"In Mouth," "Armed Guard"
Jen Rosenblit, Vanessa Anspaugh
New York Live Arts
New York, NY
February 16, 2012
By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2012 by Carol Pardo
Jen Rosenblit (Hampshire College, class of 2005) and Vanessa Anspaugh (B.A. Antioch 2002, M.F.A. 2008 Smith) are young choreographers, both closing in on thirty with a dozen or so works to their credit. Both are in the process of securing their places in the New York dance scene. Splitting an evening at New York Live Arts is a big step forward toward doing so; next stop, a full evening all their own. But neither dance maker could have gotten there without their collaborating dancers or yard goods.
Jen Rosenblit’s "In Mouth" began with her frequent partner Addys Gonzalez, in gray sweats and a black shirt, body hugging in front and billowing in back, striding around and around and around the stage in a regular, forceful, almost military rhythm, followed by stealthy steps, a Neanderthal lope, and, to a slightly looser beat, picking his way around on half toe. A piece of white fabric hung from his mouth to his shins throughout, sometimes resembling a trunk or a beard, but registering above all as an impediment to breathing normally. This seemed to go on for at least a quarter of the work’s forty minute running time, long enough to wonder how the dancer could inhale. Rosenblit came on, also wearing gray sweatpants but cut off above the knee, and nothing else, as if to balance the volume of fabric in use. Gonzalez did not, initially, acknowledge her presence. But eventually, "In Mouth" grew into a two-hander. The performers knelt at center stage, as if getting married with Rosenblit in a makeshift veil. At one point she heaved him over her shoulder and carried him upstage. A tender duet, he standing and she on the floor trying to maintain contact with the soles of his feet as he extend his legs, was something of a surprise. Using sneakers solely for their percussive effect and discarding them like a used toy, was not. "In Mouth" ended with Gonzalez manipulating fabric again, as cummerbund, football, and a pregnant woman’s belly, before both dancers, returned to the minimal yearning touch of their duet, connected at their soles.
Anspaugh’s "Armed Guard" also began with its dancers, here Molly Lieber and Mary Ready, defining its stage space and squaring off, stage right, like sentinels at the changing of the guard. The full cast of five defined it further, running along the back wall, chalk in hand, leaving wavy white lines in their wake or dividing the floor into smaller and smaller rectangles using what looks like sand stored inside their costumes. (It’s actually whole wheat flour, presumably less uncomfortable to dance on.) The five dancers split up into smaller units, regrouped and divided anew. There were gestures from the repertory of pin ups, circus performers, working girls, beach beauties and photo shoots. There were technical tours de force: Ready squatted on half toe for what seemed like forever. Throughout, the dancers manipulated and refashioned the four components of their costumes (by Emily Roysdon) as an integral part of the piece. Translucent tops came off to reveal bright orange shirts. Mauve leggings came off without dislodging the brown trunks over them. Aretha Aoki removed both shirt and top for a few minutes. At the end, the cast melted away, leaving a heap of whole wheat flour in the raking light, the only three-dimensional, tangible remnant of a nearly hour-long dance.
Both works benefit from a condensed description in print; both are far too long on stage. Both have subtexts that are not evident to the audience. Rosenblit mentioned in an interview that gay marriage in became law in New York as she was working on "In Mouth." Is that what the bit with the veil is about? You don’t know while you watch. Rosenblit also wonders if the nature of structure is outdated. (My answer: No.) Anspaugh’s stated concerns, space, borders, the chemistry between dancers are more clearly visible on stage. But both choreographers gave their performers generous opportunities to shine and were repaid many times over.