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October 16, 2006

My car was broken into Thursday night in the Mission, and my two-month-new computer stolen from the trunk. What's worse, they nabbed a notebook containing handwritten outlines, sketches, and even detailed scenes for my novel-in-progress. I've only just now managed to reconstruct most of that material from memory, and gotten up to speed with my work for the Chronicle and elsewhere, so this is going to have to be a quick, no-frills catch up.

I'll start with Savage Jazz, which is what I was watching when my laptop got snagged:

"Reginald Ray Savage is a flamboyant guy in his dapper suits and trailing scarves, but his choreographic ambitions are not so outre. He likes music: jazz music. And he likes to create solidly built, cleanly shaped -- you might even say old-fashioned -- dances to it. You won't find a lot of innovation or invention at a Savage Jazz Dance Company concert, but you will find hot dancing, and some sassy dancers well worth watching.

What's missing at this 14th home season -- which continues at ODC Theater tonight before moving to Savage Jazz's hometown of Oakland next weekend -- is live music. The Marcus Shelby Orchestra, usually such a spur to Savage's musically sensitive ensemble, is absent, and the evening seems generally impoverished, so much so that Savage even apologized pre-curtain for the scant running times. The first act, some pleasant retreads, is just 12 minutes; the second, a world-premiere suite of dances to music by Miles Davis, is 18; and the third, given over to a new choreographer in town, Alex Sanchez, is a mere 11.

But there's much to be said for leaving an audience wanting more, and given its scarce resources, the show packs an admirable punch. Tracy Chan, Alison Hurley and Christine Khalil slink through Duke Ellington's take on the "Nutcracker," "Sugar Rum Cherry." Antoine Hunter stretches leggy Hurley sensually to Gershwin. And the whole troupe gets to fling itself to the rafters (Chan busts out some especially whip-smart fouette turns) to Duke Ellington's rollicking "Fleurette Africaine." "

For the full Chronicle review, click here.

Also last week, I reviewed Jo Kreiter's "Live Billboard Project." The Chronicle gave it a harsher headline than I would have personally, but I think you can tell I was lukewarm:

"The Mission District is not a neighborhood that lacks for nightly spectacle, and yet even residents accustomed to the lively mix of Mexican American families, yuppie bar patrons and assorted street life are stopping to gawk at the corner of Mission and 24th streets these days. There, two stories above the busy, dirty sidewalk, a quartet of women swing through the air, hoisted by rope, bounding off a 20-by-30-foot billboard that offers no products, only the question: "Does Beauty Ravish You?"

It's called "The Live Billboard Project," and it's the creation of Jo Kreiter, a former gymnast and acrobat who has previously sent dancers rappelling across a giant mural at 14th and Harrison streets. Such a feat is not so unusual in San Francisco, a dance scene in which Joanna Haigood has suspended performers from the Ferry Building clock tower, Project Bandaloop makes dances based on rock climbing, and Joe Goode, Kim Epifano and others regularly stage works amid the city bustle.

What sets Kreiter apart is her doggedly political bent. Her company, Flyaway Productions, now marking its 10th year, defines itself as a feminist enterprise, and Kreiter's earlier works have tackled everything from water scarcity to GMO crop engineering.

For this latest, she's returned to the age-old issue of "female objectification." "The Live Billboard Project" is meant to make passers-by cogitate on the exploitation of women in advertising. Think Naomi Wolf's "The Beauty Myth" repackaged as aerial dance. It's not easy to visualize -- and that's part of the problem. Kreiter never really makes her ideas manifest as moving image. "

The show's over, but I'd really like to hear what you thought. Click here for the full review.

I wrote up a little ditty on Yaelisa and Caminos Flamencos' October 20 and 21 shows at the Cowell Theater, but it looks like I'll have to post that later. Kinko's is closing and I am thus computerless.

Posted by Rachel at October 16, 2006 09:46 PM

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