Force Majeure

A Show with the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company

I attended Force Majeure, a show by the LA Contemporary Dance Company, at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble on Friday, January 27th at 8pm. Made up of four world premieres by various choreographers, this 75 minute show captivated me in a way I have never felt before. The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble is an intimate, black box style, with only about 80 to 100 seats.

Choreographed by the Artistic Director of LACDC, Genevieve Carson, the first work, titled EBBA, explored the idea of what it means to be a female dancer. I went to an LACDC workshop last November and learned an excerpt from this piece, so it was incredibly moving to see the choreography on stage. The seven female dancers in this piece embodied the many roles females play in their lives. From determination to despair, the individual dancers joined together to dance a powerful finale. Each dancer wore a different colored costume, symbolizing their individuality as a character, but more and more, the dancers came to join together. Moving from competitive to unitive, the dance was an emblem of the need for mutual support between women, and how this support makes the world a better place for all to live.

Beautyfear, the second piece, featured two men and two women, creating intricate patterns of partnering to move through the space. The smooth transitions on and off the floor and between partners formed interlocking relationships between the dancers. Particularly notable was the varied partnering, often occurring between all four dancers, only three, or various combinations of two. Dressed in neutrals, the dancers movements remained the focus of this piece. There was clear integration of classic modern themes and movements, such as contractions, undercurves, and the relationship between resistance and release. The choreographer, Gregory Dolbashian, noted in the program that the dancers collaborated with him to create the work.

Created by Micaela Taylor, Sporty was the work that differed the most from the overall tone of the show. Four dancers dressed in all white performed repetitive hip hop style movements. The dancers existed in separate spheres, contrasting the contact and partnering found in the other three works. The precision of this movement was striking, and the stark white of the costumes and lighting stood out amidst the dark theatre.

The final work, Delicate Skins by Christian Denice, had four female dancers and two male dancers. Dressed in nude colored costumes, the dancers interacted with each other throughout the piece, telling a story of brokenness and relationships. The presence of intense eye contact with the other dancers, as well as with the audience, displayed a certain vulnerability that juxtaposed the strong movements of the piece. Again, intricate partnering established connections on the stage that were repeatedly broken and put back together.

I was struck by the diversity of the dancers in this show. I have never seen a group of dancers that looked as different as these, but moved with the same quality and intention. It was a moving experience to watch their onstage relationships unfold in movement, and to decide on my interpretation of their work.