Perfectly Broken
Perfectly Broken
Voci Dance
Choreographed by Christine Carow, Genevieve Bernard, and Mary Clymene Wilkins
Red Venue
Orlando International Theater Fringe Festival, Orlando, FL</strong>
The name of this piece was selected before the troupe saw the dance floor, and in retrospect it’s an ironic choice. The Red Venue was tossed together out of rough plywood and gaffing tape, and without air-condition or risers, is a space best suited to stand up acts or bands. Voci’s style of modern dance leans heavily on rolling and sliding across a smooth floor, and by the second show splinters and scrapes dominated the dance moves, and ace bandages and leggings were essential equipment. Troupe leader Genevieve Bernard called the Venue “undanceable”, but this show was still entertaining and up to Voci’s usual standards, even if one dancer fainted from heat exhaustion.
The dance numbers were a mix of old and new. “The Puppet Show” (Wilkins) recalls the motion of marionettes and rag dolls and the obscene positions your brother put Barbie and Ken in when you weren’t looking. “Hugs Not Shrugs” (Bernard) featured a creepy Mary Clymene Wilkins spidering over the head of Lisa Mie and Adrienne Nichols and Heather Rose. This piece used a few atypical middle finger salutes, which you see so rarely on the profession dance floor today.
“My Drag” (Carlow) has been on the Voci list of hits for some time, but the sight of the dancers showing off their Sears high rise underwear never loses its charm. “On The Midway” (Carlow) is another standard featuring the dancers in stark black and white costumes swirling around like dervishes in on this splintery floor. There’s even some original music behind the show from Simon Henneman and his quirky guitar plinks accompanied by Rick Jones with his cool tribal drums.
The seating is tight, the martinis are a bit weak, but the dancing is strong as ever. As long as the crew gets its tetanus shots, the show will go on.
More information on Voci Dance is available at www.vocidance.org  and  myspace.com/vocidanceThis show is presented as part of the 17th Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival. Information on times, tickets, and venue location my be found at http://orlandofringe.org/
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