Choreographers get Olympia outlet for experimental dance

Olympia is well-known as a place where artistic experimentation is welcome.

In fact, being out of the mainstream is practically mainstream. Think indie music, house shows, street art and the one-of-a-kind fashion statements common downtown and around The Evergreen State College.

But other than the occasional street performance, Olympia hasn’t had a place for experimental dance.

Making space to showcase this art form is the intention behind the first Out on a Limb, happening Friday (April 8) and Saturday.

“I wanted there to be a venue where choreographers would feel free to experiment,” said Roel Hammerschlag, who came up with the idea for Out on a Limb.

He was inspired by his participation in Seattle’s 12 Minutes Max, a performance lab hosted by On the Boards.

“That was a venue where choreographers, especially new choreographers, could try out works,” he said. “There were also some fairly experienced folks who would take works in progress to that.

“It was a really great place for dance to appear as an art form, and I wanted to see something like that in Olympia.”

Hammerschlag, who makes dances under the name Company Y, and other dance artists from Radco (Random Acts of Dance Collective) curated the dances, which — as at the Seattle event — must be 12 minutes or less.

Choreographers who wanted to participate submitted applications and videos of past work, which means that even the curators have few clues to what they’re presenting.

“It’s going to be a surprise,” Hammerschlag said. “None of us know what we’re going to see.”

The curators chose pieces that would offer a variety, he said, and they wanted to keep the performance to about two hours, including an intermission.

“We wanted to have a wide spectrum of energies or intensities, ones with bigger casts and smaller casts, younger or new choreographers as well as more-experienced ones.

“We got 25 applications, and we would have been happy to take all of them.”

What they do know is the nine selections will be experimental, which the application form defines as “outside conventional forms of ballet, jazz, tap, ballroom or folk dance.”

The works go beyond body movement to incorporate spoken word, vocalization, video and an art installation.

While the show was open to all, Radco dancers did choreograph some of the pieces, including Karen Kirsch’s “The Nocebo Effect,” about her experience with the medical system. The dance includes a lobby art installation with drawings, X-rays, MRI scans and anatomy coloring sheets.

“As with many aging dancers, I have had issues with my back,” Kirsch said. “The piece is about my journey, how the medical establishment has given me the information and how I choose to dance given that information.”

The piece includes a little bit of nudity, she said, and audience interaction that could be done only in a small space

“The material is very intimate in some ways, and this is an intimate venue,” she said.

The show’s other works are:

“Respirer, respirare, respirar …”: Choreographed by Radco regulars Linda Heine Cooper, Rachel Friedman and Mary Nelson, this piece, performed to live music, will explore the sound of breath.

“Affection”: Choreographed by Jacob Bevelacqua of Olympia, which is about violence in our society and pain as a means of communication.

“Self-Reliance”: Choreographed by Sunny Swasey of Olympia, which features dancers ages 12-18.

“Yes, Even That”: Choreographed by Laura Aschoff of Seattle, who describes the piece as a mix of science fiction, romantic comedy and film noir.

“Rhythms of the Heart”: Choreographed by Radco’s Shannon Gordon, which depicts the phases of recovery from heart failure.

“Wait”: Choreographed by Dena Lee of Olympia and featuring several Radco dancers.

“Crystals Encoded/Ancient Ice Knowledge Released”: A butoh-inspired piece choreographed by Stephen Passero with help from the other performers.

“EvoLove”: Choreographed and performed by Darien Aubinoe, Freeman Escobar, Josolynn Jones, Jeanne Shepherd, Javiera Sobarzo and Andrew White, the piece expresses hope that humanity can increase our respect for the planet.

Radco’s work could be called experimental — it certainly doesn’t follow traditional forms — but Out on a Limb offers more freedom than the group’s Arts Walk performances at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, which needs to be family-friendly and is designed as a show where the audience members come and go.

“At Arts Walk, it’s about big things coming fast at you,” Kirsch said.

“In our culture, we see dance as a high art that is perfected and shown in a particular way,” she said. “I like the opportunity in an experimental show for people to get a sense of how we muck around, how we might be playing with an idea that could then morph into something else for another show.

“We’re trying to let them in the process.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 8:25 PM with the headline "Choreographers get Olympia outlet for experimental dance."