Ivy Boudreau

Ivy Boudreau April 2015 REVIEW OF “A PLACE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD TO CALL OUR OWN” Michael Estanich’s work, “A Place at the Edge of the World to Call Our Own”, resonated with me deeply on several levels. Despite the fact that more than one dancer was on the stage, the piece began in a moment of great sensitivity with the image of a solitary figure in a field of lavender, which was strengthened and supported by the presence of actual boxes of lavender that scented the room and established a feeling of tranquility. This motif reappeared throughout the dance, and to me, it represented an idea of reconnecting with yourself through spending time in alone in nature. I was able to connect strongly with this idea since I’ve often dealt with stress in my own life by similar means. The structure of this piece was very unique as it relied on a lot of spoken word, both as a soundscape for the choreography and as way to present new ideas and sections of the piece. This was fascinating to experience as the movement so strongly supported the concepts introduced by the words, and it produced a strong emotional reaction in me. One section in which I particularly noticed this was “I saw a tree I hadn’t seen in a long time”. The arrangement of the dancers - paired up in two rows - with the final dancer/speaker moving among them spoke to me of the passage of time. Each dancer was completely invested in the world inhabited by their partner and themselves, just as the two lovers in the spoken word were described. This presence of spoken word and real, strongly scented lavender made the piece a sensitive, multi-layered experience that incorporated all the senses and ways of perception. I felt that I could connect even more strongly on a kinesthetic level when all my senses were so closely engaged, and even though words were spoken, I didn’t feel forced into one particular vision of the meaning of the dance. On the contrary, the abundance of sensory input beyond the visual and kinesthetic enabled me to more fully enter into the world of the piece and let it speak to me and my own experiences through its own version of reality. Another moment of great emotion was the use of intricate partnering and weight sharing. For me, one of the strongest messages of the piece was the idea that even though we are all interconnected, we are all still alone, and, perhaps counter-intuitively, the partnering supported this idea in my mind. People would be so beautifully, intimately, fluidly connected, and then suddenly the connection would break and one person or more would be left alone once again. This motif appeared throughout the sections and it was interesting to see the different meanings it could take. Michael Estanich’s work, “A Place at the Edge of the World to Call Our Own”, resonated with me deeply on several levels. Despite the fact that more than one dancer was on the stage, the piece began in a moment of great sensitivity with the image of a solitary figure in a field of lavender, which was strengthened and supported by the presence of actual boxes of lavender that scented the room and established a feeling of tranquility. This motif reappeared throughout the dance, and to me, it represented an idea of reconnecting with yourself through spending time in alone in nature. I was able to connect strongly with this idea since I’ve often dealt with stress in my own life by similar means. The structure of this piece was very unique as it relied on a lot of spoken word, both as a soundscape for the choreography and as way to present new ideas and sections of the piece. This was fascinating to experience as the movement so strongly supported the concepts introduced by the words, and it produced a strong emotional reaction in me. One section in which I particularly noticed this was “I saw a tree I hadn’t seen in a long time”. The arrangement of the dancers - paired up in two rows - with the final dancer/speaker moving among them spoke to me of the passage of time. Each dancer was completely invested in the world inhabited by their partner and themselves, just as the two lovers in the spoken word were described. This presence of spoken word and real, strongly scented lavender made the piece a sensitive, multi-layered experience that incorporated all the senses and ways of perception. I felt that I could connect even more strongly on a kinesthetic level when all my senses were so closely engaged, and even though words were spoken, I didn’t feel forced into one particular vision of the meaning of the dance. On the contrary, the abundance of sensory input beyond the visual and kinesthetic enabled me to more fully enter into the world of the piece and let it speak to me and my own experiences through its own version of reality. Another moment of great emotion was the use of intricate partnering and weight sharing. For me, one of the strongest messages of the piece was the idea that even though we are all interconnected, we are all still alone, and, perhaps counter-intuitively, the partnering supported this idea in my mind. People would be so beautifully, intimately, fluidly connected, and then suddenly the connection would break and one person or more would be left alone once again. This motif appeared throughout the sections and it was interesting to see the different meanings it could take. Motifs could be found throughout the work, and I found it fascinating to see the different ways the same gesture can be understood depending on the context. It was also interesting to observe the use of space, particularly since this concert was performed in a space that had the audience seated on three sides. The ideas of closeness and distance were not always represented by how close the dancers were to the audience, but on their proximity to one another. These concepts, expressed through subtle but sensory means, created a strong and expansive choreographic that remained in my thoughts for months later.