By Toria Bodden: Features Editor
I had no idea what to expect when I attended Stick Together. I knew there would be choreographed movement accompanied by a percussion group all the way from Switzerland. If you saw the signs around campus or read a preview of the event, and you harbored any fears of unintelligible modern ballet and a single man hitting a drum with his hands, you’re not alone. But Stick Together made those fears completely baseless.
It wasn’t just a performance; it was a story about humanity told through dance and every type of percussive instrument I’ve ever seen, and at least a few I’ve never seen. Each piece had a name that provided some clues to its meaning, though like any good art, it made each person in the audience feel something unique and personal. The opening number, Transparency, started with human beings trapped in boxes, glowing with light from beneath them. To try to explain what happened after this point is almost impossible. Individuals came out of boxes. They got back in boxes. There were jerky individual movements after the “birth” of escaping the glass boxes, then smoother movement with the beginnings of cooperation between couples. As in life, however, the level of refinement that brings individual grace immediately turns into a pressure to conform. Dancers would do something breathtaking as individuals, only to be copied by the other dancers. It was beautiful, frustrating and relatable all at the same time.
There were slow, somber dances where the dancers seemed serious, or even emotionless. There was a quick dance, filled with smiles and bright costumes that seemed to radiate happiness. In short, there was a little of everything. Adults in the audience were giving their full attention, homework and text messages briefly forgotten, and the children in the audience looked fascinated. But to speak just about the Mojalet Dance Collective is to completely ignore the other half of the evening. Rhythm Talk is currently in the US on tour from Olten, Switzerland. I have never seen people so jubilant about playing the drums. But the word “drum” is overly simplistic. There were gongs. There were cymbals. There was a piece with the rhythm set by a berimbau, a musical bow I’ve never seen used outside of Brazilian capoeira performance. It was a dynamic performance that I doubt sounds exactly the same twice.
It’s not the first time the groups have worked together. Faith Jensen-Ismay, the artistic director of Mojalet Dance Collective, and Noby Lehmann, the main composer for Rhythm Talk, met in 2006 when Jensen-Ismay and her collective were performing in Switzerland. “By 2007, they were here to do a tour project with us,” Jensen-Ismay said. Now the group is back for another whirlwind tour of performances and master classes. Before the performance at CSUSM, the two groups taught a master class on campus, sponsored by the Dance Program.
Rhythm Talk’s newest album, also entitled “Stick Together,” is filled with names from the places they visited in 2007, such as “Oceanside” and “Diego Dance.” “There’s just a lot of inspiration here,” Lehmann said. “Normally, we make music, then choreography. But here, we can work together. Faith sends me choreography, and then I make music.”
If you missed “Stick Together” at CSUSM, there are still two more chances to catch the performance. There will be two free shows at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, on October 6th at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The shows are free, but tickets are first come, first served starting an hour before each performance. The California Center for the Arts, at 340 N. Escondido Blvd., is a fifteen-minute drive from campus, or two Sprinter stops and a fifteen-minute walk.