Review of "A Place at the Edge of the World to Call Our Own"
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.