sept 26, 2014: “diaghilesque” (part of fringe fest at geva theatre) showcases gems of diaghilev’s ballet russe by giving them a post modern/burlesque treatment. i have to think more on my reaction to the show. yes, there were completely naked dancers, lots of uncensored vulgar sex talk, transgenderism, and some beautiful ballet, but i’m not sure it made a long-lasting impression on me. it did make me think about nakedness, the human body, art and eroticism but when it comes to evaluating the show itself i think i lean more towards gimmicky rather than high art. maybe high art is not even what ny-based kinetic architecture dance theatre is going for. it’s definitely fringe. my favorite piece was scheherazade in which the female dancers were clothed in glittery, extremely sheer fabric. it made them look ethereal. it was the first time i noticed their faces. they danced most beautifully.
From the Democrat & Chronicle: In the early 20th century, there was no figure more influential in the world of dance than the legendary impresario Sergei Diaghilev, whose company Ballets Russes set the tone of modern dance for years to come with works choreographed by such artists as Michel Fokine and Vaslav Nijinsky, with original music by the likes of Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky and others.
On Thursday, September 25, transgender dancer and choreographer Arrie Fae Davidson led her small troupe of dancers comprising the KineticArchitecture Dance Theatre in Diaghilesque, a 21st-century recontextualization of these seminal and storied ballets in the second of a four-night run at Geva Theatre as part of the 2014 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival.
This reimagining by Davidson–who is sometimes referred to as Faux Pas le Fae–features a veritable mélange of styles in which classical ballet technique and abstract contemporary movement commingle together with the twin spirits of burlesque and performance art. At the outset, six dancers converged on the stage wearing nothing but white, button-down dress shirts and black masks with protruding beaks, à la Pulcinella of commedia dell’arte lore. Davidson then proceeded to welcome the audience–“ladies and gentlemen in all manners of gender”–briefly cataloging the variations of nudity one could expect during the dance vignettes that were to follow.
And while the pervading mood of the evening was one of mischievous play–a tongue-in-cheek ode of optimism to self-expression and liberated sexual and gender identities–it was always grounded in the experiential knowledge that such freedom often comes only after intense struggle.
This was especially apparent during Davidson’s own solo interpretation of “The Dying Swan,” a role originally created for and performed by Ballets Russes dancer Anna Pavlova. Davidson prefaced this melancholic yet triumphant performance with a moving testimonial detailing times in which her transgender identity was met with opposition from societal conventions and people espousing “gender norms.” For the artist, these moments of harsh reality were analogous to dying, but it seemed that the dance itself signaled a kind of rebirth.
Later on in the evening, two topless “Firebirds” engaged in a sensual pas de deux, initially accompanied by Stravinsky’s original ballet score before accumulating sound clips of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” and other ubiquitous pop culture references piled on top of one another with a cacophony that was made all the more poignant in contrast to the intimate dance combining softness, strength, and emotional chemistry. In this selection, as well as in the company’s truncated version of “The Rite of Spring,” music editor Mark Schaffer’s keen ear for compelling mashups played a significant role in the communicative power of the dance.
Taking liberties with Fokine’s ballet Les Syphides, in which a poet encounters ethereal spirits of the air known as sylphs, Davidson and company presented a satirical yet serious-minded pantomime depicting an unhealthy sexual relationship characterized by deceit and abuse, of which the emotional and psychological aftermath was articulated beautifully in a solo by dancer Koryn Wicks.
As mentioned in the festival’s promotional materials, due to the performance’s consistent rejection of clothing and its frank handling of the subject matter, Diaghilesque is only suitable for mature festival-goers. That said, it is important to note that KinectArchitecture succeeds in making the nudity less about titillation and much more about establishing a clear conduit between body and emotion. It was as if the dancer’s inner psychological workings were projected in the movements.
And though a reordering of the individual pieces may have resulted in a more compelling dramatic arc–particularly in the case of a well-executed, but anti-climatic closer in “Le Spectre de la Rose”–Diaghilesque is substantive yet frisky art, provocative entertainment with heart.