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A voyage of sensual entwinement, in/divisible spins assumptions of duality, fortifying a journey from despair to empowerment via social change. Unraveling emotional side-swiping, trust-tumbling and free-falling, reveals the division between human instinct and social tyranny. With gravity free choreography by aerialist, Sonya Smith and gravity bound choreography by movement ornamentalist, Brittany Brown Ceres, in/divisible is an evening themed by choices which alter self knowledge and societal lore. Smith & Ceres navigate metaphors of intra- and interpersonal entanglement, hidden limitations, and visceral emotion, shaping an evening of fluid, curious and frenzied dance.
Unraveling the allegory of mind/body balance, dance ceres presents the culmination of 18 months of rehearsal and a CounterPULSE residency, funded in part by the Ken Hempel Fund for the Arts. Studying the intersection of varied emotional responses, Ceres develops a lexicon of movement based on the emotional and psychological energy that is stored in the body; a language of determination. This energy, (which is inherently human, but beyond literal/precise verbal identification), manifests as anomalies in our biology which are unlocked through movement. By specifically separating the logic of written vocabulary from the immediacy of felt experiences and emotional responses, Ceres realigns self-awareness within social scenarios. In the nervous reflection of the rumbling backlash to Prop 8, the ability to act from a strong sense of self is paramount to countering cultural norms. In an abstract rendering, dance ceres navigates a disrupted consciousness formed from feeling/being invisible, unheard and devalued, through queer experience in the building of culture and the liberation to which it gives way.
in/divisible describes the careful disengagement from the ideals of the status quo by envisioning and therefore creating & living a legitimately alternate reality. Despite this detachment, the majority is vast, calculated and slow to change; and therefore every action is by its very nature, a reaction. By contemplating the severity of a divided societal grid, can we highlight values that unify us? Through artistic discourse, visualizing a country which publicly embraces our human commonalities instead of disdaining our unique choices is not only possible; it is necessary. in/divisible unveils the duality of the parallel consequences; proving the importance of the road less traveled because it’s the right direction for so many. Joined by San Diego choreographer, Sadie Weinberg, with vibrant and rebellious dancers, Cari Bellinghausen, Eric Geiger, Rebecca Gilbert, Kelly Kemp, Claudia Hubiak, Greg Lane, Erin Okayama, Valerie Scott, Sarah Sandoval, and Vanessa Tipon, Smith and Ceres direct a voyage of sensual entwinement as they navigate the queer experience in a community seeking alignment. in/divisible is supported in part by the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Stanford Dance Division and an artist residency at CounterPULSE.
SF Bay Guardian PREVIEW by Rita Felciano, June 3, 2009
"The fact that the state Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 probably was no surprise to Dance Ceres choreographer-dancer Brittany Brown Ceres, since the aftershock of the proposition's passage coincided with her residency at CounterPULSE. But it probably did strengthen her faith in dance's ability to suggest and strengthen concepts of community, self, and instigating and supporting change. The upcoming in/divisible, presented as part of this year's National Queer Arts Festival, may also serve as an affirmation for those engaged in the ongoing struggle for equality. Though there is nothing overtly political about Brown Ceres' choreography, her dances are forceful and affirming of female identity. At their best, they draw you in because of the complexity of the impulses that generate and control them. Still, if you look closely, you can see how they undermine conventional mores and ingrained patterns of thought. But they mostly convince because they are so beautifully and emotionally logical in the way they communicate."
To our satisfaction we were reviewed favorably by the critical press, as well.
Mary Ellen Hunt wrote for the SF Chronicle, in time to sell-out our final performance:
"Ideas of attachment and separation are sharply drawn in Dance Ceres' in/divisible, presented this weekend as part of the Queer Cultural Center's 2009 Queer Arts Festival at CounterPULSE, where the company is an artist-in-residence. But what impresses the most about this engrossing work is how a carefully plotted structure and meticulous direction can uncover the richness of movement.
Choreographer Brittany Brown Ceres has been honing in/divisible for a year and a half, and the result is a smart, well- focused and tightly paced assemblage. Ceres and her dancers have devised a compelling landscape in which gestures from the hieratic to the ecstatic reflect a turbulent internal world. Even though successive episodes- set to recordings by Theo Bleckmann, Ben Monder, Ramiro Musotto and the Bad Plus- develop a kind of ritual solemnity through repetition, the piece as a whole maintains an organic pulse and appealing contrasts in rhythm. Although the company members vary in size and type, dancers Cari Bellinghausen, Rebecca Gilbert, Claudia Hubiak, Erin Okayama and Sarah Sandoval contrive to project a common internal motivation that gives in/divisible a clear movement consonance without being a dry exercise. Indeed, the last image of jittering arms set off like jangled nerves as a single dancer wanders slowly among the others is finally profoundly affecting."
(Mary Ellen Hunt, San Francisco Chronicle; June 6, 2009)
Lastly – an audience member was compelled to blog about the show: 6/11/09 at 6:11 pm
"...I left that night completely amazed with the intricacy and beauty of the Ceres piece. I attend lots of dance in the Bay area from modern to ballet and this was a wonderful piece. I keep thinking of seamless fluidity, movement that flows and flows. It was so well choreographed that you did not want it to end. The dancers fit so well into the piece and their individual and collective talent was very apparent. This group really practiced this piece and their efforts were rewarded. I just hope we will have the opportunity to see a lot more Ceres dances and soon!
PS: It was good to see one of the Chronicle's dance critics review the entire program as it deserved the press."
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