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SF
Weekly
Raves in Outer Space -
Cerebral dance company mixes participation, performance, and technology
The marriage of art and technology is currently in vogue -- even if tech stocks
aren't. From SFMOMA's exhibit of futuristic cyberart to Chris Finley's computer-generated
paintings to the overwhelming currency of drum 'n' bass and electronica, timely
testaments to the technological revolution abound. The techies have transcended
the confines of the business world, snaking their way into the fickle world
of art and even into the primarily technophobic environs of the local dance
community...
One of the few dance companies with its own think tank (the Capacitor Lab),
Capacitor nimbly crosses genre lines and subcultures, collaborating alternately
with the hottest DJs and visual artists, as well as with scientists.
Along with videos from the Hubble Space Telescope and planetariums, Flux Capacitor
incorporates elements from the troupe's last full-evening show, Within Outer
Spaces. Although Lomask describes the performance as an exploration of "the
Earth's relationship to outer space and how [humans] on Earth communicate
with whatever's out in space," it also has a less cerebral purpose: to get
club kids and ravers to groove and dance alongside performers, re-creating
the communal environments and good-time vibes of old-school raves. In this
variation, feral, limber dancers wearing flaming headdresses and carrying
neon rods will cavort, bound, leap, and dangle from heavily rigged structures
using an assortment of bungee cords, ropes, and pulleys. While these dancers
fly through the air and hang like bats from the ceiling, DJs Ellen Ferrato,
Chameleon, Kramer, and Ethan Miller will mix breakbeat, techno, and house
with original abstract compositions created by the electronic composer Thomas
Day and cellist Alex Kort.
...this show is like coming home: Lomask and her dancers started dancing in
clubs back when experimental performances were little more than supplementary
sideshows. Working in a theater allows her to control the environment, but
she still misses the "mind frame of a dance party and an audience that responds
in the moment." Whatever the result, Lomask stands by her belief that "the
role of an artist is to stay current and create portraits of the society we're
living in." In this case, the portraits will move with the times. (Lisa Hom)
