One Good Quote: Nina Haft & Company in Precarious Pod

Photo: Ebbe Sweet

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 Nina Haft & Company's production of Precarious Pod at the Joe Goode Annex (November 15-24, 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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7 responses to “One Good Quote: Nina Haft & Company in Precarious Pod”

Rebecca Johnson

Nov 15, 2019 at 8:29 pm

In Precarious Pod Nina and the dancers show us that true movement invention isn’t about being crafty or generating something no one has ever seen. Instead it’s about listening deeply to the body and revealing what is fresh about the movement. What is truly inventive is what is revealed in addition to what is crafted. Thank you!

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Deborah Howard-Page

Nov 21, 2019 at 11:42 am

In their performances of Precarious Pod, Nina Otis Haft and dancers offer a refreshing, genuine sincerity through movement and multi media exploration. I found Nina’s brief talk beforehand to be helpful and informative. The contributions of the various designers and their media rounded out the entire experience. Audience members were invited to be more than viewers; we could be (and I felt) elevated.
I feel artists doing this kind of work deserve our attention and support–perhaps now more than ever.

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Cathy Davalos

Nov 23, 2019 at 11:59 am

I thought Precarious Pod was an amazing experience. It was immersive and inclusive and was a call to action about the environment, our responsibility as humans on this planet, and how to care for it, each other, and other species. The dancers were each exquisite and the movement invention was remarkable. Nina Haft is a talent beyond measure and we are lucky to have her in the Bay Area.

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Jill Randall

Nov 24, 2019 at 8:07 am

I got to experience Precarious Pod on Friday, November 22nd. Thank you for inviting me in to see, feel, and consider this huge topic of animals, extinction, instinct, and co-existence.
Nina’s opening speech in the lobby set the stage perfectly for me. She is so articulate and welcoming.
I loved walking into the space and diving in to sounds, film, and movement. I loved that we could walk around and experience first, before sitting down.
I tried to take in each section – Crows, Wolves, and Vaquita – like a wind passing through. I wanted to experience and allow how each section unfolded for me. I wanted to see and feel and think.
I found that my mind went back and forth a lot between simply experiencing the movement on its own (partnering, rolling, passing, running, gestures, etc) to then having an internal conversation about the choreography and the overarching topic. I really loved doing this toggling back and forth.
The last section really brought it home for me. Mallory Markham’s solo encapsulated the whole concept for me – the idea of this elegant, thriving creature, but so alone and isolated. The metaphor, and the call to action right here….how can we stop this isolation? Even in our urban lives, how can we see and embrace this interconnection of animals and humans? (I am about to start reading Unseen City by Nathanael Johnson…)
Thank you to Nina for this experience and to all of her wonderful collaborators.

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Michelle LaVigne

Nov 25, 2019 at 9:55 pm

I enjoyed the play between sound, visual, and kinesthetic fields; the space was transformed through all these senses. I could almost smell the earth. I appreciated that Haft is making dances that I can bring my 7-yr old to.

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Peter

Nov 27, 2019 at 7:40 pm

Nina Haft & Co.’s evocative piece is mesmerizing to watch and listen to even without her pre-performance introduction – but with that helpful contextualization, the piece takes on very meaningful additional dimensions. It invokes and responds to environmental issues such as habitat disappearance and biological fragility, without being imitative or heavy-handed. The performance remained clearly a dance piece first – not an advocacy statement – but one that was in dialogue with issues outside the studio. I

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Cynthia Winton-Henry

Nov 28, 2019 at 8:18 am

https://sogoreate-landtrust.com/
Hello Nina and dance company. the dances were a portal, another initiation into the deeper wisdom. Thank you for
Listening and embodying the animal ways so truly! Tom have met the sunrise leaders right after opened my imagination to more practical ways to be of service! May hope grow!

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