Mimulus,
the Brazilian-based dance company that had its debut last season at
Jacob’s
Pillow, is back again, this time with the U.S. premiere of Dolores, a 60-minute
“passionate exhibition of physicality and desire.” The work is inspired
by the
films of Pedro Almodovar, so for those of you familiar with his work,
no need
to warn you that you’ll be moved to laughter and tears, often at the
same time.
To anyone not an Almodovar-ite, accept that an evening in his (or
Mimulus’)
company is time exceptionally well spent.
Mesquita’s
company is dedicated to the exploration
of social dancing as a “common” language that transcends class and
culture. We
all dance, some of us more often and aggressively than others, but
there is no
society in which dance – whether as ritual or just-plain-recreation
– does not have its place. Mimulus has studied, and continues to study,
the place of dance in many societies and integrates what is discovered
elsewhere into its own work at home.
Lest you think that the results are academic or
museum-like, know that the extraordinarily exuberant ensemble makes it
all look
remarkably fun and totally human. In her excellent pre-performance
talk,
scholar-in-residence Maura Keefe distinguishes between dance as
performance
(the events we sit back and accept as something we cannot do ourselves)
and
dance as social (what we can see ourselves doing because that is what
we have
already done so many times and with so many partners).
And
if my best effort to explain Mimulus sounds
either esoteric or commonplace, you are best advised to see them as
soon as you
are able. The fact is that the social element aside, these dancers use
their
bodies and each other in ways that I have rarely seen – and that is why
they are there on the stage and I am more than delighted to sit and
cheer from
my seat. Safe to say, the audience on Wednesday night’s opening felt
exactly as
I did – cheers went on for longer than usual and with very good reason.
The
music, a compilation of almost two dozen found
tunes, drives the evening with changes of rhythm and emotional
intensity that
are complemented by the choreography and also by the exquisite design –
setting by Ed Andrade and Osla
Arquitetura and
lighting by Ed Andrade and Rodrigo
Marcal. Rarely has a
touring
dance company been so blessed with design elements that heighten a body
of
work.
There
are moments in the piece that begin to
repeat earlier patterns, but Mesquita is so adept at exposing the need
we all
have for human connections, whether they endure or wither too quickly,
that the
gain far outweighs the stasis.
What Almodovar so ably brings
to his films,
Mesquita demonstrates and brings to Dolores.