Fringe in Sketch: Previewing STORM by Asya Zlatina and Dancers

It’s hard to evocatively describe dance in a Festival blurb or precis; there will be many great dance shows this year, but it’s difficult to know which based on description alone. But Phindie can vouch for Asya Zlatina’s STORM because we were lucky enough to sit in on a rehearsal for the emotion-capturing piece.

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“Even the nicest person can be cruel.”

Asya’s piece is based upon and performed to Gustav Holtz’s Planet Suite. We saw a warlike, varied Mars, or “Cruelty”, with sharp, violent movements, and beautiful disjointed almost-synchronicity. The project began as a solo, as Asya worked to choreograph on a woman going through a rough time in her life.

“I couldn’t find a piece of music for it. I looked and looked and looked.”

She she stumbled on a piece from Planet Suite, she decided to build a suite around Holtz’s seven-movement work, one for each planet. 

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 “Like an encroaching army which comes together then spreads out.”

Mars is the bringer of war, and Asya seized upon the underlying emotion of each musical segment. Among the seven dances in STORM, topics will include “sadness” and “joy”. “Cruelty” featured a dozen dancers, but other pieces are solos or duos.

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“You’re not worried about getting to the next place… but you’re running to get there.”

Zlatina performed for many years with Koresh Dance, and her work shows some of the energetic grace of Roni’s best work.

BookScanCenter_11“You remember we talked about the jazzy parts… this is a jazzy part.”

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The rehearsal featured dancers Syndey Donovan, Rachel Neirzke, Harlee Trautman, Kathryn Van Yahres, Barbara Craig, Jocelyn Salerno, Alisa Iasvelli, Mallory Friedman, and Tori Sexsmith.

BookScanCenter_10Asya’s  2016 choreographic debut, Barry, impressed Fringe audiences last year. STORM should prove a worthy follow-up.

[Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street] September 14-17, 2017; fringearts.com/event/storm

Text by Christopher Munden

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