Les écailles de la mémoire: Epic failure as a story, masterful success as a dance

 
          Performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on November 19, 2008 was Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory) by Brooklyn’s Urban Bush Women and the men of Compagnie Jant-Bi from Senegal.
          The dance opens with all fourteen dancers standing in two rows staring out at the audience expressionless. They then begin to move in excruciatingly slow motion. The audience is engaged, but soon becomes eager and restless after what seems almost ten minutes before they take their first step. The dancers begin speaking in their mother tongue, introducing themselves and their lineage. As suggested by the title, the dance attempts to convey the message of accepting the past in order to have fulfillment in the present. However, this moving message and storyline failed to translate through the dancing.

           The work goes from scenes of oppression and slavery, spiritual mourning, to celebratory dances, and teasing between the men and women. The scene transitions were unexpected and illogical, making the audience confused and unsure what exactly the performance was trying to portray. This is evident in one of the first scenes where the group of men are rapidly zigzagging on and off stage, following each other in diagonals, coming to a sudden halt, then immediately again dashing across the stage.  Shortly after this chaotic and high-pace bustle, there is a calm, dark, and melancholic spiritual dance and song. A rock is centered in the middle of the stage with a single light shining above it. The man appears to be in a deep spiritual trance, bowing and illustrating signs of respect and praise, dancing around it, and finally sitting on it. This awkward transition leaves viewers thinking “wait, what just happened?!”
           Despite the puzzling and almost absent storyline, the choreography of the dance is impressive. The men and women fervently move their limber arms and legs in unison. All fourteen dancers show their explosive energy and versatility jumping, crouching, lunging, undulating, pouncing, gyrating, stampeding, and leaping across every inch of the stage. The deep percussion drums and music exquisitely compliments the intensity of each dance passage. Perhaps one of the most interesting exchanges is the “dance-off” between the men and women. In this battle of the sexes, each side attempts to flaunt and flash their agility and dexterity. Rapidly, each side takes the stage exhibiting their talent, showcasing an exciting and lively competition of who is the more skilled dancer.
           From a dancing standpoint, Les écailles de la mémoire was a masterful success, enticing the audience with its bold, intricate, dramatic, and well-executed choreography. On the other hand, as a story it was an epic failure. Without reading the playbill, it is almost impossible to accurately guess the storyline as it radically and unreasonably jumps from one contradictory scene to the other. For those who can only withstand an artistic performance with a clear, concise, and concrete plot, save yourself the torture and skip out on Les écailles de la mémoire. However, if you are interested in witnessing flawless energetic dancing for ninety minutes, you should hurry up and purchase your tickets before it’s too late, after all it’s being performed on only three nights of BAM’s 2008 Next Wave Festival.