Oberon's Grove: Jill Johnson's THE COPIER @ Cedar Lake

Wednesday August 20, 2008 - The official opening of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet's new installation THE COPIER. Above, Acacia Schachte in a Julieta Cervantes photo.

A quote from choreographer Jill Johnson:

"By choice, force or design, we copy others everyday. We stand in lines, forward email, repeat overheard slang and opinions, and follow trends. Most of us wake up for work and follow a routine, copying the movements we made the day before, which are often the same movements made by others. We’re all copiers. You might say that ‘The Copier’ is an analog response to a digital world."

After watching a rehearsal of THE COPIER a few days ago at which I could not develop any clear perspective of the piece - aside from the ever-striking individual performances of the Cedar Lake dancers - I am glad to say that the work in its finished form is another success for this dynamic Company.

Entering Cedar Lake's perfect performing space, one finds the room wide open - florescent lights suspended around the perimeter and a slightly raised T-shaped platform provides the playing area. A paper-shredder wafts streamers into the air. The dancers are casually warming up to the sound of birdsong. The room goes dark and as the opening section of David Poe's score with its Asiatic feeling sounds, the dancers seem almost to be improvising, each in his or her private world. They begin to interact and to rush about the T, sometimes sliding on the smooth surface. You can focus on any individual dancer - it's difficult to choose from among them - or watch the shifting dynamics of the group.

As the lighting rig moves across the stage like the light bar of a copy machine, the 'music' turns mechanical. In an amusing silent interlude, the dancers stand in a line down the center of the T but they begin to shift nervously, checking their positions and intruding on each other's personal spaces.

What starts as a jazz-inflected pas de deux for Soojin Choi and Nickemil Concepcion - an intriguing match-up - turns into an ensemble which evolves into the works final segment. To a reflective piano solo the seated Ana-Maria Lucaciu uses her expressive arms to create a dance in stillness. THE COPIER ends quietly.

The dancers and creative team were enthusiastically applauded by a large audience, and there was a long line for the second showing. I brought my friend Reese, poet and writer, and he was an instant Cedar Lake convert. He has written about THE COPIER here. Evan writes about the evening here. And Tonya here. Taylor's review is now available here.