Sasha Soreff Dance Theater: Press

SASHA SOREFF DANCE THEATER (Friday through Sunday) The multiple potential meanings and symbols inherent in shoes (particularly for dancers) are the motor of Sasha Soreff’s “Other Shoe,” which boasts a set composed of dance and civilian shoes of all kinds. Sixteen dancers are let loose amid the footwear, to an original score by Chris Becker. Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 501-2425, brownpapertickets.com; $25; $14 for students, artists and 65+. (Sulcas)

in the WBAI Archives, go to the June 23rd edition of Arts Magazine, the second interview on the program is about "The Other Shoe."

Choreographer Sasha Soreff presents The Other Shoe, in which cast members (there are 16 in all) lose a shoe, and four main characters explore “dread, desire and fear.” The set, naturally, features shoes.
When
Jun 26 8pm

"Sasha Soreff's 'Tethered' also impressed with its sophisticated partnering between performers Desiree DeToy and Gil Maori. A dance piece as well thought out and executed as this brief work easily trumped the more grandiose efforts of the evening."

"Sasha Soreff's "If you can't get there from here Stand Still" did anything but, as it evinced some of the best integration of music and movement in the [20 piece] program."

The Dancer Who Wore Sneakers and other tales

Sasha Soreff Dance Theater and Gad's Hill Theater Company present the new theatrical dance event, The Dancer Who Wore Sneakers and other tales, by Sasha Soreff. The performance fuses dance and theater to create a new work. Dancers carve, lift and tumble each other through space while other cast members bring the narrative to life. Sneakers takes place in a world where people are only able to take a certain number of steps per day. This precludes them from dancing. Sneakers protect Ms. Soreff, playing the main character, from injury.

Upon the opening of the show, a pair of red and white tennis shoes lay center stage. The large cast of 25 dancers enter and remove their shoes and exit. Already a symbolic, baptismal air fills the stage as the audience is left wondering why this happens.


Clothed in differently styled beige colored clothing, the dancers look like skin in costumes by Dawn Marococcia. This neutral tone creates a backdrop for all the events to come. The music is a soft piano. Two dancers, one being Ms. Soreff, begin to move together, carving the space in connecting patterns. An unidentifiable image appears on the backdrop screen and, like adding pearls to a neckalace, dancers enter from stage left, moving low as if working through a moving meditation. All of Ms. Soreff's movement has a yogic quality. She's not afraid to slow movement down and fill it with breath.

Events change a bit too abruptly as a theatrical incident begins downstage. It is discovered that this man has broken a law and has "really done it this time." Throughout the show, bits of this man, Smedly's, story and others like him are revealed in scenes like this one.

The show follows a repetitive format. A cycle that includes a scene by the actors, the dancers carrying a person who is unable to touch the ground across the stage, Sasha and another dancer performing a duet, and a response by the chorus. While this format keeps things changing, it is too quickly discovered and anticipated by the audience.

The chorus of this piece is what makes it beautiful. Just like the chorus of a classic Greek tragedy, they move with one mind and many bodies, carrying the emotional weight of the show. Their limbs cascade like bird wings. Dancers carry another dancer all the way across the stage, leaving tangible images of bodies tumbling through space in slow motion. Ms. Soreff's dancers move in luscious gymnastics.

The music repeats the same drum and piano meditation several times throughout the piece. This is the main music for the piece, composed and produced by Matt Stine and Cody Owen Stine. Near the end, it is satisfying to hear live drummning alongside recorded music.

As the plot continues, Smedly runs away and meets Wilma, a woman looking for "the canyons." Along the way, Smedly and Wilma meet other wayfarers. The dialogue is crisp and effective. In "the canyons," people may take as many steps per day as they wish, which translates into being able to dance. The plot examines the nature of injuries, specifically injuries for dancers, and also laces the performance with political ideologies including communism and Nazism.

Perhaps the most fun and interesting portion of the performance is the clash of the body parts. The chorus stands around the ring wearing different signs such as "neck," "foot," and "hip" indicating which dancer they are rooting for. Dancers representing these body parts enter the ring and perform a striking post-modern style fight. The fighting winds down to Sasha and her usual dance partner who, in a moment of dramatic impact, recognize eachother from their earlier encounters. The piece climaxes as all cast members are onstage with Wilma and Smedly, who are finally able to dance. All cast members dance in jubilant triumph, signifying their freedom.

Alaine Handa, a dancer in Sneakers, comments on working with Ms. Soreff. "She is really patient and really specific." Alaine says that Ms. Soreff would give the dancers a phrase and sometimes ask them to change it or tweak it in certain ways. Through this process Aliane learned to "watch each other, watch each other, watch each other." She hopes members of the health and wellness community will see how the themes about injuries in Sneakers relate to the medical field.


Sasha Soreff Dance Theater and Gads Hill Theater Company present:

The Dancer Who Wore Sneakers

By Sasha Soreff

The Ailey Citigroup Theater

December 2nd, 3rd, and 4 th.

405 W 55th St. at Ninth Avenue

Tickets: 212-501-2425

http://www.brownpapertickets.com



Reviewer's bio
Molly can be contacted at mailto:mollyeholm@hotmail.com