Fringe Preview 2009: Dance

Now... way back when Leah Cooper originally tapped a bunch of us to be the "League of Extraordinary Fringers", she got John Munger to write about all things dance in the Fringe. I cannot compete with Sir John's expertise in the field, so I defer to him when he tells me that this is the busiest time of the year for dance in the Twin Cities.

That being said, I don't see a lot of dance during the regular year unless it is at my daughter's dance studio. That means that I really appreciate being able to take in shows featuring the movement arts (when my dice allow) at the Minnesota Fringe Festival.

Here are the top five shows I would see if I had a five-show punch card dedicated to dance:

1. Stray Pieces - Moving Arts Ensemble - A few of the cast of this show appeared in last year's Conundrum Rehabbed. I loved that show. I also really liked the Fringe-For-All preview of one of the selections from Kari Jensen, the woman at the helm of Moving Arts Ensemble. This is a varied selection of styles and subjects. A great sampling of what's out there in Twin Cities dance.

2. Holding Patterns - Monica Rodero & Daniel Schuchart - While Joseph Bingham produced the dance show I most enjoyed over-all last year, these two put together the best individual piece that I saw last year (it was accompanied by the sounds of masking tape coming off the roll!). They are innovative and clever dancers who can alter your perception of dance.

3. Thrower of Light - Cathy Wright - I know nothing about this group of dancers outside of the fact that I really enjoyed the segment they did at the Fringe-For-All this year. A pirate dance! There was a sense of wild abandon that caught me and didn't let go. Beautiful!

4. My Body Made Me Do This - Third Rabbit Dance Ensemble - Did I mention before that John Munger is the grand poobah of dance as far as the Fringe is concerned? I did? Well, know this, too... The shows he produces for the Fringe are terrific, so he not only can write about the stuff, but he backs it up with action!

5. The Return of LICK! - LICK! - You know, this show almost made my top five comedy shows, but I wanted to point out that not all dance has to be a serious and high-fallutin' kind of thing. In fact, most of the folks on this list capture whimsy and humor in their dancing, as well as ethereal beauty. LICK! will not provide any of the ballerina-esque grace of the others, but they'll make up for it with their "Sexiness". I missed LICK! the first time they did a Fringe show back in 2005. If my fate weren't tied to random chance, I would make sure this was one of my top-priority shows.

I honestly don't think there is a bad dance show in the Fringe. At least at this point. My opinion may change once I see them (obviously). Dance is something that is by default at the true "fringe" of the theatre world. The two arts are directly related and yet there often isn't a whole lot of overlap in audience or participants. Fringe audiences ought to take advantage of the offerings and expand their horizons.