Trolley Dances: An Urban Dance Adventure
Words by Kristen Fogle
Trolley Dances, in its 13th year, is truly a San Diego event to be experienced. Utilizing public transit, which deposits participants to four site locations, and using urban space as the backdrop for six performances, Trolley Dances showcases an array of dancers who have been choreographed by local talents Jean Isaacs, Minerva Tapia, John Diaz, Allyson Green, and Paz Tanjuaquio.
Trolley Dances has varied in its locations from year to year, and for the 2011 run, the group chose the green line, starting at the Grantville Station in Mission Valley, stopping at San Diego State, on into El Cajon, and finally ending at the Santee Trolley Square Town Center.
What is so beautiful and creative about this idea (which originated in San Diego), is not only that it familiarizes San Diegans with the convenient, reasonably clean trolley system (which many of us had never used prior to this engagement), but that it draws our attention to the use of outdoor structures and urban space, allowing us to abruptly discontinue our previous association with these structures and encouraging us to look past them as art forms and spaces of creation.
At the Grantsville Station, two dances were performed. John Diaz’s piece, “Present Junction,” utilized bright American Apparel-esque clad dancers flitting about, incorporating structures such as stairs, trolley waiting areas, planters, walkways—urging us to interact with these seemingly benign everyday constructions. The next piece, “Parallel Groove for 8,” which took place in a circular space sandwiched between stair and elevator access, was choreographed by Paz Tanjuaquio and set to “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, while incorporating sounds of the trolley in with the jazz rhythms. This piece utilized the space a bit more literally—we saw dancers talking on the payphone, waiting for the elevator, and buying tickets. “Bolero” took place at San Diego State; patrons walked up the stairs to view the lawn just west of the university’s Aztec Center, where Jean Isaacs piece showcased dancers in hard hats rolling, strutting, and again, interacting with the physical environment. The fourth dance took place in the most unconventional space of the tour, in the El Cajon Toyota dealership. Participants filed in past customers and a giant pirate ship (which would have been a cool place for the dancing to take place), and into a waiting area where dancers wore simple tanks with numbers on them and colorful shorts. They danced on blocks individually and together, and again, the music (“Nortive Collective”) contained elements of trolley music, as well as choreography by Minerva Tapia inspired by this idea. The last station, in Santee, featured two dances—“The International Cooking School” by Jean Isaacs and “The Last Stop” by Allyson Green in collaboration with her performers. The first dance was in another building, this one a sparse space save for a professional kitchen with counter and serving space, which the dancers utilized. Dressed as chefs from all different cultures, the performers in this piece kept it light and humorous, performing to Hans Eisler music. The last dance, and my favorite, took place outside in the center’s large open bus depot. The performers in this piece slowly transformed from modern day patrons waiting for the bus into western garb—vests, hats, shawls, long flowing skirts—the costuming was very well done. Meanwhile, a collage of western themes and text from TV and film westerns played in the background while the gifted dancers did their thing.
The journey to see all six dances is fun and should be experienced at least once; the project is perfect for our great climate. But be forewarned…this is an endeavor to bring friends and family to; I can’t imagine going at it alone would be very enjoyable. My other recommendation is to bring a sweater; as we all know, as beautiful as San Diego is, the weather can be unpredictable. You will also want some water (though you can buy some at the Grantsville station) and sunglasses as well. After you are done, you are also conveniently dropped by an array of restaurants—Olive Garden, Annie’s Fine Burgers, Chili’s, and Mimi’s Café—all await at the end of the line.
Take a day to pay homage to this great experience—there are not many experiments in which transit and the arts meet, and this one manages to fuse the two together for a memorable event and a fun jaunt around town.
WHEN:
9/24 and 10/1; 10-3 on the hour
9/25 and 11/2; 1-3:30 on the half hour
WHERE:
Departs from the Grantville Station, Mission Valley
TICKETS:
General Admission $30; Seniors $20; Students $15; Tickets can be purchased http://www.sandiegodancetheater.org/trolleydances2011.html
To see the original articles, please visit http://askmissa.com/2011/09/29/san-diego-dance-theaters-trolley-dances-2011/ and http://www.sdtheatrereviews.com/arts.php?newsId=255
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