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About
PAT LAUNER
TIMES OF SAN DIEGO
6/9/15
Here’s the premise: Michael Mizerany called his evening of dance “Dancer Briefs.” He invited seven local choreographers to participate. And he asked three things of them: their piece had to be brief (6-8 minutes); it had to include the wearing of undergarments; and something had to be revealed: physical, psychological or emotional.
The participants rose to the challenge, and the result is a delightful hour of eight short dance performances, spanning a range of genres, from modern to tap to hip hop, balletic to acrobatic. Woven into the choreography is drama and comedy, whimsy and sexuality.
One of the evening’s highlights is Mizerany’s stunning “Via Dolorosa” (commissioned by Diversionary Theatre) featuring the spectacular moves of the lithe, rippled, riveting Chad Ortiz. This dance of suffering and supplication, bearing a heavy burden and ending in crucifixion, is magnificent and heart-rending.
Ortiz, a virtuosic performer, also choreographed a solo for himself, the premiere “Is This What You Want?,” a melancholy piece about a pre-performance drag queen, in runny mascara and gender-concealing underclothes, contemplating life choices.
“Game On” is a clever tap competition between two ace tapper/choreographers, Sidney Franklin and Katie Amarillas. The ‘game’ could be called ‘Strip Tap.’ In this Anything-You-Can-Do rivalry, an error or misstep results in the loss of an item of clothing. The buildup is slow and somewhat repetitive. It isn’t until the dancers are down to their undies that the real, showy tap happens.
Anne Gehman’s “Left Eye, Right ‘I’” is a clever pas de deux, with rubbery Sandra Ruiz and Jaime Nixon intertwining and undulating in a heavy-breathing sexual entanglement.
Lara Segura’s premiere, “It’s Always the Quiet Ones,” is a sexual fantasy. Segura starts in puppy-dog PJs and ends in black lace, with a whip. It’s all set to apt music (Tori Amos’ “Leather” and “Amy Amy Amy” by Amy Winehouse).
Erick Costell and Travis Ti are literally jaw-dropping in their co-created premiere, “Marqué,” all about acceptance. Two peacoat-clad men (sans pants) meet on a subway. One has GAY scrawled on his chest; the other, STRAIGHT. Their mesmerizing, gravity-defying acrobatic moves (what they call ‘acra-adagio’) repeatedly garnered stupefied applause. Moment after moment, move after move, you can’t help wondering ‘How do they do that?’ (balance on each other’s calf or thigh or support both bodies on one hand). Nothing short of amazing, a dazzling amalgamation of modern dance and circus arts – with a message.
The hip hop number “Disclosure” (a premiere by choreographed by grace shinhae jun), isn’t quite up to the quality of the other pieces both in conception and execution.
The final contribution is another premiere, “Tous les Memes,” choreographed by Bradley R. Lundberg and danced (wonderfully) by Erica Ruse and Justin Viernes. Here, a couple, accompanied by sultry French songs, come together and move apart, sharing a hat, a vest, and maybe an identity. The stylized hand movements are especially compelling. This pairing is superb: two fun-to-watch, agile, expert dancers in a push me/pull you relationship.
If you’re a dance lover, you’ll undoubtedly find something to love. Once again, Mizerany proves himself to be as adept as a producer as a dancer and choreographer.
“DANCER BRIEFS” runs through 6/14 at ion’s BLKBOX Theatre, 3704 6th Ave., Hillcrest
Performances are Thursday -Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm and 5pm.
Tickets ($20-$25) are available at
Running time: 1 hr. 45 min., without intermission
©2015 PAT LAUNER
