Spring Concert 2007 - Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre

Left: Dancer Rebekah Shepard presents - well, presented - she's on her way home here!


An amusing and diverting evening at Pamela Trokanski's.

The first dance was 'Voice Mail', an illustration of the nightmarish journey we all face in our daily lives, trying to find a human voice somewhere in the automated telephone tree.

The second dance was 'Singing Over Bones', featuring a strange ritual, whereby (according to narration) a wolf reconstructed from bones is released. If the wolf succeeds in reaching the mountain ridge before sunrise, a woman, with all her humor, is born again - the only way her stories become immortal. The part about humor was delivered in a leaden way, which I found, ironically enough, amusing. The dance began with an inward spiral, like a ram's horn, which made me think the ritual animal was going to be a ram, and the bones were very reminiscent of Georgia O'Keefe's cattle bone paintings, but as mentioned, the ritual animal was a wolf. Latin-like dances, and skirts swept along Mexican-style helped complete a very Southwestern feel about the piece.

The third dance was called 'Come Naked, Bring Beer', and featured a voice-over detailing the elements of courtship in a cracked, faux-academic style. Quite amusing! What exactly is it that women like in a relationship? In the end, it becomes clear - they like Superman! The dancers set wooden stools in front of Superman, creating a causeway that Superman strode across in grand slow motion as he approached the audience. I kept thinking that there is a second causeway not far away, the I-80 Yolo Causeway, where swarms of bats can be seen departing for dinner nightly precisely at sunset. A tale of two causeways: women love Superman, but most men can be found hanging with the bats.

Jim Carnes at the Sacramento Bee previews this show.