Alexandria Nunweiler’s ‘Edge Of Aquarius’

Childhood birthday events, purple Solo cup events of an older age, preteen women studying to make use of menstrual merchandise, the primary colonoscopy: these are simply among the almost common milestones portrayed in Alexandria Nunweiler’s Fringe of Aquarius, produced by Boston’s The Click on. 

The present ran on Nunweiler’s birthday weekend (therefore, the title, if you recognize astrological indicators). It thus fittingly explored birthdays — their which means in our lives, how they alter all through the lifespan and extra. But, the work acquired an entire lot deeper than balloons, desserts and pointy paper hats (oh sure, there was all of that, too – in spades); it elegantly peered into growing older, how we see ourselves as years move, how previous generations dwell by us and way more. 

Entering into all of that’s fairly a tall order for one live performance dance program. By components equivalent to the particular brightly illuminating the common, and considerate integration of theatricality and motion, this one totally met that problem.  

From pretty early on, it was clear that this present could be as a lot a theatrical piece as a live performance dance one – and that these performers would excel in each areas. Early vignettes portrayed childhood birthday events: full with playful competitors (“I guess I can do greater than you!”), elementary faculty taunting (“you’re a loser!”) and pleasant dashes of humor (with Tony Guglietti’s character exclaiming “there are too many women at this get together!”). 

One memorable second had an older girl sharing her knowledge on growing older with these younger ones (proudly taking over the title of “robotic” with dialogue of getting a hip substitute). This theatricality felt like a welcoming entry level for viewers members – or future viewers members – who “don’t like” or “don’t perceive” modern dance. But the dance a part of it was additionally simply as accessible and fascinating.

Bits of motion – equivalent to rolling on the ground, pencil-shaped, with flashing lights signaling the world blurring and the onset of dizziness (lighting design and technical route by Lawrence Ware) – vividly coloured this childhood image. Balloons have been a central focus of a beautiful dance part, with the prop carried by clean kinetic pathways. The basic “Duck Duck Goose” even made an look. 

At occasions, speech accompanied this motion, a problem that the ensemble stepped as much as with gusto and technical command. Nunweiler, for her half, built-in these two disciplines as easily as crushed birthday cake batter. 

At different factors, dance and motion have been associated, but asynchronous – like two puzzle items sitting side-by-side, locking easily collectively. Sandwiched between intervals of dialogue on her grandmother and her birthday, and her grandmother’s resonating affect, Angelina Benitez danced a solo of each tenacity and softness – to not point out pure coronary heart. Carmen Rizzo danced one other solo, one which felt simply as invested and trustworthy. 

Amidst vignettes on one character getting her first interval and studying to make use of menstrual merchandise, Benitez and Katrina Conte danced one thing extra high-energy and frenetic: embodying the urgency, confusion, and pure drama of these unforgettable pre-teen moments. Audible breath and a young embrace between them then tempered the power within the area – and jogged my memory that these quieter moments can actually be essentially the most particular ones.

After an interactive intermission (with Nunweiler in search of out viewers members having the identical birthday), one other get together kicked off – an grownup (or younger grownup) one this time. Video games and uncertainties of younger romance transpired earlier than us. Glowsticks, shot glasses, and purple Solo cups introduced us proper into such an environment. I chuckled at Guglietti’s callback to his earlier line: “there are such a lot of women at this get together!”. 

Extra sobering was the sound of a ticking clock: resurfacing the thought of the passing of time, and thus inevitable growing older, first showing within the first act. One other memorable solo to that ticking, from Hannah Ranco, embodied each the accented and resonant qualities of these ticks. Each angular and arching traces mirrored a clock’s abundance of shapes and angles.

Certainly, whereas the primary act introduced forth chuckles and easy aesthetic enjoyment, the second act impressed pondering and reflection. Subsequent in that vein was a house video, basic camcorder fashion, of Nunweiler and her youthful sibling as toddlers. I mirrored on the passage of time, and what we move on to these we assist information by life.   

Extra placing motion sections subsequent stuffed the stage. An evocative, weak poem accompanied textured pedestrian motion, the motion high quality inside and considerably heavy. A duet with two of the older solid members (Jody Chief and Linda Spencer) illustrated the heaviness of expertise that may set in with passing time. Their deeply invested and conscious qualities made that concept totally visceral. 

Repeated phrases, danced to a rating with a bittersweet weight to it (“These Candles Grant Needs”, Components I and II, by Benjamin Cuba), constructed the sense of routine and monotony that may set in throughout the working grownup years. Birthdays occur, however there aren’t all the time desserts or presents wrapped in vivid, sparkly paper. It additionally hit me then simply how intergenerational the solid was. That’s solely applicable, it could appear, for a piece investigating growing older and the lifespan.  

With a drastic shift of tone, a birthday dance get together returned – full with the ensemble throwing confetti all about and a balloon bridge overhead emptying its contents all around the stage. Bringing again a childhood track from the primary act, performers sang “are ya one, are ya two, are ya three?” There was a way of the birthday woman (Katrina Conte) below strain, of being placed on the spot – which birthdays can really feel like (it’s life, in spite of everything, so it’s not all the time joyful). 

Lights abruptly reduce out, and I believed that this was the work’s last ending – however I used to be mistaken. A last part had Conte punching at a cake, persevering with that concept of the strain and different less-than-happy components of birthdays. Ensemble members slowly rose from below balloons and behind set items, buzzing the “Completely satisfied Birthday” track (who doesn’t know that one). 

I did marvel if that first ending would have tied all of it off in a pleasant bow simply high quality (I’m a giant “much less is commonly extra” proponent). I’d like to see how the ultimate act would really feel ending proper there. This last ending did, nevertheless, construct upon the heavier, extra inside threads of the final act – and, if there have been to be future iterations of this work, I’d like to see a few of that coloured in with even extra depth and texture. 

All in all, Fringe of Acquarius managed to light up the expertise of years going by – marked by birthdays and different milestones – in methods I haven’t seen it illuminated earlier than. A plethora of artistic instruments joined forces to shine that mild. The outcome was an overarching feeling of pleasure, it appeared to me – sure, even within the extra somber sections, due to the pure magnificence and vitality that they provided. If we are able to’t all the time expertise pleasure as time passes, perhaps we are able to no less than accomplish that on our birthdays. 

By Kathryn Boland of Dance Informa.