“Momo” is set to a soundtrack designed by Naharin under his composer pseudonym, Maxim Waratt. The score, comprised of music from Landfall, Laurie Anderson’s 2018 album with the Kronos Quartet, as well as a composition for keyboard by Philip Glass and a soulful song by Venezuelan musician Arca, holds the composition of disparate tableaux in an integrated universe of its own intelligence. Without a discernible narrative, the piece unfolds like a reel of thoughts and impulses, dreamlike in nature. The enthralling 70-minute work could be experienced as a mirror-like reflection of your own mind.
One enters the theater with the empty stage in full view. The only element of set design is a long dark wall that stretches across most of the back of the stage, devised by Gadi Tzachor. While the house lights are still up, four shirtless male dancers in gray cargo trousers imperceptibly appear from behind the wall to slowly, silently walk the perimeter of the space. They walk in a relaxed posture with one hand resting on a hip as they maintain an open gaze trained outward on a diagonal. They adopt a variety of movement qualities throughout the work, but their constant presence and mostly unison movement provide a steady undercurrent that anchors the piece.
In counterpoint to this quartet, are seven other dancers wearing assorted garb—lingerie, sleeveless leotards, dance shorts, and a topless tutu—in pale cream and beige tones designed by Eri Nakamura. The seven enter the stage one by one with captivating, idiosyncratic solos pulled straight out of the Gaga treasure chest. The dance movements amaze with unexpected oddities, shimmies, and twitches─at the same time pushing to physical and technical extremes. The first to enter from this group of seven is Sean Howe. With acrobatic physicality and remarkable flexibility, he tumbles onto the scene exploding into high kicks and mischievous gestures like a crafty trickster. Londiwe Khoza follows with a series of dainty bourrées on her high-stretched bare feet wearing a piece of silky lingerie. She assumes a classic game-show hostess posture presenting a mystery prize. Then dropping to the floor, she rolls through a series of contractions and releases and scampers to her feet unleashing a generous leg extension. Bo Matthews, in a topless pale tutu with shaven pate and muscular build, evokes an internal struggle dancing a halting diagonal across the stage culminating with a twitch and a leap. The other dancers remain still as each one of the seven enters with a riveting, peculiar solo to the melancholic string composition. Avi Yona Bueno’s skillful lighting design casts this collection of eccentrics in a surreal glow. It appears as if they have lost their way and stumbled into a dream together.
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