From the archives…

[25] HUSH NOW SWEET HIGH HEELS AND OAK (Brian Sanders’ JUNK): Fringe review

Choreographer par excellence Brian Sanders creates a psycho-sexual dreamscape of children’s fairy tales and nursery rhymes morphing into adult erotic fantasies in HUSH NOW SWEET HIGH HEELS AND OAK. Multiple layers of set and props are peeled away to host JUNK’s signature feats of near-naked, daring dance; the mood shifts from joyous to nightmarish as the nocturnal ecstasies penetrate deeper into the Freudian realms of sleep, the subconscious, and universal symbols; and the palette appropriately changes from pure white (with an aesthetic akin to a Calvin Klein ad) to earthy shades of brown and flesh. After a shaky start with the dancers tentatively stepping across a row of unstable boxes atop fabric-covered sands, the incomparable troupe (including JUNK favorites Teddy Fatscher, Billy Robinson, Tommy Schimmel, and Connor Senning) displayed its mastery of Sanders’ physically—and emotionally—demanding moves, flawlessly jumping, soaring, swinging, writhing, climbing, hanging, and free-falling with a trancelike grace, ethereality, and eroticism befitting the theme (the sultry Laura Jenkins represents the female libido). more…