| San Francisco Guardian, by Rita Felciano Rarely can contemporary dance companies accommodate more than one master. Kunst-Stoff does. Cofounded by two ballet dancers – Greek-born Yannis Adoniou and Tomi Paasonen from Finland – the company puts its own perspective on that slithery form called multimedia dance. Adoniou presents Less Sylphides, set to Chopin, his take on the Fokine classic and the whole idea of ballet dancing. What comes out is absolutely 21st century. Paasonen's ETC is an in-time creation that involves three huge video panels and elaborate feedback techniques for sound and image. It couldn't be more up to date. So what do the works of these artists have in common? They are reconfiguring fundamental ideas about the body in space and time, the role of collective memory and the way these forces shape our perception of dance. Sylphides is steeped in the history of ensemble dancing, as is Paasonen's ETC. Oh, did I mention that they have splendid dancers who put on a hell of a show? They are Nicole Bonadonna, Erin Carper, Kara Davis, Leslie Schickel, Nole Simonse Juliann Rhodes, Julian DeLeon, Breton Tyner-Bryan and guest artist Brett Conway. |
