One Good Quote: Nina Haft & Company, “The Spaces Between”

October 13, 2023

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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 live performance with Nina Haft & Company, October 14-22, 2023 at Western Sky Studio in Berkeley, 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."

2 responses to “One Good Quote: Nina Haft & Company, “The Spaces Between””

Jill Randall

Oct 14, 2023 at 7:53 pm

Thank you for a beautiful afternoon together. I keep coming back to two ideas: “sharing” and “presence.”
Sharing the space together, time together. Dancers sharing real time artmaking.

Presence. I saw this through the dancers’ faces. “I am here. I see you.” A smile offers release, a glimpse into joy.

Reaching
Touching
Gently connecting
Fluid up+down
Easeful shifting
Of levels
Of ideas
Solo
Small groups
Care-full duets
Embraced within today’s circle
of engagement.

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Rebecca Johnson

Oct 15, 2023 at 12:06 am

I was tickled by this show. The delight, curiosity, care and community that was created is a rare thing. In a world that is hard, I found what is soft, tender, and authentically alive in the dancing and moving bodies. The sound score held space and made space for the movers and audience, guiding and modeling for us to remain responsive. The stripped down honesty and the spontaneity of this happening is a truly human gift.

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