Thursday, April 16, 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
$42, $38, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $15, $12, $10
Stephen Petronio’s Locomotor / Non Locomotor is an evening-length, full-company work in two parts featuring an original score by electronic hip-hop pioneer Clams Casino. Locomotor explores extreme locomotive states, casting Petronio’s virtuoso company in a careening mix of action forward and backward through time and space, while Non Locomotor begins from the spine and its ability to initiate torque and torsion, sending movement surging throughout the body. “There’s a visceral thrill to Stephen Petronio’s choreography that is unlike anything offered by other contemporary choreographers…” —The New York Times
Audience members are invited to a pre-show talk by Five College Dance professor Constance Valis Hill at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (lower level of FAC) at 6:30 p.m. and to stay for a post-performance talk with Stephen Petronio immediately following the performance.
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Wonderful performance–loved the dedication performance to his father. The second half was a fantastic demonstration of the transition between slow and fast, still and active movement. Music accompaniment could have been better.
STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY was a blast. Kinetic energy is an apt description of the piece, Locomotor / Non Locomotor, which is scored to a driving [at times] music that harkens to a machine like, piston driven beat and intensity. Potential energy is where the 2nd half, “Non Locomotor” begins with energy seemingly stored in the dancers’ bodies and the energy is gradually unwound like the coiled spring of a clock movement. I liked the movement and music. It was interesting to hear Petronio say in the post performance talk back that the music was scored to the choreography. There’s a real synergy there.
‘Big Daddy’ is not traditional even by modern dance conventions since it includes a segment where Stephen reads at a podium from his self published biography about his father. I liked it. Someone in the talk back pined for more dance and less reading which Stephen acknowledged has been raised in reaction to this evolving experimental piece. I liked the piece but maybe it helps to like to go to book and poetry readings. I think if anything Amherst, birthplace to Petronio’s dance career, should be hospitable to Petronio’s at nurturing a radical new type of dance piece. Anyway it’ll be your last chance to see any dancer or certainly Steve in a shark skin suit and a skinny tie.
The pre talk by Prof. Nordstrom who knows Petronio personally gave very informative background and context for appreciating the dance. Her little note about the bi-colored costumes and the bipolar Locomotor piece added to appreciating the dance. She mentioned the dancers’ arching their backs as if to try to fill the space around themselves without locomotion. Helpul. Her larger comment that Petronio’s style is conceptual but that he allows for the viewer to come up with any narrative at any time I found liberating. I didn’t spend any time trying to figure out what Petronio wanted me to interpret. Go with the flow. Dance like music should invent its own vocabulary which is the best way to enjoy dance and especially Petronio’s dance.
Footnote:
apparently not all viewers enjoyed the dance or music. Some guy sitting behind me was quite vocal–at length–about his distaste for both. No biggie–he’s entitled to his opinion. Better he should voice his opinion by not coming next time because the next time Petronio returns [sooner than 8 years I hope] I will there.
I was quite disappointed from last night performance, especially the first part, -found it below the level of what usually comes through the FAC. The first part of the performance was overly self indulging, and doing very little with art, and the second part was technically impressive, but that’s all. The overall performance left me untouched in mind and emotion. but again – it is of course my personal opinion.
what i miss in your program is theater! i is missing for quite long time – and that’s too bad.
I found the choreography a conceptual exercise which could have used editing. Interesting, but joyless, juiceless and repetitive. Kudos to Petrino for using dancers with unusual body proportions.
Many of the movement elements are unusual, maybe even original to Petronio. However, Locomotor/Non Locomotor, while often exciting, lost steam for me as the pieces went on beyond what they could contribute visually or in originality…too much repetition.
I felt so grateful that I was able to attend this concert with Stephen Petronio and dancers! What a gift to the community. Stephen has immersed his heart and soul in the field of dance, forming his company 30 years ago and winding, slicing, sliding and juicing the path of continued new work that seeks to explore and resolve movement and soul material.
Kudos to Stephen and all the many shapes and sizes of his strong, agile, interactive team of dancers! Music by Clams Casino (Stephen’s cousin) was a surprisingly unique mix of soundscapes in coordination with the piece Locomotor/Non Locomotor. This work demonstrates a fast pulse of dynamic moves that keep the audience eyes awake for every unique moment. I was particularly fascinated by the choreography which emphasized distal initiation in its flavor of movement, a concept that creates a very different actioning than traditional movement starting from the core and reaching outward. This pulse-action that pushes off the extremities of fingers and feet, heads and hands, creates a unique dynamic rarely seen on stage. It was introduced in the late 70’s by master pioneer Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, but this was the first true and fully executed stage resonance I have seen of this embodied principle by a choreographer and dance company. Yes!!
Hats off to Stephen as well for his exploration in Big Daddy, coordinating movement and reading from his newly published memoir which reflects memories of his father and the web of father-son relations. It was a brave undertaking, rich with emotional flavor and mixes of reflective movement. I would personally love to see more of a back and forth between the readings and movements, yet the wealth of this material is undeniable.
If you have the opportunity to attend a performance with Stephen Petronio Company in their New York City home or any of their U.S./World venues, you are in for a
surprising and ever-renewable treat! Again, kudos!!
ironic and sarcastic remarks
First of all, I love dance and have been to 80% of all the dance performances at F.A.C. since it opened, so I should understand a little bit.
I shouldn’t waste any more time on the Petronio performance, but I though it was terrible. During the performance I sat there creating ironic and sarcastic remarks.
(something I never do)
The background music for the “father” piece was fantastic. (a drone) The story was as uninteresting and as boring as every other persons own father story. Not special.
The “music” of the second piece, I figure, was the music the Nazis used, when they were trying to calm down the Jews, as they were herded into the box cars on their way to Auschwitz. Very soothing.
The dance was repetitive and mostly mechanical. It went on forever.
I have to admit though, The solos were very good.
Did you notice when the curtain closed for a pause, in the second piece, people started running for the exits? They couldn’t get out fast enough.
Finally, the F.A.C. is a place where even paper shadow puppets get a standing ovation.
Not this troup. I looked down my row and saw that many people were not even applauding. The group kept taking bows even after the clapping just faded out.
Please don’t book them again.
I agree with the last few reviews. I was disappointed. Although the dancers were highly skilled, and moved impressively, the music (or sounds) was uninspiring, costumes were boring, and the repetition almost put me to sleep! Total opposite of my experience with Groupo Corpo!