Review: Fringearts Revival of Lucinda Child's AVAILABLE LIGHT

The Fringe Festival Revival of Lucinda Childs' "Available Light" that took place at the 32nd street armory in Philadelphia on September 11th was one of the most technically sound pieces of choreography that I have witnessed in quite some time. Each step in this minimalistic piece hits the ground very lightly and perfectly in step. It was so sound that it felt stoic, relying on strong movements, like a tall wall to lean on, while portraying an obvious narrative. The work had a rigid feeling. This is a recreation of a piece from 1983; which was a time when works with minimalistic movements were the trend. That aspect makes the piece hard to relate to in a time when the trend is flaw- filled, emotionally charged work.

I strongly admire the diversity of the dancers in both size and ethnicity, which gives the work a modern twist. This is very helpful with the narrative as well. The dancers in white would primarily stand above or in front of the dancers in black and red, representing the "Light" and also the hierarchy or authority figure. They would stay in line with the dancers in white and then attempt to break off and lead, only to be forced back into their place. The concept initially intrigued me, but after 30 minutes I started to lose interest. The music would become more ominous, implying that the narrative would progress, but it did not. It would just reset and repeat itself like a minimalist typewriter. The same story could have been told in 30 to 40 minutes instead of 55.

Frank Gehry is credited with creating the sets, but his designs were not as prominent as advertised. Once the show started, however, I could see the influence but there could have been a stronger feeling of Gehry's work. The set design, the choreography, and the sound track all made a lot of sense together, but the bruiting base and the acoustics of the venue didn't align; the volume levels could have been tweaked just ever so slightly. Being that the venue was basically an open warehouse with very sensitive acoustics, there may have been something that was beyond the sound technician's control.

The recreation of the choreography is very well done, and the dancers chosen were technically sound. As a step by step revival this is very well done but in the future it should be slightly re-choreographed to make sense with some more modern movements added in. I want to appreciate minimalist pieces, but I need a little emotion with my art. Call me old fashioned, I guess.

-Nicole DelRossi

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