I’m sure I saw something remarkable at Emi Greco | PC’s performance last night of Rimasta Orfano in the Sottile Theatre, but I’m still not certain what. It’s been said of dancer and choreographer Emio Greco that he mines everyday movements for his work. I don’t know about that, but I can tell you if I saw anyone moving in the manner he and his troupe of five other dancers moved that night, I’d be calling 911. I found it impossible to follow any sort of narrative for the 90-minute dance, but the extraordinary pictures theese dancers made, the hyperkinetic way they twisted, contorted, shivered, writhed, dropped, squirmed, jerked, undulated, and spun, was clearly in the service of a story (Rimasta Orfano translates as “abandoned orphan, for what it’s worth.) David Gordon’s powerful music ranged from long stretches of absolute silence to a cacaphony of alarms and air-raid sirens, barely audible sounds of crickets chirping and gently humming machine sounds to jet aircraft crossing the room and string and brass ensembles. Afterward, it was clear not everyone in the audience understood what they’d seen, but judging from the chatter on the street outside the Sottile, they sure respected it.
Despite the crappy weather of Saturday and Sunday night – what with the Reggae Block Party nearly being canceled, the Andre Mehmari trio and their audience schlepping gamely from the Cistern to the Gaillard instead of canceling, and of course yet another dreary, wet first Monday — Piccolo’s Memorial Day concert at Liberty Square in front of the Aquarium went off well, their Children’s Festival at Marion Square was a rousing success, and the Seed and Feed Marching Abominable Band raised the roof at the Market after Saturday’s Custom House shindig, just as they always do.
Rain or no, the coming week holds even more excitement and promise than even the festival’s opening weekend, with Spoleto premieres of Contemporary Legend Theatre’s Kingdom of Desire, two more of the Solo Turns theatre presentations, another Colla Marionette program, the Westminster Choir, both the Choral and Festival Concerts, more Wachovia Jazz and Bank of America Chamber Music concerts, Amajuba – Like Doves We Rise and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s famous dance program, with still more after that. And I’ll be seeing a lot more of Piccolo Spoleto in the coming week, which I’ll share with you here in this space.