Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But a strawberry? An artichoke? A veal cutlet? All potent signifiers, as the academics say, chock full of associations political, erotic and social. And worthy motifs for a piece of dance theater, particularly when they are filtered through the mind and imagination of Wild Space Dance Company’s Deborah Loewen.
Introducing the company’s new work, Delicious, at the Steimke Theatre Thursday night, Loewen told the audience that this piece “comes from a place that is really dear to my heart.” She is both an avid gardener and cook, and Wild Space rehearsals are often supplemented with treats from her kitchen.
The affection for the culinary arts is abundant in Delicious. The lights go up, in fact, on Jennifer Goetzinger, a professional chef and former member of the Wild Space company, cooking at a compact station in the back corner of the stage. She stays there through most of the evening, and it is a dance in itself—whisking, egg-cracking, griddle scraping—and Loewen treats it as such, often blending the kitchen sounds into the recorded soundscape of the evening.
But Delicious isn’t simply a cooking demonstration. Wild Space’s group of eleven dancers riff on the memories and meanings of food. The opening sequence finds one dancer teasing the others with a bunch of grapes held aloft—a juicy indulgence as the ultimate object of desire. Recorded reminiscences accompany a sequence about childhood memories, where food is part of the essential bond between mother and child. There are meditations on the sense experience of food and cooking, as when the stage becomes a hot griddle with dancers hopping around to avoid burning their feet. Or when language and eating battle with each other for the control of a mouth that can only do one or the other.
It all flows elegantly, from one vignette to the other. The more theatrical pieces are linked by some of Loewen’s best group choreography. She moves the ensemble around the large stage with an inventive sense of geometry and flow, dancers breaking off into trios and quartets that serve as counterpoint to the other action. There’s a beautiful and simple sequence with eight dancers arrayed front-to-back in a tight line. A single gesture—moving a hand from one’s own hip to the hip of the dancer behind, for example—moves back and forth along the line, transforming its shape broadly in slow permutations.
It’s all part of Loewen’s gift—her gift for the right blend of sound and gesture, and her generosity in sharing her ideas and vision. Delicious includes an after-show gathering where the audience can sample some of Goetzinger’s onstage creations. But it lasts much longer than the final mouthful. With rich artfulness that lingers on the sensory palette, Delicious is a gift that keeps on giving.
Photo by Matt Schwenke: Liz Franzee and Mandee Karr.
