Dance Review of “Umwelt” by Maguy Marin

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This is a dance review on The Village Voice about “Umwelt”, performed by Maguy Marin’s dance company. The review was written by Deborah Jowitt and was published in July 2008.  http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-07-02/dance/moving-days/

 

Maguy Marin

 

Sara Camnasio

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About Sara Camnasio

I'm Sara, yes Sara without the H. I was born in an anonymous town in the middle of nowhere, in the industrial Northern Italy. I grew up with my fingers sticky from pasta dough and my face powdered with flour, helping my grandmother to make the most loved meals in the world. I was tossed in my grandma's arms at age 4—when my parents divorced—and I lived a spoon-fed life until I was 8, when I moved with my father and his new wife to what would have become my hometown. Bosisio Parini—a name that barely appears on any map—was the place I spent most of my life in: two-thousand people, three churches, and the lake, puddle of memories. But despite its stunning beauty, that limiting environment granted no future for us. So I had to jump, take the biggest leap of my life: on the 22nd of December 2009 I moved to the Big Apple with my mother and sister, leaving my dad to Italy to support us financially. I was thrown in the illogical world of slang and French fries, but somehow—fantastically—I managed to become part of it without gaining fifty pounds. I may speak with my hands, but I swear one can barely hear my accent. I feel more American than ever, although I'll never forget my origins; that little village—to me—is that one place where you feel like you left your anchor. I mean—would have been a pretty heavy load to carry overseas, all the way to New York city.

One thought on “Dance Review of “Umwelt” by Maguy Marin”

  1. This Village Voice review by Deborah Jowitt follows the Feldman Model of Criticism as described by Wendy Oliver. This model states that there should be a straightforward accounting of what went on in the piece. This review gives a clear and engaging description of what goes on during the piece, from the everyday tasks to the monotonous pace to the “detritus” left behind. She begins by stating that everybody lives very ordinary lives, free of drama in their monotonousness. This is a feeling we can all relate to. Yet she describes this piece as beautiful, enthralling, and ultimately mundane. However, these “mundane” tasks have now taken on an air of drama, a type of meaning in itself. Jowitt describes such elements as the sound design and costuming with detail and specificity. The dancers’ hair and garments are “harassed” and there is a “roar” of some unspecified machine offstage. There’s a “hurricane of noise,” a “cacophony” that envelops the reader in the performance; he is now with the audience, craning to see what ordinary motion the dancers will carry out next.
    The Feldman Model also requires an attention to analysis and interpretation in criticism. Jowitt references Marin’s use of a Samuel Beckett quote, giving the reader some reference as to the subject and thematic overtone of the piece. However, this quote also pulls together the meaning of the work; before the reader simply saw these tasks and motions in his mind’s eye as mundane and meaningless, much like the tasks we perform every day and don’t think about. Now, the reader feels that these steps are far from ordinary, in fact extraordinary. They are the steps of our everyday lives, the ones that matter the most despite their mundanity. They thrive in their own drama. Jowitt uses the beautiful image of the “detritus of our days” left on the stage as a way to convey how very caught up we all are and how something always gets left behind. Jowitt’s use of description, analysis, and interpretation gives the reader an enthralling and lifelike sense of the piece and leaves the reader feeling like he’s seen it.

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