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| Sara Jinks in Pat Graney's "Cowgirls" photo by Teri Pieper |
When you think about a dance
performance, you may envision something grand and expansive, like “Nutcracker.”
Or maybe a sparkly ballroom competition comes to mind, something akin to “Dancing
With the Stars.” No matter the dance style, these performances are about bodies
moving in space. In this case, people moving across large stages or big dance
floors.
But what happens when a
performance space is tightly circumscribed?
This weekend ten Seattle-area
choreographers explore that question in a performance called “Ten Tiny Dances,”
onstage at Velocity Dance Center on Capitol Hill.
I've never attended one of these productions, and was curious what makes something a "tiny dance."
“There are a lot of things that
are tiny about this show,” producer Sara Jinks told me. “The number one most
notable thing is the stage itself.”
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| it really IS a tiny stage photo by Kenneth Aaron |
The ten dances are performed on a
four foot by four foot, 18-inch high platform. Apparently, the audience sits very close to
this tiny stage; they're so close, Jinks explains, that it can be unnerving
for the dancers.
More than that, “the whole thing
feels like the edge.” Jinks says anyone who’s performed onstage understand the
sensation you get when you're within two feet from the edge. It’s a sense of
unease, of being a just a little off-kilter. In a tiny dance, Jinks says you're always
within two feet of the edge of the stage, always right next to the audience. “It’s
a vulnerable performance.”
“Ten Tiny Dances” was first conceived
in Portland by a dancer named Mike Barber. Seattle-based choreographer Crispin
Spaeth collaborated with Barber on some bi-city productions, and eventually
started a local 'franchise.'
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| Dayna Hanson in a Tiny Dance photo courtesy Dayna Hanson |
This year Sara Jinks takes on the
producer mantle. She’s invited an array of choreographers to participate,
including Spaeth, as well as other established local dancemakers,like Wade Madsen, Mark Haim and Diana Cardiff.
But Jinks wanted to expand the
reach of the performance beyond the city’s contemporary dance community. This
year’s program includes both Indian and African dances.
Most of all, Jinks wants to
encourage people who are new to dance of any kind to attend Ten Tiny Dances,
and to come with an open mind.
“I think people beat themselves
up a bit when they’re watching contemporary dance,” she explains. “But I think
some of those same people would go into Seattle Art Museum and they’d look at a
piece of art on the wall, and they’d like it or not like it, and they don’t
feel frustrated by that.”
But when live humans are moving,
on a tiny platform or a huge stage, right in front of us, Jinks admits it can
challenge the audience.
None of these dances lasts longer
than eight minutes. In that sense, it’s the Whitman's Sampler of dance. And that makes it the perfect entry point for people who don’t
know much about contemporary dance. “If you don’t like what you see, something
different will come along very soon.”
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| wow, you can fit a lot of performers on the stage for one Tiny Dance! photo by Kenneth Aaron |
You can check out the 2015 edition of "Ten Tiny Dances" February 6-8 at Velocity Dance Center on Capitol Hill. Ten Tiny Dances
