Stefanie Nelson's new evening-length piece, Prolegomena II, running now at Joyce SoHo, beckons you to plunge in. Anywhere. Really. But when you do, you will have to make your own way. Don't expect help.
As it opens, fog and radically intermittent lighting create dramatic mystery. A woman's body stretches and undulates in the mist, then appears to float, tread air and even disappear through clever theatrics I will not reveal. A solo violin sings of loneliness and mourning.
This is a roughly hour-long work--abstract in form yet informed by a patchwork of personal narratives and meanings. Created by a big collaborative team, it comes massively multi-layered in poetry, music, animations and the performance of Nelson's large and excellent ensemble, more sprawling and unruly than a linear 55 minutes can account for. It's fair to say that Prolegomena II deserves more than a single look, not just for the wonder of the performances but also the chance to dig into its deep pockets. You never know what you might find.
Samples of Nelson's Proximity Spiral
(Joyce SoHo, 2010)
Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer Street (one block south of Houston, one block west of Broadway)
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