Jonathan Meyer: Dancing in an alternate universe

Jonathan Meyer. Photo: danmerlo.com

Independent Chicago dance maker Jonathan Meyer speaks of accessing in movement the murky state of pre-cognitive perception. The semi-submerged pre-cogs of Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Minority Report are images that come immediately to mind. But Meyer, who heads the deeply interior Khecari dance collective, is not creating a sci-fi thriller in dance. He's searching for movement impulses before cognition existed. These impulses stretch so far back that, theoretically, his process taps the beginning of the cosmos and the point where the primordial soup was coming to a slow boil. In essence, Meyer experiments with letting go of ordinary states of consciousness and certain logical rules of perception to reach a pure, almost blank slate of recognition.

All of these heady qualities can be found in his new full-length collaborative exploration, The Waking Room, which premieres Sept. 10-19 at Co-Prosperity Sphere, a gallery space in Bridgeport. Meyer performs with two fellow dancers and will be accompanied by composer Christopher Preissing's deconstructed sound score, shaped by the unrecognizable manipulation of recorded human voices. This eerie stripping of sound reflects Meyer's own improvised choreographic goal of reaching a pre-cognitive state. The dancer-choreographer works extensively in the practice of Body-Mind Centering, which is used in occupational therapy, dance, psychotherapy and yoga. It's a study that transcends the understanding of bones and muscles to examine body systems, organs, hormones and emotions. In terms of dance, it exists in the realm of the subconscious and complex psychological states.

In The Waking Room, through convulsive and emotionally loaded gestures, Meyer vacillates between propelling himself toward safety and pulling back defensively. He also experiments with new movement that arises from spontaneous responses to the stimuli around him. "I'm paying attention to micro-moments in the process of perception that are generally well below the surface of consciousness," explains Meyer. By this, he aims to explore stimulus-impulse-response - the idea of what happens if you have an itch, but instead of scratching it you do something else, like jerk your leg. He asks, "Will the stimulus vanish or grow stronger?"

Overall, Meyer is celebrating the validity of non-mundane states of consciousness. And the performance atmosphere mirrors this fantastical universe of dreams, which - according to the choreographer -- only seem strange when logic is applied to them. The piece also posits the idea of shedding and rebirth against decay and falling apart. These dichotomies are reflected in Iris Bainum-Houle's tattered Napoleonic-era costumes and Christopher Furman's kinetic sculptures suggestive of bird's wings. And, like a David Lynch film, the piece also creates an environment that hovers somewhere between the bizarre and the beautiful.

Jonathan Meyer's The Waking Room runs Sept. 10 through 19 at Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Tickets: $10-$15. In addition, Meyer will perform an excerpt from The Waking Room on Sept. 14 at noon in a free concert in Millennium Park (Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Washington). For more information: www.khecari.org.

Also playing...

Chicago's Natya Dance Theatre will be suspended between two worlds: traditional classical Indian dance and the Westernized Bollywood craze when it performs Rhythms of Rahman at the Harold Washington Library on Sept. 12. The concert honors A.R. Rahman, composer of the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire and other acclaimed Indian films, as well as the hit musical, Bombay Dreams. Natya Dance Theatre is clearly based in the ancient spiritual dance form of southern India known as Bharata Natyam. But the company also will incorporate some modest Bollywood gyrations and the Punjabi folk dance of Bhangra, along with African, hip-hop and jazz styles. All reflect the world flavor of Rahman's music and will be matched with dances that convey themes of love, emancipation and unity from the Indian films on which the composer has collaborated.

Artistic director Hema Rajagopalan is overseeing the dances that were choreographed by members of her long-established ensemble. She says that although Bollywood is not a style her group typically performs, she believes that the flexible dance form of Bharata Natyam can adapt to contemporary times and create a jubilant energy through intensely rhythmic footwork and expressive, layered gestures.

Concert highlights include Kwaja Meri Kwaja from the film Jodhaa Akbar, set during the ornate Islamic Sufi period and featuring ritualistic knee-bending and Sufi twirls; a gentle Bharata Natyam duet between a mother and the son she lost from the movie Rang De Basanti; and the rousing Bollywood anthem Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.

Natya Dance Theatre performs September 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium in the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. Tickets: $15-$25. www.brownpapertickets.com. For more information: www.natya.com.

Venetia Stifler's Concert Dance, Inc., premieres a three-part contemporary dance as part of Ravinia Festival's Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial festivities. The Better Angels of Our Nature features the music of Lawrence Dillon and spoken word selected from Lincoln's personal letters. Performances take place Sept. 10 and 11 at 8 p.m. at Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall in Highland Park. Tickets: $10. For tickets, call 847-266-5100 or visit www.ravinia.org. For more information: www.cdichicago.org.

Links Hall presents a special lecture/performance, titled Body, Space, Music, by German choreographer and performance artist Raimund Hoghe, who served as the late Pina Bausch's dramaturge from 1980 to 1990. His unconventional choreography has a deceptively minimalist quality linked to his personal battles with severe scoliosis (which allowed him to craft a new way of moving). The free event, which includes a post-show reception, will be held Sept. 14 between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Goethe-Institut Chicago, 150 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 200. Contact Links Hall at 773-281-0824 or visit www.linkshall.org.

END