During one of my visits to a very favorite dining haunt of mine I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Miss Elspeth Brown and after some quick music journalist publicity I learned that she was a dancer and the artistic director of her own company which is called the Eyes Of A Blue Dog. For me its always interesting to meet new creative people because I find this to be the kind of positive cross-networking that helps reinforce my own resolve for the writing and photography – but enough about me. We kept in touch and discussed each others enterprise and I swore I would one day see her perform. Trust me it is not always easy to find a free night with the battery of Metal forces that come through a market like NYC. Anyways, it was the dead of winter and I learned that Elspeth and company would be presenting a new piece at the APAP Showcase and it would be held at the Dance New Amsterdam space in lower Manhattan.
The way that this showcase was set up was that a number of different acts all had either one or two sets and since it was a free event there was a massive crowd waiting to get into what apparently was a very small space. I don’t think the main room fit more than 100 people, but perhaps it could squeeze a few more into it. Tonight there would be two chances to see EOABD perform the piece and to make sure we were back on the regular writing track I opted to check out the early showing. Of course the crowd that was moving in and out had me initially thinking that I was not getting inside. Fortunately the fans of the performer before Eyes moved out and let the rest of us in. Too bad they left since they ended up missing something rather cool.
The space was interesting as it offered you a gallery section for the audience to sit down and observe and the rest of it was your standard dance floor stage. It was very nicely set up and now it was time to enjoy their piece which was entitled “Perhaps Now, Perhaps Never”. According to the program that was handed out this work “is an exploration of the physiological and psychological actions that arise in a moment of quiet surrender”.
Since Elspeth knew that I was a photographer, she allowed me to snap a few images of them performing but she said “please don’t use flash” and of course I had to comply as based on what was happening up there the flashing would have been very distracting to the presentation. One certainly does not want to ruin the show for the other people watching or the artist for that matter. As I look back on my scant shots I wished that I had used a couple of different settings and the zoom lens for more but perhaps next time.
I was enjoying what the ladies were doing and I meant to ask more about some of the symbolism in terms of the balloons and what they were supposed to mean in terms of the piece. I did recognize some of the music as being by Tool which I found very interesting. Of course I learned how Elspeth is a big fan of Tool so that makes a lot of sense.
The girls would come back and forth from the stage and while there were instances were all were performing together there were others that would find only a couple of them keeping our attention focused. I cannot describe myself as the biggest study of the art of dance but I do watch the auditions for the “So You Think You Can Dance” television show and could tell you that all of the girls were very beautiful and very, very talented. I was enjoying myself and the perception that everyone else around me was also in this mindset.
This was definitely something interesting to observe and an evening of performance that I was glad I made time to take part in. It was also a welcome change of pace for me. I think it’s important to try and support the arts whenever possible and especially so when someone you know is taking part in it. This goes for those dancers, singers and musicians alike. I encourage those fans of the fine art of dance to check out Elspeth and her company because she really works hard at delivering something interesting. I know that I will be checking her out again sometime in the future if my schedule allows to do so. Good luck Elspeth we wish you the best with your dance company and its reaching the world with your visions.
Official Website: http://eyesofabluedog.org
Official Website of the DNA: http://www.dnadance.org/site/