John J Zullo/Raw Movement @ St. Mark’s

Above: dancer Mike Hodge in John Zullo’s this Exquisite diversion/mysterious Skin

Thursday September 19, 2013 – John J Zullo Dance/Raw Movement presented three works at St. Mark’s Church In the East Village tonight. An unusual and pleasing dance venue, St. Mark’s sanctuary transforms into a spacious theater-in-the-round. John Zullo’s danceworks function well in this setting, and the evening was enhanced by excellent lighting (Mark Simpson) as well as by the boundless energy of the dancers. The programme featured ALL what THIS do HAS you HAPPENED see? BEFORE, and the world premieres of this Exquisite diversion/mysterious Skin and project Xiii.

ALL what THIS do HAS you HAPPENED see? BEFORE was the evening’s longest work. The space has been hung with gauzy panels and wrapped in a broad ribbon of white fabric. As the six dancers enter, pacing along the perimeter, they make blatant eye contact with the seated audience members. The dancers then step into a central pool of light and begin to move in silence.

As the piece progresses in a series of distinct scenes distinguished by the lighting concept, we see movement motifs repeated or rearranged. An animated opening passage in which the dancers rarely touch one another gives way to a broadly lyrical musical theme; solos for each dancer are woven into the movement tapestry. The gossamer fabric-panels are lowered into the dance-space and audience members are ushered into the performing area to observe the dancers at close range. The space is flooded with golden light, and eventually the dancers withdraw from the setting, leaving audience members standing in their places.

Music for this work includes Monolake, Ludovico Einaudi, David Lynch, and Autechre and the simple costume designs of Hector Perez give the dancers a touch of see-thru allure.  The six dancers – Jenna Liberati, Mary Madsen, Olivia Orozco, Tyler Patterson, Jeff Davis and  Bong Ian Dizon – are all excellent and thoroughly at ease in the physical demands of John Zullo’s choreography. There were passing moments when the work seemed a bit over-long, but the vibrant personal qualities of the individual dancers kept our focus firmly on the movement.

I’d had a glimpse of the evening’s second work, this Exquisite diversion/mysterious Skin earlier this year at LaMaMa. Inspired in part by Scott Heim’s novel
“Mysterious Skin,” in which two young boys are sexually exploited and
assaulted, this darkly sensual and provocative dancework is set amidst luminous lucite panels which serve as both mirrors of the dancers involved and windows into their dark doings. The collage-score, arranged by David Englehard, includes Olafur Arnalds, Max Richter, and Deru; and at one point singer Jessie Davis wanders into the space singing “Dream A Little Dream of Me”.

Tyler Patterson (rehearsal photo, above) opens this Exquisite diversion/mysterious Skin with a restless, floor-oriented solo. Later, stripped down to black briefs, Tyler’s beautiful vulnerability became a poignant element of the work. The shadow effects, off-setting the radiance of the lighted mirrorlike-panesl, create a haunting visual landscape. Jenna Liberati, Olivia Orozco, Jeff Davis, Bong Dizon, and Mike Hodge are the other fine dancers in this unsettling, brink-of-a-nightmare work.     

project Xiii begins with a digital clock in the center of the space being set for a 13-minute countdown. The piece commences with John Zullo dancing the first of twelve solos, each to music chosen by the various dancers. Guest artists mingle with Company members, each dancer having 60 seconds to work their self-made phrase. This imaginative piece had the benefit of Mark Simpson’s lighting; Mark’s contributions to the evening were underscored here as Jenna Liberati, in a pool of light just a couple feet away from me, danced with her own shadow. This piece was an excellent way to end the evening.