Pentacle


R E P E R T O R Y

		O(h) Running time 55 minutes Speaking directly to the audience while dancing and sometimes singing, casebolt and smith, tear apart their process of making dances, offering honest insights into their limitations as a duet company and their fear of becoming unoriginal. O(h)evolves from demonstrations of what they can, can’t and won’t do into intricate movement phrases layered with pop culture references. They sing show tunes, rewrite iconic rock songs, borrow from famous choreographers, deploy brash humor and lightning-quick banter and toss in a dash of breakin’. The result is a fast-paced, complex and hilarious glimpse into the minds and pants of casebolt and smith. “As a former choreographer I was laughing and cringing in my corner seat. So right-on. So well done. Such good text and dancing and singing…What I especially appreciated was how sophisticated their foray into dance styles, issues, foibles, politics was, and at the same time how much it appealed to the broader audience the afternoon I attended.” - Liz Shapiro, Dance Critic Dance Magazine and Gay City News

		Speaking Out! Running time 50 minutes Speaking Out! is a collection of three humorous and emotionally charged experimental dance-theater duets, each vastly different in the ways they “speak” and confront notions of gender, sexuality, politics and friendship. Speaking Out! delivers complicated, quirky, virtuosic dance theater rife with unexpected shifts of perspective and meaning. The performance consists of three standout pieces: *In The Space Provided* (20 minutes), combines storytelling and autobiography to share the intimate details of how Liz and Joel met and became casebolt and smith. Both playful and touching, the dance investigates the ways in which walls come down when potential friends are weighed and measured, and acquaintances become confidantes. In The Space Provided experiments with integrated movement and text, both set and improvised, and includes gestural choreography and partnering. After Words (15 minutes), is a danced conversation in which Liz and Joel playfully interrogate their collaborative process. They use rehearsal-like dialogue to earnestly praise and critique their levels of commitment when partnering each other, while working desperately to avoid the clichés of a romantic duet. The two contemplate how not to exploit the other’s gender/identity, but the more they refuse to make the dance a romantic coupling, the more ensnared they become in precarious sexual positions. A crowd favorite, After Words is lovingly referred to as “the boobs and balls” piece. In Other Words (15 minutes) is an entirely seated dance performed at a 2’ x 4’ table, begins with Liz and Joel vying for space on the limited surface in front of them. Calculated hand placements and gentle swipes across the table evolve into complicated maneuverings of elbow, shoulder, neck and head. What was an exploration of territory soon develops into layers of complex partnering, quick unison, gestural vocabulary and dramatic expressions. The table is enveloped by the tension between the two as they compete for dominance. Richly symbolic, the dance is resolved when Liz and Joel realize the only way to win is to work together. “Playful, masterfully performed and choreographed, gorgeously quirky, delicate, bawdy and strangely moving…the real deal.” - Minnesota Playlist

W O R K S H O P S

		Technique Subtle, but detailed release-based exercises on the floor lead to more complicated spiraling sequences, curving of the spine, shifts of weight and upside-down-ness. As we move to standing we learn to balance from off-center positions, execute complicated patterns of footwork and carve though space with quick changes of direction, energy and initiation points. Imagine Trisha Brown meets Cunningham, release meets ballet.

		Lecture Demonstration Liz and Joel reveal the methods they use to construct both their movement vocabulary and dialogue, performing excerpts from a few of their dances. This is an intimate look at how the two use their friendship, similar sense of humor and collaborative process to construct their work.

		Improvisation Engage in deep listening and decision-making exercises while learning to become present to the choices that are made, and the myriad possibilities available in each moment. Cultivate detailed movement vocabularies that carry meaning, and learn specific duet improvisations that Liz and Joel use on stage that appear to be set, but are actually improvised. Scores, structures and games.

		Gesture and the Story Workshop A great deal of casebolt and smith repertory includes the use of gesture and spoken word to reveal specific issues surrounding gender and sexuality, as well as how dances are made. This workshop helps emerging choreographers develop movement vocabulary that speaks, both literally and figuratively, about personal stories, the process of making work, and what’s happening in the world.

		Repertory Learn various sections of phrase work from a few dances that include partnering, contemporary modern vocabulary and speaking while dancing. This class involves a lot of duet work and the practice of improvisational speaking while dancing set movement material. Students will cultivate the skill to dual process.

PHOTOS Scott Groller, Jeff Larson