Arts Festival Events #2

A friend double booked herself for the evening and was needing to unload a ticket to Körper. My original plans were to see a different show, but the German modern dance performance was calling.

The stage was bleakly set. There was a black tiled floor and a freestanding wall with a window. The music, as well, was minimal. It was reminiscent of sound effects, not so much melodic.

Parts of the show were spectacular. The group had amazing choreography in blending with one anothers' bodies. They lifted men into the air with the slightest of touches. Figures seamlessly wove in and out of the crowd. One man's legs became those of his partner, then the pair switched and her legs were his. It was all quite poetic and strange.

One of my favorite parts of the show was a scene taking place entirely within the wall window. Two women started in the window. They slowly moved to make room for two men, then two more, then even more. As it grew crowded, the dancers inched their way around and between the others. Using the glass and the wall, some of them rose to the top of the frame, all the while appearing to not be standing or holding onto anything.

There almost always tends to be an annoying patron or two who, for whatever reason, decided to see a show they clearly weren't going to enjoy. This time, the two men
were directly next to me. First, they had forgotten to turn off their cell phones. When the first man's mobile rang, his friend acted quite high and mighty. A couple minutes later, his phone rang too. They continued to talk, fidget and finally ended up standing up, stepping on the seats and exiting from the row behind. Now, these were relatively old men and were not at all graceful or speedy in their departure. Instead, one of them kicked my seat as he stumbled over the back of his chair.

After Körper, I headed over to Federation Square to see the end of Mary and Max--my original plan for the evening. I joined the group sitting on the cobblestone and watched the last half hour. It was cute and visually appealing. Perhaps I'll go back to see the first part another day.

There was also an installation at Federation Square with six young rappers from Sudan, Liberia and Tanzania. Though the video that goes with their music is slow, repetitive and not that interesting anyway, the teenagers' lyrics are insightful. Some of the topics I was already familiar with, but hearing them in this medium was interesting.