June 10–17, 1999
critic pick

Myra Bazell

Dancer/choreographer Myra Bazell explains that her new work, Endzone, is broken into vignettes about 1) conservative middle-American values, 2) life inside a monastery, where rules are steadfast and rigid, and 3) a war-torn society. Oy vey, I say, sounds like a weighty load to ponder. Not to worry, assures Bazell, the subjects are heavy, "but we’re dealing with them in a playful way. I’m not trying to treat these topics lightly, but I’m beginning to realize that people get desensitized if you barrage them with issues. It’s abstract, not literal. There’s a lot of parody."

Endzone plays out like a game. The performers — Peter D’Orsaneo, Emily Hubler, David Konyk, Brenda Kunda, Katharine Livingston, Katie McNamara, Rebecca Sloan, Orlanda Taylor and Dito van Reigersberg — are dancers who become characters and/or referees in the vignettes, which unfold to text by playwright Anne George. Since this is a production of SCRAP Performance Group, it’s highly choreographed and very physically demanding of the dancers. However, Bazell notes, there are some changeups to her normal style. She’s eschewed certain trademark props, and, "It’s not as spectacular as I’ve been aiming for in the past.… Also, I’m using humor for the first time." The movement is a mix of the beautiful and athletic and the pace "is like what you would get if you were watching TV and switching between sports and the news."
—Deni Kasrel

Endzone, Thu.-Sun., June 10-13, 8 p.m., Philadelphia Arts Bank, Broad & South Sts., $12 ($8 for students and seniors), 215-569-9700.