NEW YORK — Movement Research at the Judson Church played host to a substantial spread of works on Monday. The series, which is free, draws a large, lively audience that comes ready for fun. It wasn’t disappointed.
Maybe it’s because I know about Jennifer Monson’s Bird Brain project that I view her “Improvisation” with David Zambrano as akin to animal behaviour. The two share a territory: the open space of the church. In it they run, collide, play, ignore, fly, groom and spat. Like monkeys whose attention shifts are lightning fast, they could be drawn anywhere at any time and seemingly natural events deflect their trajectories unpredictably. Headed that way? Oops — fly zings by, catch it!
Simone Forti, an elder in Monson’s lineage, spent lots of time watching animals at the Bronx Zoo and bringing their captured motion to life in performance. Monson expands the brief. She and Zambrano in their habitat revel in their dancer/animal range of possibilities. Watching’s like a pleasurable afternoon at the zoo. And not. Sure a hand becomes a claw and yes some animals move just for the sake of it, but these two propel themselves attracted by nothing so much as wanting to see how different parts of the body will kick in to a longer stream of moves. It’s a field of surprise, just as this moment’s a new one — this itch, this urge, this wish to contact is just for now.
Monson’s hands turn her, exploring the space within range, feet stepping on all surfaces — toe pads and squishy heels. She breaks at an elbow, does an easy crashing slide into floor, grounded. She’s become so fine tuned, she plays anywhere on the range of tension. Nothing is here because it’s flashy. Her movement sentences just tumble out. Zambrano fires off rapid streams of easily springy movement, often starting from a feet grounded incline. We hear him think too — snippets of talk and offhand comment; “They have to fix the floor,” he says, sliding a playing card, and as it gets caught on the floor’s unevenness adds “See?”
Zambrano and Monson have the easy familiarity of friends whose bodies are comfortable together but not sexually charged. Flying fingers say “Here I am!” A look says “Coming at you!” They make satisfying space pictures, arm calligraphy and tappy rhythms. The music is by Doug Henderson using all manner of soundmakers — tossing coins, rubbing cards, swishing hands in water — and Guy Yarden, who provides electronic hum, vibrations, and throbs. We have a windy tunnel, a whale, a secret corridor, all evocations of another kind of real world, perfect to play in.
Speaking of play, it seemed hard for the four to find a clear end, just as kids having to drag themselves in on a summer night straggle back. We forgive them — it’s so much fun out there.
Lisa Kraus will perform at Movement Research at the Judson Church on March 29. Her ongoing web log is Writing My Dancing Life.