Body in Motion

I've been a bit of a Fringe maniac lately. Last night I saw Loose Screws' production of Way Up High.

I made my way down into a dimly lit church basement at 21st and Chestnut, noting the distinct lack of air conditioning. It was humid as hell and we all sat on metal folding chairs, but as soon as the show started I didn't think of anything else. It was really incredible. Go see it. Jenn Rose (the choreographer and a performer) has such an amazing vision. And what an inspired combination, modern dance and tap. Dan Kazemi's music was so perfect that it's possible to close your eyes and identify the color he specifies. (Who knew what "green" sounds like? Dan Kazemi, apparently...) And of course since we all just worked together on The Irish... it felt like a visit to my extended family. A special shout-out to my friend Sara Nye, who played the character of Black in last night's show. It's so wonderful to see her dance, as she was our House Management apprentice last year and dealt with all of the annoying patrons instead of doing what she was obviously born to do!

Today Deb and I rode our bikes up to Love Park and watched a free performance. It was called bodies in urban spaces and it was essentially a dance/living sculpture piece that took place all over Center City Philadelphia. Basically we followed a group of colorfully clad dancers as they ran around and contorted themselves into mind-blowing living sculptures. It was incredible, and I was able to take loads of pictures...


Tree huggers:


Watch your step:


Bas-relief:


Above the liquor store on JFK:


Rise and run:


How did they get up there?


We counted 8 bodies in this planter:


In the food court of the new Comcast building:


Rock lobster:


The set up:


The finished product (my personal favorite):


On the street:


Make a call:


Stacked:


And the lovely and talented Sara Nye was also in this piece! (You may recognize her as the purple hoodie/coral sweatpants body) Here she demonstrates the unforgiving nature of concrete:


Another mind-blowing, innovative and totally fun Fringe show. I think I'm seeing 2 more on Monday. Long live the Fringe!