Larry Keigwin’s “Elements” (Dancer Magazine)

by Mary Staub — Aug 29, 2008

In Larry Keigwin’s newest work, “Elements,” inspired by the elements of nature, cabaret and concert dance coexist. Keigwin + Company performed this four-suite work – comprising “Fire,” “Water,” “Earth” and “Air” – in their Joyce Theater debut this July. In numerous short vaudevillian vignettes, Keigwin brings comedic lightness to the proscenium stage and sets seemingly frivolous, entertaining acts to a broad range of music: from Mozart, to Cole Porter, to Philip Glass, to Patsy Cline singing “Crazy.”

Throughout “Water” – encompassing “Shower,” “Sea,” “Spa” and “Splash” – carefree characters strut or dance around in white towel cover-ups as they alternate between camp comedy skits and synchronized, demanding, lyrical movement sequences more typical of the theatre dance stage.

In a spoof on spas, a male spa-goer (Alexander Gish), his hair wrapped high in a turban-shaped towel, repeatedly shoots his arm out to demand a bottle of water from the spa attendant offstage. Gish poses effeminately, throws his head back with revelry and guzzles with glee. The scenario repeats itself again and again to the syrupy voice of Marcela Cortes Galvan singing “Que Será de Mí.” After emptying his last bottle, Gish eventually prances off stage in high-heeled shoes.

At the Joyce, a man in high heels is still enough to keep many spectators entertained and elicits audible laughter. But Keigwin is not completely clear in what he’s trying to convey. Is this buffoonery a mockery of our indulgent cultural habits (spas) or criticism of our culture’s consumption (bottled water) or even a protestation against the seriousness that modern dance often sets forth.

Is Keigwin just playing with props, or making a point?

“Fire” and “Earth” are less direct in their interpretation of the elements. “Fire” takes the quality of burning into the human realm. Egos burn for attention as three dancers inspect themselves in an invisible mirror. Or, a diva desperately runs to display herself in an ever-shifting spotlight. Or as Samuel Roberts gives a comical, yet impressive, rendition of a dainty hip-hop dance to “Walk It Out,” he becomes a heartthrob flame.

“Earth” is also trod upon lightly by varying forms of lizards as they creep across Astroturf in “Gecko,” “Chameleon,” “Dragon” and “Iguana.” Keigwin is known for creating entertaining and engaging dances that often mix the highbrow and the lowbrow, the intellectual and the popular, the professional and the amateur, and “Elements” leans strongly on the side of levity.

During the “Fly” section of “Air,” pilots and stewardesses with carry-on suitcases hurry to catch their planes, jovially wave one another good-bye, give a harmonized version the life vest routine (well-known to any air-traveler), and frequently break into more abstract choreography of triple turns to arabesque extensions. The company dances exceptionally, both technically and theatrically. Set to Jim Webb’s “Up, Up and Away,” “Fly” has to be performed with convincing cheeriness, and Keigwin’s dancers, which include Keigwin, manage to do so without neglecting skill.

“Wind,” the final vignette of the final suite, at first seems to leave humor behind, not an unwelcome move after a night filled with frivolity. The dancers ebb and flow through space with a texture that effectively mirrors Philip Glass’s “Channels and Winds.” They hypnotize through sound and movement. As the pitch and intensity of the music increase, the multitude grows; as they decrease, space gets more room. The movement creates an invisible wind that can nearly be seen. Keigwin almost bursts his own bubble, though, when he finishes with yet another bit of playfulness and drops about 40 bright pink balloons from the sky.

Keigwin clearly knows how to entertain. He also knows how to create visually and musically hypnotizing worlds. When combined with care, these two facets effectively enhance one another.