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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Most people think of hobbies as providing a contrast with or a break from working. Moses Pendleton takes a more holistic approach. He is the founder and artistic director of the Momix dance company and an avid gardener. In "Botanica," Pendleton has made a hybrid of two of his favorite activities -- a dance about plants.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Momix dance draws inspiration from the plant world
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Most people think of hobbies as providing a contrast with or a break from working. Moses Pendleton takes a more holistic approach. He is the founder and artistic director of the Momix dance company and an avid gardener. In "Botanica," Pendleton has made a hybrid of two of his favorite activities -- a dance about plants.
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7 comments:
I love it when a choreographer or even a designer or director can take two things they love and put it together to create something unique and different to add to our art form. Dance is so beautiful and elegant why not add plants and flowers to the show too? Not only is it a performance but educational too! You can learn about the garden where you see dance performance! This show sounds really exciting and different I wish I could go see the show. Also the show about cars sounds fun and interesting too!
The imagery here is simply gorgeous. The way the each piece of scenery or costume integrates itself into nature, either subtly or obviously, fits in so well with the dancers positions and seems to really heighten the performance. It reminds me of the Phipps project from freshman year where we designed objects based on plants. What I will say is that the piece seems to be very design heavy. I wonder if that would start to distract from the performance or not?
Taking an idea or concept and running with it to a full extreme can creature magnificent works of art. The concepts behind this piece and motivation of the actions through the choreography and designs seem very specific. There is never something on stage just to be there, it always has a reason. It would be an experience to see this piece and determine how and where the influences can from in the plant world.
The way this piece is described it seems the perfect blend of dance, design, and technology. I like that the production is all about the spectacle. It is performance in its truest form. No messages, or stories just beauty. Sometimes shows can just be about doing what you love because it is beautiful,nothing more, and that is beautiful.These are the kind of shows I love going to see. Afterwards you feel like you have witnessed something special. And you want to burn it into your mind so you don't forget a single second.
The natural inspiration that this body of work has reminds me a lot of the Body in Ten Parts show that a grad student did here last year. I feel like the two works might go well together in a juxtaposition-y kind of way: the momix work trying to take the form of a body and disguise it, transforming it with media and costumes and movement into a floral form, and the Body in 10 Parts work focusing on natural form as well, only in that case it's the human body whose shape is studied, to the extent that you can hardly tell that it is a human body anymore. I also wonder if the traditional style of ballet will be enough to distract the audience from the fact that these are not humans but flowers... I'd like to see it to see how it comes across.
Ok! This article is even more impressive than the previous one I read. I like that this writer probed more into the life of Pendleton and through the quotes and his expressions of his love for nature, especially the story about his sunflowers, you get a sense of who he is and where his heart is as a choreographer. From the pictures I think that all of the elements of dance and theatre will come complement each other together for a breath taking experience.
Everything about this piece sounds downright impressive. The creativity that went into envisioning a piece where humans portray plant life is an incredibly interesting concept. Even the image featured in the article is moving. The description which says, "When Irene starts to breathe, they all huddle to one side and play dead," is a powerful one; it sends a message about the impact of a strong natural force on smaller, more fragile ones. In a time of man made structures and technologies, it is vital to remember the beauty and grace which plant life provides. This is a major reason why this piece is an important one. If nature can become relatable, if people can be shown what it means through movement, then perhaps they will change their perception or the manner in which they treat the earth. Even if the message is not as far reaching as the directors and designers may hope it to be, I am certain those who see it will still remember it as a one of a kind theatrical experience.
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