Now in its fifth season, this newest iteration of Brenna Pierson-Tucker and Christopher Tucker’s Esoteric Dance Project, with its half decade of extemporaneous choreography, provides a sense of the relationship between two distinctly active, evocative historical performances plus one more, yet to premiere. Aspects of the two earlier performances, “Unsilenced Thoughts of Two Women” and “iloveyouihateyou,” will be added into this new tapestried, as-yet untitled premiere. Also on the program is “Unsilenced Thoughts,” in which the duo presents the ongoing resonances that center their shared movement experience in the music of Ani DiFranco and Tom Waits, funneled into the ears of the audience in much the same manner as physical abuse, and with the same force as vampiric cultural capitalism–commonly condemned for valuing self-survival over a shared right of survival, especially in the artistic community. This notion seems to have survived the fine threadings of their newest, anniversary-marking work, “Keepsake.” This piece is a dance-as-love-letters, and seems capable of providing a solid foundation for a challenging discussion about cancer survivorship. (Michael Workman)
Esoteric Dance Project at the Preston Bradley Center, Mason Hall, 941 West Lawrence, December 4-5 at 7:30pm, December 6 at 7pm. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 at the door, brownpapertickets.com.
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