One Good Quote: Katie Faulkner’s little seismic dance company in Divining

Photo: Stephen Texeira

In Fall 2017, Life as a Modern Dancer launched a new concept for post-performance discussion and writing. The goals are multi-fold:

What are new ways to invite post-performance writing (since so few publications now print dance reviews, and there are fewer and fewer dance critics in the United States)?
How can choreographers hear and read more from audience members about their impressions and experiences of dance events?
Can we offer new mechanisms for choreographers to gather language about their work, to further their work and to promote their work?

The premise is simple. If you attended Katie Faulkner's little seismic dance company in Divining at the ODC Theater in San Francisco February 14-16, 2019, please take a few minutes here to leave a comment. Write down images, impressions, appreciations, and questions from the performance. These can be words, phrases, or a few sentences.

We thank you for your time, support, and thoughtfulness. Here's to more dialogue, more reflection, and more writing on the dance performance experience. As choreographer Mariah Steele noted, we are "democratizing dance criticism."

————

16 responses to “One Good Quote: Katie Faulkner’s little seismic dance company in Divining”

Jill Randall

Feb 17, 2019 at 8:06 am

Lots of thoughts and images after seeing last night’s performance. First, I want to start with gratitude. Thank you to Katie for her vision, her craft, her new work. Thank you to the quartet of dancers for their incredible commitment through and through. Thank you to composer Ben Juordvalkis for a textured and intriguing soundscore and to lighting designer Allen Willner for leading us on a journey.
Watching the show last night brought me back to many of Katie’s past performances and memories I have – her solo at Counterpulse with the inky film behind her. Janet Collard’s solo about a decade ago with a skirt made of film strips and a light bulb. Katie’s piece Decorum. Katie and Private dancing together. Varied pieces and varied journeys.
Last night in Divining, I experienced the cast sensing, feeling, searching, and hoping for understanding, grace, and relief from our current lives and states of being. And while not religious myself, I very much could relate to wanting these things in my life and for some reprieve. Most of all grace and forgiveness. How can movement be the conduit for forgiveness? Thank you for leading me to this super big, new thought for myself.
I of course want to comment about the dancing and choreography as well. Words coming to mind include: shaking, writhing, looking, searching, twisting, reaching, shaping, bouncing. Even listing these words brings back the generative tension I felt in the piece. I especially enjoyed that very complicated final unison phrase on the floor – twisting, balancing, lifting, hoping.
Thank you, Katie.
-Jill Randall
Artistic Director, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center
Blog Director, Life as a Modern Dancer

LikeLike

Reply
SanSan Kwan

Feb 17, 2019 at 4:10 pm

I often think pieces could use editing! For Divining, however, somehow it was easy to submit to the journey. Each section took its time, but there was an organic logic to the subtle patterning and the intricate development, so I found myself trusting the unfolding. What a gift!

LikeLike

Reply
Mollie McFarland

Feb 18, 2019 at 9:47 am

Katie, it was an epic work. So many favorite moments…the slurping up off the ground the remnants of what it feels to be connected to nature and grounded in what’s real and important being just one of the many. The hysteric hopeless laughter, the manic attempt to put things in order and go on. The exhaustion of keeping hope for something better. All said through this work. Just wow!

LikeLike

Reply
Aileen Kim

Feb 18, 2019 at 10:46 pm

The work was mesmerizing. The dancers seemed to slide between being human and humanity. Thank you.

LikeLike

Reply
Katie Lawson-Gill

Feb 20, 2019 at 1:33 pm

I was personally moved by this piece’s use of introspection. There were lots of quick and sharp moments that used internal focus, and highlighted the mentalities and emotions of the dancers for me.

LikeLike

Reply
Wendy Perron

Feb 20, 2019 at 5:09 pm

I loved the relationships between the women, the surprising moments, and the stretches of unsurprising repetition. That open-legged crab walk was so self exposing and somehow it took courage for them to keep doing it and not just use it as punctuation. This was true of other sections that just didn’t stop. Like the laughter that was off-phasing with the soundtrack. I was so glad the laughter didn’t predictably turn to crying but turned to something else less recognizable. I wasn’t sure about the at-first alarming sound vibrations that shook our seats.

LikeLike

Reply
Aedan Richter

Feb 20, 2019 at 10:49 pm

“The deep emotional commitment the dancers had for the movement was impressive.”

LikeLike

Reply
Catalina O’Connor

Feb 20, 2019 at 10:54 pm

While Katie Faulkner’s Divining took its time to progress, it showcased profoundly beautiful moments of the human experience.

LikeLike

Reply
Natalie Greene

Feb 20, 2019 at 11:04 pm

Primal and exquisite. When it ended, I was so enchanted I didn’t want anyone to clap right away, I wanted to live in the fullness of that moment. Now, the work lingers in my thoughts, in my spirit and bones. I would love to experience it again.

LikeLike

Reply
Iris Hermosillo

Feb 20, 2019 at 11:31 pm

She aimed for the magic with her existential movement and with the slow progression, every movement contributed to the journey.

LikeLike

Reply
Garrett Hill

Feb 21, 2019 at 9:47 am

I was blown away by Divining… I think it can appeal to anyone with insecurities. I felt a strong connection between the the performers and me.

LikeLike

Reply
Dani Hebron

Feb 21, 2019 at 1:38 pm

Faulkner did an exquisite job creating an evocative piece in a tasteful manner. I appreciate her use of lighting, this brought another level to the performance as a whole.

LikeLike

Reply
Amalia Duenas

Feb 21, 2019 at 1:38 pm

Divining was an immersive experience in which I was able to see, hear, and feel Faulkner’s work through the use of emotive movement, choreographed lighting, and unique use of everyday sounds into a rhythmic song.

LikeLike

Reply
Kyara Walker

Feb 21, 2019 at 1:54 pm

The most moving scene for me was the laughing portion. The main dancer displayed so much emotion that it was easily a standout in comparison to the other parts of the piece which seemed much more one note.

LikeLike

Reply
Annie

Feb 21, 2019 at 1:59 pm

Very interesting take on the meaning of diving. True emotion was portrayed giving it a much more humanistic internal connection. The most impactful scene was when one of the dancers was laughing and this intense laughter turned into crying. Very impactful.

LikeLike

Reply
Garrett Hill

Feb 26, 2019 at 3:08 pm

I was blown away by Divining… I think it can appeal to anyone with insecurities. I felt a strong connection between the performers and me.

LikeLike

Reply