Not Quite, But on the Way
"Impact"
Kristin Damrow & Company
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Forum
San Francisco, CA
January 31, 2019
Every once in a while a piece of information pops up in my computer that intrigues more than others. Such was the case when the Kristin Damrow & Company announced the premiere of “Impact,” at Yerba Buena Center’s Forum, a large non-proscenium space that has challenged many a choreographer. Brutalist architecture, apparently, influenced this piece by an artist unknown to me. Since we live with some prominent examples of these accumulations of stressed concrete—a cathedral, museums, hotels and a jail—the idea of pitting the human body against such monolithic strength sounded promising. Even though Damrow’s work was not completely successful, it showcased a choreographer with a fine sense of spatial deployment. It also impressed with the evident care and competence that went into the design of Damrow’s concept. It made me want to see where else this company is going.
Damrow pitted the five soloists against an ensemble that, I suppose, meant to suggest the power and domineering presence of this mid-twentieth century structures. The ten dancers did offer space and confinement to the soloists but mostly their effectiveness was conceptual rather than kinetic. They invariably moved in unison, with disciplined formations in parallels, serpentines and double lines, perhaps packing into a pile up or even a rugby’s “rug”. They ran, they walked, they split up but rarely, if ever did, they suggest raw power. Unisons can be so powerful, these were not.
The soloists’ choreography offered Damrow an opportunity to feature her dancers’ individuality. She also sent all of them against the ensemble but not to much expressive effect. Anna Greenberg’s speed, whipping turns and floor-embracing cambrés stood out. She looked like a ballet dancer having found her way into an alien environment from which she needed to escape. Hien Huynh, a man who embraces the air with high splits as if the floor beneath him was on fire, shone in an egalitarian duet with Greenberg. Heather Arnett just about evoked tornadoes while Allegra Bautista’s contained strength seemed ready to attack any opposition. Shareen DeRyan completed the quintet.
Damrow chose good collaborators. Aaron M. Gold’s intricate electronic score was full of ethereal elements but also concrete sounds patched together to the point where they just demanded their own attention. Alice Malia designed a huge piece of airborne sculpture some of which reminiscent of the much admired/hated Brutalist Vaillancourt Fountain in downtown San Francisco. Hanging as did, it looked as if about to drop on everybody. Allen Willner had signed for Lighting—excellent as usual from this artist.
copyright © Rita Felciano 2019
