Thursday, 4/24/97 Dance group to bring eclectic show to UCLA
Modern interpretation employs ‘movement vocabulary’
By Kathleen Rhames Daily Bruin Contributor Dancer and
choreographer Janis Brenner has been on the road for the past 20
years. In the grand tradition of performing artists, her home is
the stage and her family a small six-member dance troupe with which
she is known worldwide. But this weekend Brenner will perform for a
more local audience. In the West Coast debut of her
self-choreographed program, "Janis Brenner and Dancers," Brenner
will perform on the UCLA stage for two nights of modern dance
interpretation. While Brenner is no stranger to the campus and has
had several guest teaching residencies in the dance department, it
will be the first time that the company will perform in California
as a group. "This particular program is a very important thing for
our company and for me because I’ve worked a lot here in L.A.,"
Brenner says. "I’m excited for the company to perform and see what
I’ve been talking about in my classes for the last two years I’ve
taught here." The program has five pieces that feature three
company dance performances, one vocal solo by Brenner and a dance
solo by her partner Eddie Taketa. If audiences are expecting a
night of traditional dancing, they’re in for a big surprise.
Together, the works make an eclectic and individually unique show,
ranging from the head-banging music of Led Zeppelin to the
emotionally charged music of a quartet. All pieces, with the
exception of Brenner’s "Vocal Suite," are based on modern dance,
which Brenner feels is a medium that best allows her the freedom to
express her choreography to an audience. Brenner uses what she
calls "movement vocabulary" – movement that depicts the emotions of
a specific dance piece. "Each work is its own entity," Brenner
says. "What I find so challenging is that when I have an idea to
create a dance, I try to think about what movement vocabulary would
capture that specific idea so that it doesn’t end up looking like
something that’s already been done but rather like its own
20-minute statement." And Brenner’s pieces couldn’t be more
different in terms of visual and stylistic content. One piece,
titled "Ton of Led," is a tribute to the decadence of the late ’60s
and ’70s, featuring the music of Led Zeppelin. Brenner explains the
movement vocabulary as being very wild and loose, looking more like
a rock concert than a tightly choreographed dance piece. Dancers
head-bang to the music wearing tie-dyed T-shirts and bell-bottoms
reminiscent, perhaps, of Brenner’s own days growing up. On a
completely different level is a solo piece that Brenner
choreographed in collaboration with Eddie Taketa. Titled "Uzu
Maki," which means eye of the storm, the piece has little movement
and instead communicates on a more visual level. Taketa sits inside
a skirt that spreads 60 yards across the stage. Bronze and gold in
color, the piece is a metaphor for the inside of a volcano. Taketa
looks as if he’s rising out of this vibrating fabric, performing a
fiery dance that Brenner describes as "mesmerizing." To create
choreography like this seems like it requires extreme
concentration, but Brenner insists her inspiration is as random as
a bolt of lightning. "Sometimes it really does just hit me," she
says. "Some people have a wealth of ideas churning inside them that
they can’t wait to get out. I work in waves. Sometimes I go through
periods where I think I’ve done it all, I’m all dried up and my
artistic life is over. Then I’ll be walking down the street and
something will strike a chord with me and a little light bulb will
go off in my head – that happens to me quite often." Brenner’s love
for singing has competed with her dance career over the years. When
she joined her first professional dance company in 1977, she put
her vocal work on hold. It was in the middle ’80s that Brenner met
composer and choreographer Meredith Monk who taught her the value
of incorporating song and dance into a performance. Brenner will
perform one of Monk’s songs this weekend for her vocal solo. Now,
Brenner teaches students to be well-rounded dancers who can
appreciate music beyond its functional use as accompaniment to
dance steps. "I believe that dancers should be multifaceted and
should be able to use their voice if necessary for a show," Brenner
says. "I want them to understand how movement collaborates with
music. Because I teach these principles, I thought it would be
important for me to demonstrate them in my program." DANCE: Janis
Brenner and Dancers will perform at the Dance Building, Theater
2000 on April 25 and 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 for the general
public and $8 for students. For more information, call (310)
825-3951.