May 2009
Push Dance Company presents ‘Mixed Messages’
Raissa Simpson, artistic director of Push Dance Company, was last seen as Mr. Jones in Jacinta Vlach’s very successful work, “Animal Farm,” on its way to Jacob’s Pillow. Some of you might have caught the excerpt as a part of the Living Word Project last year, which I loved. Story was the focus in the 2008 preview, where now, with the more developed characters and dance pieces - solos and company numbers set against a lovely musical score and a changing visual landscape, light and dark images projected on a blank wall - the work has shifted from literal to abstract.
Taken as a completely separate work, withholding the inclination to compare one to the other, this “Animal Farm” aesthetically succeeds, attributable to a fine cast, among them, Michael Velez, as Old Major, Rashad Pridgen as Napoleon, Jacinta Vlach as Snowball, Lynda Gutierrez as Sqealer, Jetta Martin as Boxer and Takeo Wong as Clover and, of course, Raissa Simpson as Mr. Jones.
I enjoyed Simpson’s portrayal of the ousted farmer in the Orwellian tale, where animals take over a farm. In the first solo in the work, marvelously choreographed and produced, Simpson’s excellent performance set the tone for the high level of dance/theatre to come.
Push Dance Company’s annual home season opens with “Mixed Messages,” May 2-3, 8 p.m., a lush evening length work on multiracial America. “Mixed Messages” explores messages of race, power and identity through dance, video art and atmospheric sound. Collaborators include video artist Marlon Sagana Ingram, Third Street Youth Center and Clinic, soundscape artist Kyle Canfield and pianist Joo Wan Kim.
The program is at ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell St., San Francisco. Tickets are $18 general, $15seniors, students and children 12 and under. Tickets are available online and by calling (415) 863-9834.
