MOMIX: Looks Great, Less Filling

A few days ago, we said that MOMIX is "the thinking person's Cirque Du Soleil" and we'd like to take that back now. That's not to say that their new work "Opus Cactus" wasn't beautiful, color-drenched, packed with impressive technique, and expertly executed, because it was all those things. It just wasn't anything more. "Opus Cactus" was like ordering an iPod and opening the perfect, sleek packaging only to discover someone screwed up at the factory and your new gadget wasn't there: gorgeous to look at, but nothing substantive under the surface.

Perhaps we've become spoiled by the brain-teasing performances spilling out of On the Boards (that Stranger Genius Award was well-deserved), because MOMIX used to be a favorite dance company when we were much younger. That may be just the point--despite the fact that the predominantly older adult audience seemed rapt with the whole performance (and we're not trying to insult their intelligence), the style offered by MOMIX seems best suited to entertain lightly, in a manner befitting gorgeously illustrated children's books.

Across a series of separate pieces arranged loosely in a "desert" theme, we were wowed by beautiful costumes and choreography intended to invoke the sights and sounds of colorful sunsets, exaggerated animal characters (frogs, lizards, water bugs, gila monsters, and more), and desert spirits. The technical mastery of the dancers is unparalleled, and indeed many impressively acrobatic moments found us exclaiming out loud, mouth shaped in a surprised O. But the sum total was akin to a sketch comedy festival; each separate section did not necessarily relate to what came before or after, and we never felt a deepened, mystical connection with the desert that artistic director Moses Pendelton likely intended we would. This shouldn't be too difficult either, considering that this Seattlest contributor comes from some of the most beautiful desert terrain on the planet, and is prone to fits of desert nostalgia with little provocation. MOMIX couldn't provoke us to think or experience any real emotion; we left feeling like we'd eaten an entire dessert tray without ever getting full.

Tonight is the last show, and we still think anyone who goes would ultimately enjoy it as a visual spectacle unlike anything else in modern dance. The wizardry with props, lighting and costume is laudable, and the ability of the dancers to morph into a wide range of non-human characters is impressive (at the final bow, we couldn't believe there were only 8 dancers total in the performance--it seemed like a company of 20). If you want to introduce your children to modern dance and not have them squirm in their seats the whole time from boredom, this is a perfect opportunity.

MOMIX
Meany Theater, UW
8pm
Tickets: $42