Yamamoto curates the unseen

Guest curator Nami Yamamoto named her Food for Thought evening at Danspace Project "something/someone that you haven't seen." In my case, the "someone previously unseen" were two young Japanese dancer-choreographers--Michiyo Akamatsu and Yoko Maruyama--who call themselves Akamarukyugyosho. A couple of cartoonish, hard rock'n'rolling kittens from hell, they have energy to burn. I really liked the humor and raw force of their duet, Rise vs Fall, and its clever depiction of support and competition. And, coming right after I spent a couple of hours up at MOMA's On Line: Drawing through the Twentieth Century show, it made me want to swing by the nearest Staples and buy a bagful of markers. I hope we'll see more of Akamarukyugyosho.

Karen Sherman and Morgan Thorson--who showed part of a work-in-progress--have been seen many times before, though not often enough since making their home in Minnesota. I'm looking forward to the finished piece and whatever they care to bring us when they're next in town.

Another Minnesotan/ex-New York couple--Chris Yon and Taryn Griggs--are also dearly missed, and they were looking good in The Very Unlikeliness (I'm Going to KILL You!). Mostly, I love watching how on top of things they both are despite the off-centered nuttiness of their mission; they're a couple of artists who--like the best comics, verbal or physical--know precisely what they're doing at any given moment. After a while, you notice, with pleasure, their musicality, and it's particularly fascinating to watch them move in unison, side by side, and see how differently they approach the same moves and gestures while remaining in delicious harmony. Fun, fun, fun!

There's one more Food for Thought show this season--tonight at 8pm. Curated by Will Rawls, this one is called appearing and erasing and features work by Sahar Javedani (tranquility in the presence of others), Liliana Dirks-Goodman (Dance #3: Duet for Two Buildings, with Chorus) and Kennis Hawkins with Jocelyn Ladd (Lost in Space).

Food for Thought is Danspace Project's semiannual canned-food drive. Admission is $5 with two cans of food or $10. (details)

Danspace Project
St. Mark's Church
2nd Avenue at 10th Street, Manhattan
(directions)

Meet "Hugo"

I strongly recommend Chris Yon's new work--Hugo--running now through Saturday evening at Dance Theater Workshop--if miraculous performances are the sort of thing you like. And, if not, go there anyway. You might end up smiling in satisfaction despite yourself, enchanted by the surprising cohesiveness and coherence of Yon's fragmented movement suite in which "untranslatable and unattachable" nonsequitors subliminally whisper a story that will leave you defenseless. And there's the wonder of dancers Jeff Larson and Taryn Griggs--a kind of arcane, avantgarde Astaire-Rogers, deployed and tightly coordinated by the wildly- imaginative Yon. These two--especially Griggs, a queenly girl-next-door with breathtaking precision of control--will surely hold you enthralled through all 60 minutes (including David Bagnall's unusually lengthy but wonderful opening video). The textures and surprises in the soundscape (designed by Justin Jones, arranged by Yon) are also all-the-way magickal. The soundscape is spacious, capacious and will swallow you up. Surprises and delights continue through to the very end. Yon's other essential collaborators include Karinne Keithley and Nicky Paraiso, in a special musical segment, and lighting designer Chloë Z Brown. I badly needed a shot in the arm--dance-wise, that is--and Hugo gave it to me.

Visit Yon's site for more information and Hugo resources, and DTW's site for schedule and ticket information. And do go!