REVIEW: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company "Body Against Body"

September 29th - October 1st 
Columbia College Chicago's Dance Center

Does the beauty of a story lie in the interpretation of its message? Some argue that the story was made to be seen in a certain way and should be judged within the intentions of the creator. With the Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane Dance Company’s Body Against Body, it’s unclear whether there was a story at all. The production’s title was the biggest hint of any real message that was to be portrayed. This obscurity is because the dance show at Columbia College’s Dance Center was all about the interaction between figures, as dancers, and sending a message through their actions and choices as performers.

            The production, which premiered on Thursday, September 29^th, ran two separate cycling productions which were each staged in three parts. The first part of the A program began with two men and a large wooden box, which they proceeded to wheel across the stage and set in different areas. The whole dance wasn’t about the box, though. The two men played off each other and used each other as characters, each sending their message separately and collaborating to send it together as a whole.

            What came next in the second part following the show’s intermission was something completely unexpected. A woman entered the stage at the left beneath a spotlight. She was completely nude as she stood boldly on the stage and faced the audience, performing with integrity and passion. Soon, more dancers joined her, also nude, and performed the same type of sequence but each in their own way. Slowly and gradually, people exited and entered the stage in a pattern, returning with a costume, and the pieces sequenced from black to white over the course of the motions. It all ended with the dancers in unison, building momentum as the music shifted to a more chaotic compilation, to the point where the performers stopped and shouted in unison and the lights blacked out. This was the peak of the show, full of intensity and emotion that cannot be described. The pairing of incredible dancing and a buildup of energy certainly had the audience collectively short of breath by its finish.
            This performance closed at it had finished, with the same two male dancers peforming together, but this time to more of a beat. Their dialogue here told more of a visible story, with one man seated and the other dancing in a circle around him. They talked of a meeting where they hadn’t seen each other in a bit of time and it was sort of a reunion. What faltered here was the half-finished part of the story. It caused for the audience to piece the rest of the tale on their own, which was a task in itself alongside the difficulty of making sense of the oddity in each dance. Body Against Body wasn’t necessarily about the music and the flashy costumes. This superficiality is what often gets shows lost in production value. Because of the refreshing simplicity in the staging of this show, all dialogue became awkward as it overcomplicated the production.

What’s fascinating is how each dancer had the same look on their faces of pure artistry and determination of performing from the heart. The piece soon became not about costumes (or a lack of costume) but about the relationship of self with the body. Seldom do we, as audience members, become lucky enough to witness the figure in its most natural form. It’s even more rare that we are able look past the distraction to find the greatest significance of all lying in the roots in its depth. This was the most profound statement. It answers the question it posed itself. The story was meant to be interpreted individually, graced with the lightness in costume and production, meant for the mind of the viewer to fill in the blanks. Nothing ever gets captued as brilliantly as did the work of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane’s company last weekend, and is to be imprinted in memory as a statement of self remembered positively.

This is me and my program. Hey.