Ann Liv Young “Mermaid Show”

What I saw last night. Ann Liv Young at the La Mama First Floor Theater. Not casual viewing. Ann Liv reclines in a pool topless with a large fish tail below the waist. This is not Daryl Hanna in Splash. She is an angry fish that flails about, drags herself into the seats and bites the meat off of raw fish to spit all over the audience. That is just one portion of the show so dress accordingly. I still had raw fish and blood in my hair when I got home.

Elements: dirt, sailors, wading pool, raw fish, nudity, singing, a triangle, dolls etc.
Title: “Mermaid Show”
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Lance Gries

What I saw last night. Lance Gries at La MaMa’s The Club. A man in flip-flops and sweats attempts to defy gravity without the benefit of wires. Essentially balancing himself on the edge of a chair and playing David Bowies “Starman” Etc.

Elements: chair, ladder, table, computer, light bulb, broom
Title: “Etudes for an Astronaut”
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Irish Modern Dance Theatre

What I saw last night. Irish Modern Dance Theatre at the Ellen Stewart Theatre. Well this was no Lord of The Dance. Instead the performers are made up of victims of torture from many nations though mostly Africa. They took up asylum in Ireland and through a sequence of events became involved with this dance company originally as a kind of therapy. Can’t really make my usual glib comments here under the circumstances. Suffice to say that I hope it is helpful to the performers but as a show it has occasional moments but not much more.

Elements: singing, drawing, talking in many languages, chairs
Title: “Fall and Recover”
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BADco

What I saw last night. BADco at La MaMa Club Room. A woman flings herself about a space crowded with wires and speaker stands while engaging with a large black rabbit containing a speaker playing mumbling. End of run on sentence.

Elements: rabbit, projections, wire, mumbling
Title: “Semi-interpretations, or How to Explain Contemporary Dance to an Undead Hare”
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Ivo Dimchev

What I saw last night. Ivo Dimchev at La MaMa’s First Floor Theater. A double-header night for me.  A tall man wearing a bald wig, beaded g-string and woman’s shoes sings and lip-syncs to operatic music. It is a cross between Butoh and Jim Carrey in “the Mask”. He also draws and auctions his own blood.

Elements: chair, curtain, horn, real blood, talking, singing
Title: “Lili Handel”
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Palissimo Company

What I saw last night. Palissimo Company at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre. Last week seemed to be about audience participation dance this week seems to be literary references. This show is about Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird. It is on my shelf but I have not read it yet. Mostly a solo for a man wearing very little who dances in semi darkness for a while before being joined by a flock and a sword. I guess I better read the book before parts 2 & 3 are performed.

Elements: live music, singing, box, sword, black make-up, mask, out of the audience dancers
Title: “The Painted Bird | Bastard (Part 1)” by Pavel Zustiak
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