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The Plain Dealer DANCE REVIEW
The premiere performance of the haunting work Thursday night was
the highlight of "Visions in Motion," an intimate program shared by
MorrisonDance and the Susan Edwards Dance Project of New York. The four dancers in Morrison's mysterious ritual were diguised
in fantastic masks and simple costumes created by Radke. Morrison, a lyrical dancer of long limbs and
effortless technique, looked like a barefoot baroque ballerina in a white mask
of her own face. With long hair
flowing, she rose from the darkness and boureed through spcae like an earth
goddess waving symbolic branches and summoning melancholy creatures portrayed
by Mark Kmit, Kimi Johnson, and Lily Skove. Entering slowly to the accompaniment of primitive-sounding
music, they wore oversized masks with droopy eyelids, frowning mouths and chins
that rested on their chests. Costumed
in baggy brown union suits, they hugged themselves, did pathetic little steps
and rested forelornly on the floor. As
a taped female voice sang otherworldly music, Morrison comforted each sad
creature. But their expressions never
changed until they removed their masks and took a smiling bow that broke the
magic spell. Morrison, who has a day job doing vision research for the Case
Western Reserve University psychology department, also showed her sensitivity
to the visual arts in a brief improvisation with two figurative sculptures, and
she transformed her slender body into flowing abstract shapes in "Contrast
(One)," a series of beautifully excecuted yoga postures. The bronze [clay] an wood figures that
inspired the dancer's play of shapes were created by Cleveland artist Paula
Blackman. The illusions in the yoga
solo were heightened by Andrew Kaletta's dramatic lighting and Morrison's
effective costume design, a black velvet unitard that bared one arm and the
opposite leg… (for the full article, please contact the Plain Dealer: 216-999-4248)
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