One Good Quote: fey/done/a/weigh with the Wax Poet(s)

March 17, 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 the Wax Poet(s) in fey/done/a/weigh at ODC Theater in San Francisco March 15-16, 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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4 responses to “One Good Quote: fey/done/a/weigh with the Wax Poet(s)”

Lauren Simpson

Mar 19, 2019 at 5:50 pm

fey/done/a/weigh is sentimental but not saccharine, smart but not too clever. When artists get personal, specific, and speak from lived experience, it’s remarkable how much room there remains for the audience to see themselves in the work, too. And the musicians nailed the tone of my 80’s and 90’s childhood.

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Zackary Forcum

Mar 23, 2019 at 4:05 pm

In Fey/done/a/weigh Stockton and Grimball made deliberate choices that disrupted established paradigms, while making their performance entertaining and accessible for audiences of all backgrounds.
Wax Poet(s) assert strength through vulnerability as they generate dance that run the gamut from postmodern to tap to hip hop/street styles to Cunningham. From high energy to focused detail work, Wax Poet(s) interweaves movement styles and genres to make dance that is truly contemporary and relevant.

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Ali Maricich

Mar 25, 2019 at 10:08 am

fey/done/a/weigh with the Wax Poet(s) is all types of nostalgic, funny and brilliant! Stockton and Grimball emulate a journey very personal and intimate yet nothing confused with something so precious that it can’t be accessible. In other words, their work is humanizing. Having seen what feels like thousands of dance / performance art shows, in the bay area, Seattle, New York and London… There are only so few in which I wanted more. I was engaged every second, time traveling through nostalgia and love with the performers… I was immensely full and devastated all at once when the curtain closed, yearning to continual the journey.
PS. Smart mixed modalities of mediums are always inspiring!

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Aiano Nakagawa

Mar 27, 2019 at 9:23 am

I am so grateful that fey/done/a/weigh was created and shared with the community. As a queer, fat femme, it was beautiful to see these aspects of my identity reflected back – which is still so rare in the dance world.
fey/done/a/weigh made me nostalgic for a queer teenhood I never had – or thought I never had. Traveling back in time with Grimball and Stockton helped me recontextualize and reclaim my queer (but not out) teenhood and recall moments of my young self knowing my queerness, but only deep down.
In a time of overtly political art, this sweet, tender, vulnerable, and smart show was a breath of fresh air – deeply relevant without being contrived, obvious, or tiresome. The experience of being queer and fat and femme can be difficult but is also beautiful, joyous, and powerful (aspects we rarely see reflected out in the world). Yes, times are hard, but we also deserve moments respite and joy, and fey/done/a/weigh provided just that.
A glimpse into the heart of the people navigating this difficult world, I felt honored to be welcomed on their journey while simultaneously being invited to dig into my own.

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