly enthusiastic producer’s email campaign, I decided to check out a new work entitled “Illuminescence” by a new dance company called Music & Motion. With my arrival at the box office at International House in University City was an encounter with a mannequin model covered in a yellow glowing material that led the way into the theater - definitely a novel approach to advertising versus the standard fringe sandwich boards marking venues.
As the dancers entered for their first number, an interactive piece with a sculpture by artist Robert Woodward, better known as Peanutbutter, one can not help noticing the age of this group. This is perhaps the youngest troupe of Fringe performers with ages varying from 14 to 20 years. And yet they took command of the stage and the audience right from the start with a whirlwind of movement, techno music and glowing costumes lead by Andrea Piovane, sixteen years of age, who was revealed from the rolling centerpiece of this lit glass and metal sculpture.
Not sure what to expect, I quickly perused my program to learn that this troupe of dancers were teens that had come together from community based programs run at Springfield, Oxford Valley and Montgomery Malls. They had worked together to design costumes, select music, choreograph and rehearse for the Fringe. Some of them had extensive dance backgrounds at local dance schools and others had no prior training or performance experience.
As fog filled the stage, the second number began and was a delightful interpretation of the music done in a mixture of ballet and lyrical dance combined with the eerie vocals of sixteen year old Maria Grinneby. She had apparently written the lyrics and created her own arrangement for this piece. Ms Grinneby, for one so young, has a striking stage presence and a vocal style that is sure to propel her career.
Other notable pieces were Solaris, a duo with senior dancers Mandy Hartzell and Kate Lubenetski, a dance acrobatic number done with a large clear globe. Here again, a very sophisticated interpretation of the music and delightful choreography.
White Lights showed some of the strength of this company with dancers Jeff Sykes and Kristen Konski who had the audience clapping with excitement with a lengthy series of intricate turns and lifts and choreography that mixed hip hop with ballet and modern overtones.
But my favorite piece was the finale with the whole company, which had been split in to two basic groups – lyrical and hip-hop. Each came on separately marked by rapid lighting changes. And then finally combined with a intricate weave of both styles of dance. As a dance critic for ten years, I sat in the audience realizing that I could easily comment on technique and a variety of minor issues with the production. But what I got from this group as they came together in that final number was a sense of heart and spirit that I had not seen for sometime in professional productions. This youthful group of teens reminded me of what dance is truly about…a celebration of our own kindred spirits.
Final performance by Music & Motion of Illuminescence on September 14th at the International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $15. Philadelphia Fringe Box Office 215-413-1318 or www.pafringe.org
---Dee Schmidt, Freelance Journalist
dee.schmidt@gmail.com
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