I seriously think I'm a dancer in an actor's body. Especially after last night.

I went to see Martha Graham's 2004 season show at City Center. Every dance was so different and she complimented all of her costumes with the dancers...as a choreographer should. There were 5 dances total:

The evening began with the "Satyric Festival Song" This dance "was inspired by the culture of the American Indian Pueblos and how their rituals were mocked". The dance mostly consisted of this woman dancing around like she was possessed. However, what I found most interesting was how she perfected so many isolated movements to enhance the objective of the satire.

"Deep Song" was set around the Spanish Civil War in 1937. I thought this dance out of all of them had the most tortorous (not in as to watch...the story that was being told).

"Errand into the Maze"...this was my 2nd favorite! Martha choreographed the story as a mythology, but put a heroine in the position of the protagonist instead of a hero. She took it from the "myth of Theseus who journeys into the labyrinth to confront the Minotaur ". The confrontation between these two was so engaging. Martha used this set piece that was bone-like and was used as a "portal" and at other times as a barrier so the minotaur couldn't get to her. It was so beautiful.

"Circe" was "based on the myth of Ulysses' encounter with the sorceress, Circe." The men in this number were amazing...how strong they were...cute too :)

The last dance was a compilation of dances and this was by far my favorite! "'Sketches from Chronicle' universalizes the tragedies of war". The opening number was unbelievable. The woman had this costume that was black on top and red underneath and was slit up the back. She used the black part as canons, shelter, etc. and the fiery red underneath part as fire, blood, and death. It was visually stunning and beautifully done. The rest of the compiled pieces centered around this woman as a warrior and her soldier (the Martha Graham school dancers). The strength she had for this role was ...she completely embodied the character. She was truly Mulan!

An unbelievable night! Thank god for the Theater Development Fund whose able to give serious discounts to artists like myself... to be able to keep my craft in check and to witness and remain a part of the vitality of performance and storytelling.

Big Applause!