FRINGE REVIEW: modern dance explained

These shows may be rough around the edges and display the youthfulness of their creators, and that's part of the enjoyment.

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FRINGE REVIEW: modern dance explained

POSTED: Monday, September 10, 2012, 6:05 PM

Every year, there's hundreds and hundreds of performances at the Philly Fringe and Live Arts Festival, and unless it's one of the big shows, it's sometimes hard to tell what you're going to get. Here at Critical Mass we're sending writers to as many shows as we possibly can for 75 pocket-sized reviews over the course of the fest. Check back in with us at On The Fringe every day for real talk on what these things actually are!

SHOW: modern dance explained

GROUP: Rebekah Rickards

GENRE: Dance

ATTENDED: Sun., Sept. 9, 3 p.m.

CLOSES: Sept. 9

BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: A revelation of codependence between weakness and stereotypes, modern dance explained candidly details the distance we are willing to travel for acceptance, the hilarious hoops we jump through to be taken seriously, and the languages we contrive to be understood.

WE THINK: One of the benefits of the Fringe Festival is that it offers opportunities to catch emerging artists who are just beginning to stretch their wings as professionals. These shows may be rough around the edges and display the youthfulness of their creators, and that’s part of the enjoyment. That was the deal with Rebekah Rickards modern dance explained, a comedic dance theater performance that made good-natured fun of the pretentions and anxieties that inhabit the world of contemporary dance.

Playing the role of a wannabe posh choreographer, Rickards concocted absurd dances and prattled on with preposterous platitudes as she attempted to teach a motley crew the language of dance using Pictionary and other unorthodox methods. It was witty and knowing, and while the show ran too long and a bit too loosey goosey, the performance presented Rickards, and co-choreographer/dancer Ronald Parker (in the outlandish role of Angry Black Man), as fresh artists worth keeping your eye on.

—Deni Kasrel

Posted by Deni Kasrel @ 6:05 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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