One Good Quote: Dance Exhibit with Lauren Simpson Dance

May 10, 2019

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Photo: Robbie Sweeny

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 Lauren Simpson Dance's Dance Exhibit at Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco May 9-18, 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: Dance Exhibit with Lauren Simpson Dance”

Megan

May 11, 2019 at 1:19 pm

I was struck by what artist Dana Hemenway called “raw material” — i.e., paint–as opposed to found material, and Lauren Simpson’s referring to dance material as what is derived from movement phrases and then manipulated. I took away from this conversation that material is something you do things to, in order to craft an idea. I became curious about the bodily materials that are also transformed in these making processes (of any kind, not just dance), and the degree to which artists reveal this in their work. For instance, bodies in Dance Exhibit move with compelling precision–they have have been crafted into a certain kind of material, with boundaries as well as flexibility, and even from the start, we can see and trust their materiality–they will remain contained within a limit, and with that limit they then can surprise us with something unexpected.

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Michelle

May 13, 2019 at 9:00 am

I keep coming back to Dance Exhibit created a level of intimacy with and between the space, dancers, art objects, sound score, and audience – – a kind elegant “fitness.” I mean to suggest that the dance articulated an aptitude of space making or carving. There was something satisfying about this aesthetic environment and movement between materials.

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Aura Fischbeck

May 20, 2019 at 10:42 pm

I really enjoyed the use of stillness, weight and space (depth especially) in this work. And the sound by shaunna sordal ( not sure if I spelled that correct) along with the rebar sounds were really satisfying!

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Katie Meyers

May 21, 2019 at 7:13 pm

Thank you to Lauren Simpson, the dancers, the space, the live sound score, and the post show discussion speaker. The dancing gave my mind room to be present, the discussion filled my mind with hearty art discussion topics to chew on. My eyes swelled with tears at some of the comments regarding abstract art. Karl Evangelista was able to articulate concepts I struggle regularly to explain myself. A voice for me, someone who often just doesn’t have the words. I left feeling empowered and proud to be in the arts and to find as much joy in abstract art as I do. The dancers were able to be more than just their physical form, the show was like watching live sculptures fool & satisfy you all at the same time. I also loved that music was improvised based off the dancer’s and not the other way around. Congratulations to all involved!

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