Rosie Herrera Dance Theater's "Dining Alone"
Thursday night I saw the Rosie Herrera Dance Theater perform at the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts as part of Dance Affiliates’ Dance Celebration series.
I went intending to write a review of my experience afterwards. Instead, I’ve decided to write two reviews. The performance was made up of two pieces, the first entitled “Dining Alone,” and the second titled “Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret.” Though the two shared some themes (at least in my interpretation), my emotions and my reactions to the two pieces differed so starkly that I’m splitting my review in half as well.
Part 1: Review of Rosie Herrera Dance Theater’s “Dining Alone”
Some dance performances have primarily aesthetic goals. The audience leaves the theater in awe of how high the leaps were, and how many perfect turns there were. A storyline may be weaved in between the impressive technique, but the story is not the main attraction, the dancing is.
Other, more contemporary, and more experimental dance performances rely on a story, or at least a deeper theme to engage and even challenge the artistic mind of the viewers. In this, the director runs the risk of miscommunication with the viewer. Will the viewer understand the purpose of this piece? Will the viewer comprehend the feelings being conveyed through the dance? The more indirect the “storyline,” the greater the risk, but many directors are happy to take this risk for the sake of bold artistry.
The Rosie Herrera Dance Theater is definitely an example of the latter, which makes sense, seeing as it is a Dance Theater group, not just a dance company. It is also an example of a performance that took risks in delivering its story. It was wide-open to interpretation.
These questions came to mind; Do you have to understand a dance performance in order to appreciate it? What does it even mean to “understand” dance?
I have no idea if I, or the other audience members, understood “Dining Alone” the way that Herrera meant it to be understood. Did Herrera even mean for it to be fully understood? Does she care if we understand it?
I do know that I understood “Dining Alone” differently than my friend who accompanied me to the show. I also know that I understood it differently than other writers who have reviewed this piece (and presented their interpretations as fact… snarkily implying that if your interpretation differs from theirs, you’re mistaken...eek!).
In “Dining Alone” I saw elements of submission and control, loneliness and longing, and of personal struggle with identity. In every mention of the Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, be it in reviews, previews, promotions, etc., Herrera’s Miami roots (and sometimes her father’s Cuban descent) are always mentioned. Certainly the Latin music paid homage to her upbringing, and I understood the personal conflict one undergoes as a “server” (be it in a restaurant or a personal relationship) painted by the colors of Latino culture.
While my friend understood the piece differently than I did, there were things in common that we both really liked about “Dining Alone.” Herrera’s use of plates as props was very interesting, and well executed. White plates reappeared throughout “Dining Alone” and were not just used as visuals during the show, but also as audible instruments. The spinning of a plate on the floor that gets faster and faster and faster until it suddenly stops. The crashing of breaking plates. The rolling, stacking and sliding of plates. The plates became part of the metaphorical story as well.
One of my favorite parts of “Dining Alone” was a dance that five performers did in unison, using multiple plates. The plates didn’t just serve as props, they actually changed the way the performers danced, because they were able to glide on the plates in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without them. It was a graceful, intriguing dance.
We liked how unique and unpredictable the performance was; we laughed out loud in many parts, and were drawn in, intensely curious, in other parts. We liked the use of various audio and visual elements, and the music itself. It was definitely not an easily forgotten performance.
Despite the fact that we both interpreted the piece differently, and perhaps both in a way unintended by Herrera, we enjoyed being part of the audience in “Dining Alone,” and would see it again.
So, to answer my own question, no. You don’t have to “get” a dance in one particular way or another to appreciate it. I walked away with one interpretation, my own. The performance, and the way that I interpreted it, evoked emotion in me, it made me question, it made me curious, it made me laugh, and it engaged me. These reactions are at the core of a successful artistic experience.
I applaud Dance Affiliates for bringing such a unique piece to the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and I am grateful that I got to experience “Dining In,” which broadened my thinking and my conception of dance.
To read the second half of this two-part review, click here.
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
