One Good Quote: Nevertheless, with ka·nei·see | collective and Cat Call Choir (March 2019)

March 9, 2019

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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 experienced ka·nei·see | collective and Cat Call Choir in Nevertheless at Z Space in San Francisco March 7-10, 2019, please take a few minutes 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."

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2 responses to “One Good Quote: Nevertheless, with ka·nei·see | collective and Cat Call Choir (March 2019)”

Jill Randall

Mar 9, 2019 at 8:06 am

I feel very full after last night’s performance of Nevertheless. First, I want to thank the whole team. Tanya and Heather – thank you for your commitment to sharing the work a second round in SF. Thank you for expanding the cast, expanding upon the ideas, and deepening the story. Thank you to the incredible cast of dancers and singers. The full stage of performers was integral to the impact of the message.
It is always a special privilege to get to experience a work of art for a second time. Knowing ahead of time that there would be humor as well as some very explicit images and language, I felt prepared and ready to see and feel the journey of Nevertheless.
There is so much I could say about the work, but let me stick with some of the main feelings I have at this very moment 12 hours after seeing the show.
The unapologetic confidence of the performers gives me confidence and power in my own life – towards true ownership of my body, my words, and speaking up.
The 7 dancers’ endurance, and management of the exhaustion of the doing of the performance, was the perfect metaphor for working through and tackling harassment. We can persist. We can write a new chapter.
The “It’s All in Your Head” section with the Cat Call Choir was one of the most punctuated moments for me in the show – the song, the gestures, and the number of bodies conveying the idea. Whoa.
I keep coming back to the words “expanding,” “expansive,” and “deepening.” I felt the roots of the work dig down one year later with all of the layers – the performance of the choreography, the actual choreography, the weaving of song and dance. I felt like each part/element of the production was assessed and retooled this round. It became whole.
Tanya’s craft is amazing. Big, bold brushstrokes of movement fully fulfilled by stellar, technical dancers. Power, presence, statement. Movement to tell THIS story, not just pretty movement. Movement to move THIS story forward.
Thank you.
Jill Randall
Artistic Director, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center
Blog Director, Life as a Modern Dancer

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Ashlyn Hall

Mar 13, 2019 at 9:44 am

Brava to ka·nei·see \ collective and Cat Call Choir for producing a truly powerful, multi-disciplinary and sensory experience. So honored to have spent #internationalwomensday supporting art that delves deeply into the feminine experience and its relationship with the destructive effects of male entitlement. I saw myself in the “tamer” parts and victims I know in the more harrowing stories…. I laughed, guffawed, hurt and mourned.
I wondered how we can demand that perpetrators see themselves in art like this. How we can shift some of the burden from ourselves and collaborate with male allies to make sure we’re not just preaching to the choir (no pun intended).
Love to all the courageous people who made this show happen!

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