another piece apart
Photo from New York Live Arts website
This afternoon, I received an email from New York Live Arts. I usually delete them but decided to open this one. It was a reminder that there were still seats left for the opening night of another piece apart, by Jennifer Nugent and Paul Matteson. This reminder prompted me to a video interview with Nugent and Matteson, moderated by Bill T. Jones. It intrigued me enough to purchase a ticket. I had no plans of going to Manhattan tonight but the desire to see this work prevailed.
When I arrived at the theater, I recalled the many trips I made there during college when it was still called Dance Theater Workshop. The lobby was warm and familiar with bodies mingling and sipping wine; there is a very particular smell (red wine, most likely) and feeling I associate with theater lobbies. It’s luscious and nostalgia-inducing and yet I feel readily in the present moment.
The 50-minute piece is performed in silence with the exception of slight whispers, breath (at times heavy), and the sound of their limbs hitting against the floor and each other. The lighting is subtle in a way that supports the starkness of the theater with no set or cycloroma, just exposed brick walls. At first, Nugent and Matteson emerge fully clothed and perform what seems to be the main vocabulary of the piece. They meld into each other seemingly effortlessly. Their bodies are strong and sculpted yet move with a precision almost viscous in nature. It felt like honey.
The piece itself builds in complexity, relying on the pair’s virtuosity and athleticism. The moments wherein their bodies connect, via limbs or their heads, are tame at first. They sit down and remove their shoes and socks, then they remove their outer layers of clothing. As the work progresses, their bodies entangle and propel each other noticeably with more force. There are moments of relentlessness, moments of quiet, moments of extreme movement and contortion that go in and out of unison. Repetitious footwork in circular patterns seem to exasperate the couple. The power struggle inherent within this dynamic periodically gives way to an unwavering trust and readiness for their partner. It is completely enthralling to watch them move together.
It is clear that Nugent and Matteson have a deep psychic and physical connection. They have danced together for twenty years and were at one point married. The layers of their deep history are evident in this dance. In some ways, it might frame the context of the work. One can never quite catch the whispered words that Matteson speaks throughout the piece. I detect the words, “naked,” “body,” “mother”, and the refrain of numbers. These words are performative utterances that coincide with particular movements. When Matteson repeats his gestures this time without words, you can feel their lack. What do these barely legible words mean? How do they contain or shape the movement and, more broadly, the piece?
The most striking moment is at the end when Nugent, on the floor, writhes her way upstage to the wall. Her movement is sensuous and centered on the pelvis. Laying supine, she strips away the final layers of clothing, her undershirt and underwear. All the while, the lights dim and the shadow of Matteson’s downstage body gently moves toward her as he physically inches away. Her body is obscured by his shadow save for a soft stream of light. The piece quietly fades to black.
another piece apart became just what I needed tonight. It is a quiet, reflective piece layered with history and intimacy between two humans whose relationship continues to shape-shift and evolve over time. The beauty of dance is that this is all expressed sans words (for the most part). It is an amazing feat of the body and of theater that such complexities can be communicated without words through space and time. How amazing is that? I left the theater quietly meditating on the love and dedication Nugent and Matteson have for dance and, presumably, each other.
another piece apart by Jennifer Nugent & Paul Matteson runs through October 13, 2018 at New York Live Arts. You can learn more about the piece here: https://newyorklivearts.org/event/another-piece-apart/
