Howls of laughter must have been heard throughout downtown Saturday night, as Pittsburgh kicked off its “Distinctively Dutch Festival” with the hysterically funny and smart modern dance company, Dance Works Rotterdam/Andre´Gingras.
Based in the Netherlands, the company members study a range of different artistic styles including theater, acrobatics, capoeira and free running. Their show “Anatomica” incorporated elements of each.
The performance itself explored themes of exhibitionism, objectification, sexual seduction and competition. Not for the squeamish audience member, the farcical nature felt like a dirty SNL skit. With some serious wit and fearless performers, the company had the packed house in stitches. We’re talking seam-splitting stitches.
The first half featured “Anatomica #1,” a theatrical and satirical take on sexual seduction. Music with a rock beat blared as each dancer entered the space riled up and ready to go, cheekily flirting with the audience using mock temptation.
I’m pretty sure I witnessed one dancer flexing his bicep, while another danced “the robot.” Others blew kisses and spanked their own behinds. The hilarity ensued when one man couldn’t contain his desire and burst into song with Badfinger's “Without You.” (Think of Mariah Carey covering it, though - “I can’t LIVE! Living is without you! I can’t LIIIIIIVE...”)
The most comical of the section was the parody of an online sex chat room. One female dancer posed as a man, encouraging the woman on the other end of the laptop to lick her own toes and bark like a dog. What is normally a terribly sad and pathetic subject became humorous.
But there was dancing, too - a mix of silky release technique and athletic jumps through gymnastic transitions. Part of the spoof was to mix in “showboat” types of movement like backbends and fouette´turns.
The second half of the show, “Anatomica 3” focused more on the physical body as an object, and played with Andy Warhol’s expression of celebrity culture.
A floor to ceiling ramp stood in the far right corner of the stage. Dancers moved up and down, leaping, diving and falling from the edges. In addition to their physical exhibitionism, they stopped and posed for “Warhol,” tightening their stomachs and showing skin in a attempt to woo the camera with their bodies.
The piece escalated into a full-bodied and quick moving unison. With the daring of Streb, the flexibility of Pilobolus and the athleticism of Dorfman, Rotterdam infused its distinct humor into a clever and physical presentation of what it means to be a sensual and sexual being in this day and age.
Check out the remaining shows of the Pittsburgh Dance Council 2011-2012 season HERE.
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