Cast No Shadow

Isaac Julien's filmwork for the multidisciplinary performance, Cast No Shadow--a presentation of Performa07 and BAM's Next Wave Festival at the BAM Harvey Theater through tonight--is a poetic, color-saturated head trip with translucent, larger-than-life, in-your-face imagery. Absolutely beautiful. But what about dance? Russell Maliphant's simple ideas and repetitious choreography for his company and guest dancer Vanessa Myrie do not stand up to Julien's imaginatively interactive, filmic environment. Originally planned as a 70-minute piece with three parts and no intermission, the evening now has a 20-minute intermission--perhaps in recognition that it's a little hard to stay awake and focused with something so relentlessly dreamy unfolding before your eyeballs. The audience now gets to take a refueling break at the food counter in the lobby.