USA: 2020
by Katie Higginson-Tranter
10 films beautifully portraying America’s diverse communities. These works capture the current climate whilst also exemplifying specific issues surrounding frustration, struggle and hope. Through dance, they paint a picture of 2020 America and share stories that the whole world can relate to.
Under the blue skies of Atlanta, Laurel Lawson and Alice Sheppard, fly and fall in glee. No words are needed as they explore their creative freedom, refusing any restrictions that some viewers might think wheelchairs suggest. Indulging in their strength and elegance, they show how to truly Revel In Your Body. This freedom is choked as Tom Tsai reveals his hardships on the road to recovery. Far from revelry, Tsai repeats his breaking techniques with intense words of frustration. His thoughts are ruled by continuance and his fears are all About Inertia. We next follow a young girl also struggling to adapt, but to University. Angella Bettina Carlos is identified by her Filipino background, as a rice cooker remains close. Her frustrations accumulating in ballet class, Carlos explodes with powerful turns and distressed floor work. She reveals confidence in her identity. She is Abbey.
Ericka Vaughn Lashley, Stacy DeMorrow Miller and Abby Suskin begin to articulate their feet in sync. Books upon their head force a motionless upper body; knowledge holds power; the books have the ultimate rule. Tearing the pages from the books gives the dancers freedom and they find they are no longer Bound. Similarly refusing restriction, Jasmine Hearn stands proudly outdoors dancing to the early life of her Grandmother, Claudette Johnson. Whispered memories of childhood friends, ice cream and dressmaking bring Hearn a warm smile. She is Claudette’s Memory Keep(H)ER. This calmness is broken as we SubMERGE into the Los Angeles community. Samad Guerram, Bianca Medina, Chris Cuenza and Jannet Galdamez mournfully lurk around empty water bottles and dry pave stones whilst a broken speech draws reference to the 2020 California drought. The dancers beautifully encapsulate the community, whilst illustrating the struggles and effects of the drought.
Bodies dressed in white each tell their recollection of immigration; how their identity was waxed off like body hair, how the roots that once gave them life are now miles away. Though supporting each other, they cannot contain the frustration of being Uprooted. Moving to a dingy room, musicians and dancers await. The dancer’s feet tap in synchronicity; their energy builds bringing life to the dull room and their taps decorate the musician’s score. This work is a feel-good gem, combining the raw passion of jazz and tap to produce nothing but Supreme Love. Love abandons the screen as a young boy sees men swap handrails for prison-cell bars. Their powerful but regimented movement confirms that their Separate Sentences, all have the same consequences on the outside community. As colour returns to the screen the boy walks away, refuting the future being presented to him. Reenforcing hope, Abdiel Figueroa Reyes struts towards us with a ballsy, provocative attitude, leaving no room for apology. Referencing the deaths of George Floyd, Michael Brown Jr. and Atatiana Jeffersons there is clear frustration with today’s America. It urges American’s to Pull Up and the merciless rhymes of Little Simz’s ‘BOSS’ confirm that if not, get out of the way!
