Whim W'him Premieres Second Season at Intiman, Has Something to Say About It
It was with bated breath that a sold-out crowd waited for the curtain to open at Intiman Theatre last weekend. The buzz about this new dance company has been building for the past year, starting with Whim W’him’s sold-out premiere at On the Boards last January and culminating with the December announcement that Whim W’him would become Intiman’s first Resident Dance Company, a five-year partnership beginning in January 2011.
So it seems that Artistic Director Olivier Wevers is in an enviable place. But then again, maybe not. In its short existence, his company has sold out close to (if not every) show, popped up on nearly every press docket, found a permanent five-year home along with the public support of many of Seattle’s big-name Artistic Directors. But Whim W’him’s premiere of Shadows, Raincoats & Monsters last weekend made it clear that Wevers has a specific vision - a mission - and as the company continues to find its footing, the public will be watching...and weighing in.
"Monster". Photo courtesy http://gallery.me.com
Wevers’ two new works, “This Is Not a Raincoat” and “Monster”, each follow the same presentation pattern. The punchy colorings; short, episodic pieces; and easily digestible motifs continue the trend established last year with 3Seasons. Wevers’ work always seems to have a message, and as his audience, we’re made to comprehend. Both “This Is Not a Raincoat” and “Monster” are clear in their meaning: “Raincoat” tells the “treachery of images in our lives” and “Monster “examines three “different monsters we may encounter in our lives”. The meaning is relayed with simple, literal movement, then the themes are curated carefully in the program or laid out with RA Scion’s spoken words. Wevers has an agenda. And he wants to make sure we get it.
Maybe Whim W’him is Wevers’ chance to cast off the treachery of image and expectation in his own life, helping us to help him emerge as a fresh new face in the Seattle dance community - maybe in a way that no one, not even himself, expects. So how does this couple with Intiman’s vision? It’s no secret that Intiman itself is struggling with a new identity, and while Artistic Director Kate Whoriskey is dealing with her own demons, her path and Wevers’ have yet to collide. Right now their partnership is a just a venue share, but it strives to result, as Whoriskey opines, in “breaking down the barriers between dance, music and theatre”. We’ll see.
In contrast, Annabelle Orcha Lopez choreographs like she doesn’t even know that we’re there. “Cylindrical Shadows”, Lopez’s contribution to the program, resonates with a complex purpose and a more sophisticated sense of engagement. Lopez uses her dancers (a mixture from Houston Ballet, PNB and Spectrum Dance Theatre, including Wevers himself) to full effect, drawing out their capabilities as movers and expressive artists. Lopez's presentation is more layered than that of Wevers; her quartet of male dancers pulses with a palpable energy. Yet she's used the requisite program notes as well, which serves to trivialize her anguish over a friend's sudden death - the autobiographical seed behind the work. If she could have possibly expressed that feeling with words (let alone a single paragraph), why the need to dance it?
