"Untitled," "Counterfeit Scenario"
Amanda Loulaki, Levi Gonzalez
The Kitchen
New York, NY
February 10, 2012
By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2012 by Martha Sherman
Even though they came from opposite poles, Amanda Loulaki and Levi Gonzalez turned out to be a surprisingly well-matched pair of choreographers: one introspective, the other extroverted. In their shared program, Loulaki’s solo, “Untitled,” was a study of measured movement reflected in only light and shadow. Gonzalez’s duet, “Counterfeit Scenario,” had Natalie Green, his dancing partner, move to his instructions as they shared a state of mind. Both choreographers invited, pulled, and persuaded the audience into becoming part of their subtle equations.
In the space, dramatically lit by Joe Levasseur, two large fans blew the tree’s leaves and Loulaki’s hair in soft waves. The score was a mix of windy sounds and rhythmic thuds. Loulaki whispered memories, less at than through us, as the amplified drops from a tipped bottle of water thundered a dripping beat. The simplicity of each element offered delicate shifts through the quiet piece.
Gonzalez was more explicit than Loulaki, but he also built a complex experience from simple elements. In “Counterfeit Scenario,” the duet between the choreographer and the performer played with relationships, power, vulnerability. “It’s scary up here,” he said at the start. Gonzalez called the shots into a stand-up microphone that was the stage’s only set element, but Green controlled more of the movement. As his instructions (“move continuously with no accents,” “find an ending”) framed the scenes, she did the rest, in her solos, with graceful arms and shifting body angles that brought those instructions to life.
Gonzalez and Green became mirror images despite their bodies’ different shapes and movement interpretations. At the start, the two entered to the slapping sound of their feet stomping the floor in loud, rhythmic beats. Each leaned low and stalked in wide circles around the stage and each other. Painfully bright rows of light flooded the stage from both sides (again, the impressive work of Joe Levasseur,) and the soundtrack was a low rumble in the background, like a vacuum cleaner or a furnace.
Later, the two played a child’s mirror game, facing each other with first one, then the other leading the parallel movement. It might have been a cliché, but the audience was drawn in by the innocence of the relationship. Another scene that leaned toward cliché was Gonzalez’s slow intonation to the audience like a script straight out of a yoga class (“concentrate on your breath.”) Yet he got away with this, too, as the audience recognized and assumed its role as the third member of the trio that formed the performance.
Loulaki was aware, but ignored the audience. Gonzalez reached out to pull us in. Each succeeded in their different ways. The audience’s own mirrors flashed first inside, then outside; our own travels through the work led by smart, tender guides.
copyright © 2012 by Martha Sherman
Photos by Paula Court
Top: Amanda Loulaki in “Untitled”
Bottom: Levi Gonzalez and Natalie Green in “Counterfeit Scenario”